Let's play: Career Jeopardy!!

[James81]

No folks, this isn't one of those witty little forums games where everybody chimes in with a some random one liner that is witty and silly and we all lulz and go about our business with gaping smiles on our faces.

This is me approaching the career angle (yet again) from a different approach...circling around what exactly I want to do with my life. (How ironic is it that 10 years after graduating high school I still struggle with that question?)

Ok, here's the deal...over the past several years I have been approaching a career change from the perspective of "what can I do given the constraints that are in place right now?" And from that perspective, I find myself constantly weeding in and out of career choices...I find myself bouncing back and forth, wondering what the hell I can do, how I can finance it, and what I can do to....just...settle given the way life has ended up for me. And that approach, obviously, hasn't worked. That approach keeps me bouncing from one area of interest to another, without really stamping down on any one area. It leaves me confused...it leaves me with the ultimate process of CHOOSING (something that I have never really been proficient at on any level of quickness...even something as simple as choosing what to eat can be a long ardous process for me sometimes ).

And today, I think I am realizing the flaw in that way of thinking. It starts with a bunch of questions in which the answers pull me in different directions. So, it's no wonder that I have such a hard go at figuring out what direction to go in...I keep asking a bunch of questions that give me a bunch of different answers.

But this morning it has kind of hit me out of nowhere (and over the past few weeks I'm realizing that there is really only one direction that I'd like to go, I just avoid it because it *seems* like the hardest direction and I lose confidence in myself and my abilities in that area)....

What if I gave myself the ANSWER that I truly desire, and then started fishing for the questions that bring me that answer? (Like the gameshow Jeopardy--hence the title )

It makes much more sense to me to choose a destination (and answer to my problem) FIRST, and then start asking the questions that will lead to that answer. To me that seems more productive. More in tune with producing a singular result.

So, with that being said, I am going to give you my answer in this thread. Then I am going to use this thread to fish around for the questions that will drive me to that answer.

The Answer: Full time career in a professional writing field.

Time to start asking the questions peeps. Get my brain juices flowing.

[Gene]

I remember in another conversation you were going to write a million words or so as a way to hone your writing skills. Are you still working on that project?

I visited your web site and enjoyed some of your creative writing. I believe you have the ability to be a professional writer.

[Angela]

What is the one specific action you know will make the most profound difference if you take it, that you have not yet taken?

[James81]

Originally Posted by Gene

I remember in another conversation you were going to write a million words or so as a way to hone your writing skills. Are you still working on that project?

I visited your web site and enjoyed some of your creative writing. I believe you have the ability to be a professional writer.

I actually discarded that idea. And the main reason for doing so was that i was lying to myself about the reason why I was doing it. The real reason was it was just a marketing pitch for my website at the time. I thought if I put something huge up there and pushed myself to bang out this insane amount of writing that it would draw people to my site. And, at the end of the day, that reason alone wasn't enough to sustain motivation alone.

But thanks for the compliment. I appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Angela

What is the one specific action you know will make the most profound difference if you take it, that you have not yet taken?

Wow, talk about a loaded question!

Hands down would be quitting my job. No question about it, that would be the MOST profound change I could possibly make right now that i can't seem to get myself to take.

And the whole reason revolves around one other lingering question in the back of my mind that eats away at me: how will I make my bills?

[brendannz]

I wish you the best of luck. I kind of understand your dilemma because I can make around 15-20% of a salary with my artwork doing what I love. But that's not really enough to pay the bills if you know what I mean.

I've got lots of other areas I have a few skills that aren't really fully developed yet. I'm sure I'll get something figured out though..

It seems like it's a dream of yours to be a professional writer, so I guess you have to look at it, what if you don't go after this dream, and you look back on your life knowing you just didn't have the confidence or courage to go after what you wanted. But I think if you be realistic, you're 28 so some time in the next 30 years, you're going to get to the point where you can be a professional writer if you keep at it. That's if you don't get to that level straight away..

I'm not one to critique writing to be honest. But wish you the best of luck nonetheless.

[SatvikBeri]

What has been your motivation for your biggest achievements? How can you create that motivation here?

And good luck!

[James81]

Originally Posted by brendannz

I wish you the best of luck. I kind of understand your dilemma because I can make around 15-20% of a salary with my artwork doing what I love. But that's not really enough to pay the bills if you know what I mean.

I've got lots of other areas I have a few skills that aren't really fully developed yet. I'm sure I'll get something figured out though..

It seems like it's a dream of yours to be a professional writer, so I guess you have to look at it, what if you don't go after this dream, and you look back on your life knowing you just didn't have the confidence or courage to go after what you wanted. But I think if you be realistic, you're 28 so some time in the next 30 years, you're going to get to the point where you can be a professional writer if you keep at it. That's if you don't get to that level straight away..

I'm not one to critique writing to be honest. But wish you the best of luck nonetheless.

Thanks for the reply.

Originally Posted by SatvikBeri

What has been your motivation for your biggest achievements? How can you create that motivation here?

And good luck!

My motivation in the past has always been based on fear of some fashion...put it off til the last minute until NOT doing it will actually create some sort of pain in my life.

More precisely, the whole concept of "moving away from pain" (as Tony Robbins would put it) has been my motivation up to this point. (Is it any wonder why my life has chosen me up to this point instead of the other way around?)

How can I create that motivation here? Well, I actually think I'd like to shift my source of motivation from moving away from pain to moving TOWARD pleasure...or rather, I'd like to make my motivation about doing things to create pleasurable experiences in my life instead of ONLY making a move to do things just because the pain of not doing them has become so great.

Therein lies the dillema...like I feel the pain of being in my job full force these days. Not because the job itself or the people I work with are so bad (they are not all actually...I love the people I work with), but rather because I've developed habits within that job that have consumed my life with a sense of complacency/laziness/whatever the word is. I've become someone I do not like or respect because I'm not in "alignment with Truth" as Steve would put it.

I've got other areas in my life sort of the way I want them, but I'm discovering that THIS area (career) is such that it starts pulling those other areas down and I lose focus and become lethargic in regards to moving forward.

It's like I can't move. I know that I just need to GET OUT of this job in any way that I can, but I can't even summon the motivation to go look for another job...I can't summon the motivation or the focus to keep at task on my writing projects..etc.

And of course, as I write this, I realize that I'm doing exactly what Steve said was "stupid" in his most recent blog post. LOL

[Angela]

Originally Posted by James81

And of course, as I write this, I realize that I'm doing exactly what Steve said was "stupid" in his most recent blog post. LOL

I don't think so. There's venting and complaining, and then there's talking things out -- writing or speaking so that you can hear your thoughts outside the bones of your head.

Venters and whiners just spew out their gunk to get rid of it, thinking they're easing their load by putting it outside of themselves, but bone-talkers actually listen to and evaluate what they're saying, so that they may transform it into something that works better.

I think you're being a bone-talker.

[James81]

Originally Posted by Angela

I don't think so. There's venting and complaining, and then there's talking things out -- writing or speaking so that you can hear your thoughts outside the bones of your head.

Venters and whiners just spew out their gunk to get rid of it, thinking they're easing their load by putting it outside of themselves, but bone-talkers actually listen to and evaluate what they're saying, so that they may transform it into something that works better.

I think you're being a bone-talker.

Maybe you're right.

I just filled out a FAFSA to see what kind of financial aid I could get to go back to school.

I also just wrote out a one page list for myself of some specific actions I can take to get to where i want to be. Filling out the FAFSA was one of them.

[SatvikBeri]

Originally Posted by James81

Thanks for the reply.



My motivation in the past has always been based on fear of some fashion...put it off til the last minute until NOT doing it will actually create some sort of pain in my life.

A subtlety, here.

You need GOALS based off of what you DO want. But you necessarily need MOTIVATION based off what you do want. It's perfectly fine to have "away" motivation be your strongest source of motivation.

Shifting your motivation source is rather difficult and takes a lot of time. It can be worth it, but don't set it up as a precursor to your more important goals.

[James81]

Interesting thing happened to me at work today.

For as long as I can remember, I've always had trouble being on time for work. Didn't matter whether I was working an evening shift in college or working at my current job during the day. In the evenings, however, it was more like 5 to 15 minutes chronically late. At my current job, it's gotten way worse than that. It's starting to get to the point where I'm late as much as a half a day.

And the job is such that it's a HUGE process to fire someone and there's this long list of things to go through before termination, so my boss has always been pretty lax in just "giving me warnings" about straightening up and getting it taken care of. The "punishment" for being late at this job...to this point...has been me being forced to use vacation time for the time that I am late (which, in other words, means I'm using 90% of my leave just to compensate for my lateness).

Today, however, after showing up like 4 hours late, he brings me into his office and he says that today is my absolute last warning for being late and after this he's going to be forced to take the process of warnings/reprimands that will eventually lead to me being fired if I don't straighten up.

But he said something that was sort of weird for him to say. I mean, it makes sense in the conversation we were having, but it really *struck* me today.

He looked at me said, "You need to seriously think long and hard this weekend about whether or not you want to work here. I hate that it's coming to this, but I can't let it go on like this. I don't want it to come to this, I'm happy with having you, but you can't continually keep showing up late on a regular basis like this."

But it's that "Think long and hard about whether or not I want to work here" part that has been burning in my mind ever since. I'm already realizing that it's not that I can't get out of bed in the mornings (I can), it's just I don't want to get out of bed to do THIS job. And my lateness in all other areas before this has been to jobs and things I just didn't want to do...or did just to "get by." When it comes to something I'm excited about or want to do (like get up early to travel on vacation for instance), I don't struggle at all to get up.

But now that phrase is in my head. "Think about whether you truly want to work here." And of course, the answer is a resounding NO! But til this point I felt like there was no other choice to "meet my obligations." (child support, insurance for my kids, etc.)

On the flip side, however, there is this feeling inside me like a new door is about to open for me. A new opportunity. And I'm patiently just BEING for now, searching for that opportunity.

That phrase makes me think that that door is going to open this weekend. Or it's going to be made available to me if I'm paying attention.

[Angela]

Congratulations! Pay attention!!! And if you don't find a door, make one!

[danas]

Here's my advice: Think BIG.
No, I mean even bigger, think HUGE!
I find that very few people do. The ones who do are the ones who succeed.

[James81]

Originally Posted by Angela

Congratulations! Pay attention!!! And if you don't find a door, make one!

Heh, yeah, I can definately feel like it's one of those things that I'm going to have to MAKE a door for. I've been feeling that for a while (as in, I don't feel like the direction for me to go in is out of this job into another one, but, rather, starting and creating my own business).

The resounding "issue" with that has always been...WHAT do I do. I have a diverse array of interests. I have a variety of idea that I think will make me happy. And when faced with the choice of which of those ideas would make me the happiest, it's a bit tricky to pinpoint. The one I always came back to, time and time again, is my writing. That's something that has always been a part of me, always been a passion of mine, etc. And that opens up a broad array of choices of HOW to go about making a living through writing. Which area suits me best? That kind of thing.

Originally Posted by danas

Here's my advice: Think BIG.
No, I mean even bigger, think HUGE!
I find that very few people do. The ones who do are the ones who succeed.

I like the way you think.

And I'll take this as a clue for the way in which I will approach this issue.

[Lucidism]

Career Jeopardy? I could sleep with your mother full-time, Trebek.

(sorry, couldn't resist)

[James81]

Originally Posted by Lucidism

Career Jeopardy? I could sleep with your mother full-time, Trebek.

(sorry, couldn't resist)

LOL (we need a laughing smiley dammit)

One of my favorite skits from SNL.

[Angela]

If I may ask, if you were being the possibility of being Charisma, Inspiration, and Creativity, and letting go of believing "I'm a bad person," what would your career path look like today? What choices could you make RIGHT NOW, TODAY that would express your new way of being?

And: being your new possibility, how might you approach your current job/boss -- what might be possible with it/him?

[James81]

Originally Posted by Angela

If I may ask, if you were being the possibility of being Charisma, Inspiration, and Creativity, and letting go of believing "I'm a bad person," what would your career path look like today? What choices could you make RIGHT NOW, TODAY that would express your new way of being?

One choice is expressed in my reply to your second question below.

Another choice would be a career path that leads to me being those things THROUGH my writing...one aspect being a website...another aspect being freelance work...and yet another aspect would be through fiction (which was my "first love" of writing).

Originally Posted by Angela

And: being your new possibility, how might you approach your current job/boss -- what might be possible with it/him?

This question sort of made me do an "aha" moment. I keep thinking of this as an "either/or" thing (and have been thinking about it in that frame for a couple weeks now). I keep thinking in terms of "how will those things drive me AWAY from this job."

But now I'm a bit curious as to how I can express those things THROUGH this job...which kind of makes me chuckle to think of being charisma, inspiration, and creativity through engineering work. LOL But the wheels are turning in this aspect...and now instead of viewing it as a "I can't be those things in this job," I will turn my focus to "Ok, while I continue to work this job, I will express those things THROUGH my work." To me that still seems humorous to design with those qualities in mind, but that's where I'll start from for now and see where that line of thinking takes me.

I mean, creativity could really accelerate the job I'm in. It's the "charisma and inspiration" part that makes me laugh, considering the work I'm doing.

[Angela]

Originally Posted by James81

It's the "charisma and inspiration" part that makes me laugh, considering the work I'm doing.

There was this guy in one of my NLP courses who had the ability to look at a 2-D picture of a machine and build a multi-dimensional representation in his mind -- the external and internal parts that make it up, how they interact, what would power it, what exists already and what would have to be invented.

I found that power to be extraordinary, and I said so -- something like, "Wow, that is really something, this power you have. I find it totally inspiring and I would like to have that power, too!" And he gave me the evil eye and asked me if I was making fun of him. He figured everyone had that ability -- that everyone thought in that way -- and that I was messing with him and belittling him for talking about it.

It took some doing to communicate to him that how he used his brain was totally inspiring, even magical, to me -- and that I saw it as kind of a super-power. He kept saying, nah, it's nuthin', anyone can do this, and finally he got it through his thick skull that he was inspiring me tremendously just by being who he is, and using his noggin in his own special, constructive, imaginative, entertaining, brilliant way. I think sometimes you engineer types know you're smart, but you don't realize how charismatic you can be simply by sharing your superpower with the rest of us.

[James81]

Originally Posted by Angela

I think sometimes you engineer types know you're smart, but you don't realize how charismatic you can be simply by sharing your superpower with the rest of us.

There's the crux of my current position.

Up until about a year ago, I believed that I was introverted and shy and anti-social. And, well, Engineers seem to have that market cornered for the "leave me alone while I solve this ingeniously difficult design problem and figure out a way to make it work."

The part of my current job that I dislike the most is how "to themselves" most everybody is. There's a handful of people here that I've discovered are a bit more social, and I kinda gravitate towards them because, well, the truth is I'm a bustling extravert and thrive on social interaction.

And, while I believe that I can be who I am in this environment (I can flip flop this perspective and be more extraverted, charismatic, etc. in my career), I don't feel like it's the BEST environment to cultivate it. But it IS a great testing ground for developing these qualities in more depth. It's also inspired me to seek out inventive ways to meet people OUTSIDE of work (something I was never good at before). I see the benefit in putting myself in this environment in order to cultivate a "make it happen" attitude instead of just sitting around waiting for things to happen.

The moral of the story is, I AM smart, I do think on more logical terms (i.e. the engineer type), but I don't consider myself to BE an "engineer type."

[InterfaceLeader]

I believe there is a market for short-fiction again, sold digitally, as long as it's entertaining. The old short-story magazines are long dead, but it seems the e-book readers and ipads and iphones must be a good platform for this?

I'm sure it must be possible for some good writers to make a living selling well-marketing, professional pdf storybooks.


I do think the big publishing industry is kind of dead, but there is a lot of exciting stuff.


James81 - I love reading, so I'll make you a deal. Write a short story, or sell a PDF with a short story you've already written and I'll buy it (well, unless it's like $2 million or something! Let's say an upper price limit of 20 bucks.)

You have your first customer. I'm sure there are more people like me who grew up reading sci-fi and fantasy magazines and want another easy source of creative but short fiction.

[ellie]

Originally Posted by danas

Here's my advice: Think BIG.
No, I mean even bigger, think HUGE!
I find that very few people do. The ones who do are the ones who succeed.

Love that quote!

My advice from taking the leap into doing something I thought I might really enjoy, is to just do it

Best thing I ever did.

The problem I have though is being a perfectionist, which is something I really battle with. It means I am a lot slower in getting things "out there".

[James81]

Originally Posted by InterfaceLeader

I believe there is a market for short-fiction again, sold digitally, as long as it's entertaining. The old short-story magazines are long dead, but it seems the e-book readers and ipads and iphones must be a good platform for this?

I'm sure it must be possible for some good writers to make a living selling well-marketing, professional pdf storybooks.


I do think the big publishing industry is kind of dead, but there is a lot of exciting stuff.


James81 - I love reading, so I'll make you a deal. Write a short story, or sell a PDF with a short story you've already written and I'll buy it (well, unless it's like $2 million or something! Let's say an upper price limit of 20 bucks.)

You have your first customer. I'm sure there are more people like me who grew up reading sci-fi and fantasy magazines and want another easy source of creative but short fiction.

Thanks for this. This helped me more than you might know, actually.

And when you say short story, how short are we talking here?

Are you talking like a quick-n-dirty kinda thing (like 10 to 20 pages max) or like novella kinda story that's about half the size of a novel?

I DO have a novel all teed up in queue. I queried it a bunch last year to traditional publishers and lately I've been thinking about self-publishing it somehow.

[InterfaceLeader]

Well, I'm not an expert, just an avid reader really - but I think you could get away with a novella as long as it caught people up quickly.

I don't think you could get away with a dense wordy novel like Lord of the Rings or War & Peace; but I could be wrong.

I think the key would have to be to capture people instantly (we all know what digital crack is like) but I used to read fanfiction very regularly online and there were plenty of novel-length stories that captivated me.

I'd also think shorter works would be a less risky way to test out various marketing techniques, presentation methods etc. I'd think a novel represents a serious investment of your time, and you might want to wait until you have all the kinks worked out and a bit of a reputation before selling that.

Again, not an expert, but I hope it sparks some good thoughts for you

[James81]

I've honestly been dancing around this idea for a while now which is why your comment struck me today. I think it's time to make a door.

[Angelique]

Why aren't you writing your stories RIGHT NOW???

[James81]

Haha it's been a crazy weekend.