February 8, 2017 – Where are you in life?  Where do you live?

Today’s question:

“If you could live your life backwards, what would you do differently?”

          Me? I would have quit a lot more jobs – even if my telephone and electricity got disconnected.  That was and is still my first impression. 

          As I mull it over, I also think on many jobs I would have just put in enough work and effort to stay employed and mimic the employees that were fawned over by management – the tardy ones, the ones that took too many breaks, the ones that produced substandard work, the lazy ones, the complainers, the ones that cut out early for lunch, came back late, and then snuck out early at the end of the day.  Often they would call in sick because they had a hangnail or something frivolous and would be seen by fellow workers shopping or having lunch with their friends just down the block from the office.  Or maybe try to be like those that never actually put in any of the work when it came to “teamwork” however, they sure took the glory.

          NAY – I can’t see me doing anything like the latter paragraph as I have more dignity and work ethic inscribed on my soul.  But, I did sum up what I have seen in the workplace and had to put up with for 45 years.

          I suffered in silence in more jobs than you can imagine.  I was taught to give it the “college try” . . . give it your all . . . try to fit in . . . you can’t change world . . . you are entry level you have to work hard to get to the top . . . . On and on and on I got the pep talk from family, friends and husband.

          When I finally smartened up – I forced someone to fire me but it was toward the end of my working career.  However, it was my salvation.  I had been treated like a slave in that job.  It was liberating.  So, yes, I did burn a few bridges and sometimes you have to burn a few bridges before you get your head on straight and can go forward.

          Now I think how does one know what they want to do for a living when they are in high school and need to make those decisions?  I took aptitude tests that were supposed to channel what you were capable of doing well in “jobs” that were out there.  Oh, that was when they started to actually call them “careers”.

          Well things have changed – technology has gotten in the loop and now everyone is expected to work 24/7 because they are attached to their smart phone yet they are not paid for the actual hours they put in.

          Friends my age still in the work force moan about this on call 24/7 and they say – “When am I going to have a life?”

          When I was on the road as Marketing Director for a major Title Insurance Company I was basically ON DUTY at all times.  I worked way into the night in my motel room on my laptop to set up training and answer questions, etc. by email.  It wasn’t a 10 hour day – it was often a 16 or 18 hour day most days.  Was that really fair?  Was I making one and one-half the salary of a straight 9 to 5 job holder?  NO.

          Then I jumped into my own entrepreneurial situation – and I worked harder than I ever worked in my life.  Sometimes I would fall into bed at 2:00 a.m. in the morning.  My company consumed my entire life and almost sucked the air out of me.  The only thing that saved me was the traditional ebb and flow of the real estate market.  The imbecile theory of “must close at the end of the month” because the young people could not afford the daily interest rate multiplied out for a few weeks added to the closing statement.

          My theory on that – if you can’t afford 21 days of mortgage interest slapped on a closing statement buying your dream home – you can’t afford to buy it.

          I used to make a flippant remark and never got anyone to take me up on it.  If we close between the 3^rd and the 15^th of the month – I’ll reduce our closing fees.  I never got a single taker.  No one even asked “why?”  If I had a chance to explain it – they might have figured it out as a cost savings and a stress reducer.

          It is a moot point now – I am out of the business.

          I imagine many of you out there are feeling the same abused way.  If you are not – then continue on in your wonderful career as you have made a great career choice.  

Me, I never really found many job choices.  I usually took the only job I could find after 6 or 8 months of looking.  My favorite line of why I wasn’t hired . . . “you are over qualified; you’ll only stay with us until you find something better”.  HA!

          But, this little blog is to let you know - when you retire – you have left that all behind and you get to channel your energies on yourself and your present life.

          Entering retirement is exactly like changing jobs or making a challenging career move.  You have to look at all the aspects clearly and make a balance sheet – what is a pro and what is a con.

          I will make one suggestion for you as you decide – if you are near retirement age.  Please read Alexandra Stoddard’s book “Time Alive – Celebrate your life everyday”.   Then think about it again and scrutinize those “yes” and “no” columns.

          Someone, a savvy business man, used a subtle yet powerful phrase on me once that made me gasp out loud because it was so moving. 

“What do I need to do to get you into the “yes” column?”