> Funny you should mention it. We were at a family gathering last night and > my sister in law was saying how people for Arthur Anderson and > her work very > hard. I mentioned that I have been self employed for sixteen years which > can only be considered hard work. She said I didn't have a clue.
A few years ago I had decided to keep my S. California home, which my kids grew up in, and rent it out. My younger sister (until recently an Exec VP for City Of Hope Cancer Research, Pasadena, CA - on sabbatical now), mouthed off and said it was a very risky move to rent a home 3,000 miles away. "What if you lose your job and the tenants are not paying rent?", she demanded. "You would lose everything!" Then said I, "Glenda, I do not have a job to lose. I have clients all across the USA and in Puerto Rico. I get checks several times a week from my clients, multiple paychecks if you will. I pick my clients carefully, work when I want, if I want to take time to do something special, I just do it. I punch nobody's time clock. I can cover my personal and business bills and expenses, drive decent vehicles, have 2 nice homes, and sleep easy at night. If I were to "get fired" by a client (never have) I would simply go out and get another one. With over 20,000 auto dealerships in the USA it is easy to find new business. I have a low overhead, and am well protected with various insurance policies." Boy, did she have a hissy fit over that one, and told me it was time for me to get serious about life. She went on about how I ought to get a "real job" like everyone else, start taking my responsibilities more seriously, that I needed to get benefits (Lynda gets those for us), etc. My response was that "unlike my siblings" I had just put two kids through college, they graduated with no student loan debt, I paid cash throughout their years in University for their tuition, books, paid cash for their College Cars, paid all fuel, insurance and maintenance costs, made certain they had spending money, etc., - all without going to our own parents for any financial help whatever. I then asked where I had failed anyone, begged her to point out the part of failure I was not seeing. I did not even get into the difference me "playing seriously for a living vs having "a job" as she put it. Gawd, what a tirade... All I could do in the end was smile, nod politely, and tell her I would take her recommendations under consideration (for about negative 2 seconds). So, yep, irresponsible me. For nearly 16 years I have been at this game, and full time with commercial applications my clients rely on since 2001. As it turns out the tenants in the S California home have had a real tough time of it financially over the past year. The wife (36 years old) has cervical cancer, and it looks bad. She has not been able to work for over a year, and her treatments have not been helping much lately. They are not able to keep up with their rent. Luckily I have "a job" that provides me enough revenue to be able to cut them a lot of slack. I really do not want to boot a family of 5, with 2 young children, out into the street when they are already getting kicked in the chops with one of life's cruelties. They have no safety net with either set of parents, and the rental price is substantially below market value - so moving to a smaller place will end up costing them more than renting our house out there. Lord, if I had a "job" where I had to beg for a 4% increase each year, instead of hustling a bit more and picking up additional revenue, I would have had no choice but have them leave long ago. Sure, it is not my responsibility to support them in this manner, but I do have a conscience, the ability to help, and can only hope someone would be so kind to others I care about if they are so challenged in the future. It makes things a bit tight for Lynda and I, but we feel good that we are able to help. So, lately it is really more for the ability to take the high road for this fine family that I am now so glad I am self-employed. But, as others who are self-employed in this group will say, it is no easy thing unto itself. It takes discipline, and what others deem to be hard work, and loooong hours. If I did not LOVE what I did I would be miserable. I have escaped being inside the white collar corporate culture, and am now picking up the wasted crumbs they push off the table - lots of them <g>, and gladly help my clients gain terrific value for each dollar they invest in me... An aside, I called a gal I have known for over 25 years for her birthday the other week. Lynda and I like to call her at least once a year so she does not feel she has been abandoned by all her friends (very opinionated person, to an extreme, pushes anyone close to her away in time). After all the niceties, and catching up, out of nowhere she said, "Gilbert I am so disappointed you have not lived up to your potential. You were such an excellent manager, and could have really made something of yourself had you just stayed with it." Geez! What have I done wrong to deserve getting slammed like that twice in one lifetime? I was more gentle with her than my own sister with my response, thanked her for her concern, then after hanging up told Lynda I really did not want to call her again. Yep, me the miserable old failure is no longer good enough to speak with her I guess. Some folks are just destined to never understand. Yep, me, I did not live up to my potential. Hmmm... When I was 17 I made a conscious decision to get to the point in life where I would be working for a hobby. I pretty much accomplished that (other than not being independently wealthy, yet), and am very pleased with how things have turned out thus far. Why would anyone try to pass judgment on my lifestyle other than out of ignorance or jealousy? Screw it, I don't plan to change my direction, and fully expect to work, er, I mean "play" until the day I drop dead at my keyboard (or get zapped irreversibly with that new fangled mind-to-text interface device from Logitech coming out in 2024 <g>). Gil > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Jeff Johnson > Sent: Monday, March 26, 2007 10:01 AM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: RE: [NF] What's this nonsense about retiring from IT? > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > On Behalf Of Whil Hentzen (Pro*) > > Sent: Sunday, March 25, 2007 11:20 AM > > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Subject: [NF] What's this nonsense about retiring from IT? > > > > Regarding the recent "life after VFP" thread... folks generally fell > > into two camps. The first was those young'uns who are still depending on > > their folks to drive them to work each day, and whose primary concern, > > after the "VFP issue", is who to ask to junior prom. > > > > The second is the group who anxiously waits by the mailbox each month > > for their copy of AARP magazine so they can clip the coupons in the back > > for the 'all you can gum' dinner special down at the local Ponderosa. > > These are the folks who having been whining about trying to eek out a > > few more years before retiring. > > > > Retiring? Com'on! > > > > Seriously. > > > > Maybe my view is skewed, given my status as self-employed since the > > early 80s. But I don't ever plan on 'retiring'. I love what I do, and > > plan on doing it until I keel over on top of my keyboard. Why 'retire'? > > What would I do then? As far as I'm concerned, I'm already doing what > > I'd do if I was retired. That I get paid doing it is a happy > coincidence. > > > > Why would you work at a job that you don't enjoy? > > > > What are YOU going to do when you retire? Why not do that now? > > > > Whil > > > > Funny you should mention it. We were at a family gathering last night and > my sister in law was saying how people for Arthur Anderson and > her work very > hard. I mentioned that I have been self employed for sixteen years which > can only be considered hard work. She said I didn't have a clue. > I have no > idea what it means to work hard. I thought about it for a while and, like > you, I love what I do and must make hard work look easy. > > One of my customers actually thought I was retired. ;^) > > I will continue my lifestyle until I am unable. There is no > reason to leave > something you love to "retire". > > Jeff > > Jeff Johnson > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > 623-582-0323 > Fax 623-869-0675 > > > --- StripMime Report -- processed MIME parts --- > multipart/signed > text/plain (text body -- kept) > application/x-pkcs7-signature > --- > > [excessive quoting removed by server] _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: [email protected] Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
