11 comments

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  Curmudgeon

  1 year ago

  Steve, I appreciate the relatively easy money and low stress of the consulting gig. But at some point before you finish, you're going to ask yourself "What are my limits?" (or more positively, "What am I capable of?"). Perhaps you think you are over that after your years on the Big 6 circuit, but the need to test yourself will arise again. That's not to say that either of the other opportunities today are the answer to that question, but you should start analyzing these opportunities as they arise to determine which one offers the challenge you will need at some point.
  
  I've been through several economic slumps, and I continue to be amazed at how much opportunity is available in a weak economy (in fact, I personally seem to have much greater opportunity in a weak economy than a strong one). I am convinced that things are never as bad as the media makes them out to be, nor as good as they are protrayed duing a supposedly strong economy.
  
  But the opportunities presented to you today did not happen in a vacuum, but are rather a local inflection point that you laid the groundwork for over a number of years. With a varied and robust resume, a network culled over multiple employers and clients in different fields, a personable and professional demeanor, and likely a reputation for taking on difficult or unwanted jobs and doing them well, you have made your own opportunities.
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  AJC @ 7million7years

  1 year ago

  Steve, I had to make similar choices years ago ... as it happens, I lucked out. But, part of that 'luck' stemmed from first realizing that if my 'product' is my time (as in 40 hours a week for salary, or 40 hours a week billable time) then my supply - hence income - is limited:
  
  http://7million7years.com/2008/04/24/what-is-th...
  
  Of course, you still need to bring some bucks in the door ... multiple mouths to feed, and all that :) AJC.
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  Ron@TheWisdomJournal

  1 year ago

  It's great to have options, isn't it?
  I've got several "spoons in the pot" myself right now. Though I make a very healthy 6 figure income, I'm really not happy with what I do. I want to move more into an entrepreneurial role and have a couple of things working that direction. The biggest problem with having a job is that it gets in the way of actually making the big money.
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  Four Pillars

  1 year ago

  All good things come to an end...
  
  I'm glad you enjoyed the 'baby' article!
  
  Mike
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  AJC @ 7million7years

  1 year ago

  @ Ron - we share the same income! That is, anywhere from $100k to $999k ... I guess that covers quite a slice of middle- to upper-America ;)
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  Steve (Brip Blap)

  1 year ago

  @Ron: And it's taking that jump that's the tough step, isn't it? I could do it - I know I could - but the consulting money is easy and good and time-consuming, and it's hard to shake it off.
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  Steve (Brip Blap)

  1 year ago

  @AJC: You've hit upon my struggle: do I content myself with devoting my time to "pretty damn good" or go for more? It's tough - I have an upper middle class income, an easy consulting gig and no pressure - but I think I could do more.
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  Dana Seilhan

  1 year ago

  Wow. Zopa... looks downright brilliant. It completely makes sense to me now that I've walked through the "learn more" link. See, the borrower has already qualified for a loan. You're not actually lending them anything. You just siphon off a portion of the interest rate you earn off your CD to go to paying off their loan. That's it. You are lending them nothing. This is an even better idea than Prosper. I would say Prosper still has a place for high-risk lenders and for borrowers who don't have good credit, but if a lender doesn't tolerate risk well or if a borrower has good credit, I would totally go with Zopa first.
  
  And hey, what a great way to preserve friendships, right? :)
  
  Don't know what to tell you about the opportunities you have. If I were offered something similar to your present situation and it was guaranteed I'd get it, I'd take it, because my current situation is completely sub-optimal. If you're already in a good situation, though, and you have the chance to be with your kids and so on... I don't know that it really becomes a question of mediocrity versus excellence. Aren't you in an excellent situation now? Is your life really supposed to center around your career? I mean, I don't think you really intend your life to be that way, or you wouldn't be consulting now, but sometimes these things spiral out of control and next thing you know all your time is eaten up.
  
  Dunno, it's a really personal decision to make. Good luck, whatever you choose.
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  Dana Seilhan

  1 year ago

  Oh, and the thing about the homeless person. I have my own weird little thoughts about that. So often the general consensus seems to be, "What an idiot, he shouldn't be so picky, he should be grateful someone's giving him any food at all." Being grateful for whatever someone gives you is a sign of desperation and can set you up for being abused. Is it really too much to ask that in the process of helping the less fortunate, we take our egos out of the equation for thirty seconds, step back, give them some room and let them tell us what they need?
  
  I remember when I first moved to Ohio and things were really shaky for me, a friend of mine gave me his old car. Now this sounds like a really awesome thing to do, and in a way it was, and I know he did it to be kind to me. On the other hand, it was a clunker--I mean, it sounded like a giant Harley when I started the ignition, it put off clouds of white smoke (which, by the way, I learned is worse for your lungs than soot is), and it was finicky and broke down on me several times. I was not making a high income and certainly could not afford extensive auto repairs. He would have been better off selling it for scrap and handing me the money, and so would I have been. I wound up abandoning the car.
  
  And hey, there are sure to be homeless people with food allergies, homeless people with specific religious beliefs about food, homeless people who are diabetic (it never ceases to amaze me how many food charities expect poor people to exist on starch and sugar--how are they ever going to overcome their problems if they're so sick from malnutrition that they can't work?), and so on.
  
  So I would not just hand a homeless person a sandwich. I *would* rather give them the money. If they spend it on drugs, maybe they feel like that's meeting their needs right now better than anything else would. As long as they're not high around random strangers and small children and don't commit drug-related violence, there is no reason I should care.
  
  But I think the best option of all would be to donate to your local homeless shelter. And don't just reserve your pity or compassion or whatever for the kids--at bottom, people are homeless because they do not have a home, and everyone who is down and out deserves the reasonable amount of help. And donating to a shelter means completely ruling out the possibility that the person begging you for spare change isn't a professional panhandler.
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  AJC @ 7million7years

  1 year ago

  Dana ... also, it's the whole "give them a fish" or "hand them a rod and teach them to fish" thing. There was a documentary where a homeless person was handed a briefcase with $100k in it.
  
  Of course, he spent it all within weeks ... back to homeless. Why?
  
  I don't know, but a combination of whatever mind-set made him homeless in the first place, together with a lack of guidance as to what to do with his 'windfall'.
  
  The same thing has happened even with 'rich' people who won a huge payout in the lottery and suddenly became MUCH richer ... it's the 'suddenly' but that usually does them in ...
  
  AJC.
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  Bryan

  1 year ago

  In regards to the dollar plan, it is amazing how many people I know who have big dreams but no goals. When I ask them how they are going to achieve something (i.e. retire at age 30, break a habit), they say something broad, like "I'll work hard". I love the optimism, but we really need goals. I like that plan, because you can track monthly how you are doing with that goal. Thanks for passing it on!
  
  Bryan
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