Fascinating read. Some thoughts.
1. American Idol. I was always amazed at how stunned the show’s losers were. I have NEVER EVER expected fabulous, dream-like success in a dream field to fall into my lap, and I wonder what kind of person is AMAZED that he or she is not the next Taylor Swift or Frank Sinatra.
2. The septic tank story was good, but you ABSOLUTELY KNEW it would end in a crude, scatological reference that makes 14 year old boys the world over bust out in uncontrolled laughter. Cheap and unnecessary.
3. The trades. The problem with the trades is this: 90% of them don’t pay a damn thing, UNLESS you are an entrepreneur and start your own gig. I’d give my left arm to leave this scummy little cube and go into the trades, but I am not an entrepreneur (they are rare and special people) and if I went into the trades, I’d soon be reduced to eating grubs that I hunted down, naked, in the forest.
What he is ultimately saying is:
Know yourself, and to your own self be true (do not lie to yourself).
Clint Eastwood, playing Dirty Harry said it another way:
“A man has to know his limitations.”
I am good at math and science, but I am not passionate about them. I made a good living as a scientist for my career, and retired with a decent pension, partly because I learned the magic of compound interest when I was eight years old.
Now I follow my passion, writing, because I can afford to. It is nice to get paid for it, but if I had to live on what I earn as a writer, well.. it is less than minimum wage!
Cheap and unnecessary
“2. The septic tank story was good, but you ABSOLUTELY KNEW it would end in a crude, scatological reference that makes 14 year old boys the world over bust out in uncontrolled laughter. Cheap and unnecessary.”
Here’s the story:
“On Dirty Jobs, I remember a very successful septic tank cleaner, a multi-millionaire, who told me the secret to his success:
“I looked around to see where everyone else was headed,” he said, “And then I went the opposite way. Then I got good at my work. Then I began to prosper. And then one day, I realized I was passionate about other people’s crap.”
I have a long time friend who was a plumber for many years. He used to always get a laugh out of people when he’d say “Your s**t is my bread and butter!” He is a good plumber, but his passion is all things firearms related. So, he worked hard as a plumber, saved up, and opened a very successful pawn shop about 5 years ago. Now, he gets to do all the gun trading he wants, and if he wants to try out a ‘new’ firearm or test out a new cartridge load, he has employees who can run the shop while he heads over to the shooting range to play for a while.
The thing is, he definitely IS talented in a trade as a plumber and was (is) his own boss, so he’s sucessful.
Apparently you have no actual knowledge of the “trades”.
Mike Rowe is Mr. Common Sense. Those whom he was speaking to would do very well in life if they followed his advice.
The Idol contestants that were stunned to find out they couldn’t sing always amazed me too. Did they never sing before any family members? Did the family members lie to them? How can you assume you’re a great singer?