Youare
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I always wondered if you quit the "rat race" are you still a rat?
Randy
Randy
Tired of the rat race....
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Mark_in_NH
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This is called Life !!!
Life is Not Burger King and you Can't have it your way !!!!!!!!!
Unless you are independantly wealthy and can live a life of leasure, doing what ever please you then you will just have to stick it out with the rest of us poor working shmucks !!
Life is Not Burger King and you Can't have it your way !!!!!!!!!
Unless you are independantly wealthy and can live a life of leasure, doing what ever please you then you will just have to stick it out with the rest of us poor working shmucks !!
wroughtn_harv
Super Member
I like what I do. I have more fun than most folks even think about.. I know. They tell me so. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
In my youth I loved the rat race. I think it was the competition.
I haven't made the wisest decisions as far as wealth goes. But then wealth has never meant much to me. Things don't mean much to me.
Don't get me wrong. I like nice things. But I don't seem to ever feel like I have the title, that they're mine. For me it's more like I've got the use for something.
Maybe explaining how I feel about things I've made will help. When I'm done with a project I'll stand there and be just as blown away as the next guy. But for me it's like someone else did it. I was just along for the ride.
It drives my wife crazy that I'll let complete strangers almost borrow expensive equipment or give my competitors my trade secrets. I don't see ideas as proprietary I guess. And tools, like ideas, are to be shared.
The downside of this attitude is there are disappointments, in people, in ideas. The upside is more friends than one can appreciate in a lifetime, peer respect, and the freedom to think without boundries.
I don't know if any of this makes sense. I just know that for my friends and family I wish them the kind of happiness in a relationship that I have with my wife above all else. Next to that I would like them to know the pleasure of working from a creative perspective.
There are a lot of things I would like to do but can't because, because this and because that. But all in all I like my life, I'm having fun, I'm loved, and I've learned to appreciate me even though I'm far from perfect. I guess that was the hardest thing to do.
It would be nice to come into wealth and not have to worry about payment. To just be able to make things, one right after another, each one new, no two alike, maybe not even related. But then again, what makes each project so special is the challenge. Not just the challenge of making it, but making it under the circumstances at hand.
So for me it's the whole package I guess. Darn. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
In my youth I loved the rat race. I think it was the competition.
I haven't made the wisest decisions as far as wealth goes. But then wealth has never meant much to me. Things don't mean much to me.
Don't get me wrong. I like nice things. But I don't seem to ever feel like I have the title, that they're mine. For me it's more like I've got the use for something.
Maybe explaining how I feel about things I've made will help. When I'm done with a project I'll stand there and be just as blown away as the next guy. But for me it's like someone else did it. I was just along for the ride.
It drives my wife crazy that I'll let complete strangers almost borrow expensive equipment or give my competitors my trade secrets. I don't see ideas as proprietary I guess. And tools, like ideas, are to be shared.
The downside of this attitude is there are disappointments, in people, in ideas. The upside is more friends than one can appreciate in a lifetime, peer respect, and the freedom to think without boundries.
I don't know if any of this makes sense. I just know that for my friends and family I wish them the kind of happiness in a relationship that I have with my wife above all else. Next to that I would like them to know the pleasure of working from a creative perspective.
There are a lot of things I would like to do but can't because, because this and because that. But all in all I like my life, I'm having fun, I'm loved, and I've learned to appreciate me even though I'm far from perfect. I guess that was the hardest thing to do.
It would be nice to come into wealth and not have to worry about payment. To just be able to make things, one right after another, each one new, no two alike, maybe not even related. But then again, what makes each project so special is the challenge. Not just the challenge of making it, but making it under the circumstances at hand.
So for me it's the whole package I guess. Darn. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
higgy
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wroughtn_harv,
Well said. I like projects as well. I am lucky as I love my job, it always has new twists. On my free time I grow grass hay, build the things that I need, and build houses with my dad am mom. At 45 I am lucky that both folks are still going strong, and I am as proud of them as a they are of me.
My life is rich with family and friend, not too much money, but I would like to try that as well, for maybe the rest of my life. But as most of people in the world wealth is not in money but where you find it. One of the things that keeps me going is I just love life.
I have worked hard and I owe nothing. Obtain as you can afford and the rat race is not as bad, still a pain but not as bad.
Each project brings new life to me, I see the projet as competition, can I do this and can I do this well.
Its all fun, don't let the media and the sellers dictate what the goal is, and don't buy into the hype, that will get you mostly out of the rat race.
Well that we intersting, I did not mean to go there but my fingers thought this is what I needed to say.
Dane
Well said. I like projects as well. I am lucky as I love my job, it always has new twists. On my free time I grow grass hay, build the things that I need, and build houses with my dad am mom. At 45 I am lucky that both folks are still going strong, and I am as proud of them as a they are of me.
My life is rich with family and friend, not too much money, but I would like to try that as well, for maybe the rest of my life. But as most of people in the world wealth is not in money but where you find it. One of the things that keeps me going is I just love life.
I have worked hard and I owe nothing. Obtain as you can afford and the rat race is not as bad, still a pain but not as bad.
Each project brings new life to me, I see the projet as competition, can I do this and can I do this well.
Its all fun, don't let the media and the sellers dictate what the goal is, and don't buy into the hype, that will get you mostly out of the rat race.
Well that we intersting, I did not mean to go there but my fingers thought this is what I needed to say.
Dane
kensfarm
Veteran Member
One of the best sayings I've heard came from the movie "Jerry McGuire".. Jerry's mentor.. Tricky Dick.. his anwer for to being successful was this..
"To be truthful.. I've failed in life as much as I've succeeded.. but I love my wife.. and I love my life.. and I wish you the very best success"
"To be truthful.. I've failed in life as much as I've succeeded.. but I love my wife.. and I love my life.. and I wish you the very best success"
Life is a gift folks.
Work is a responsibility of life (to you, your family that you support, your coworkers that you assist in their endeavors and the customers, (internal and external) that you are there for in the first place). Work provides the wealth that makes this country chug. It's not ALL flash, this wealth stuff. It is a good thing. It gives us the best hospitals, universities and roads and on and on. These things serve us, and if they weren't here, things would be much harder.
I suggest that the rat race is what we make of it. It is for the most part a system in the machine that is our society. To jump to the fringe in an attempt at a utopia is a choice I suppose, but it is one made at the expense of others, as you will surely still enjoy the benefits that a great society like ours affords (not the least of which is the security that our national defense system provides).
If you find yourself in what I termed the fringe, because you've found something you love and are good at, so be it,.. (I certainly didn’t phrase the last paragraph to accuse anyone of anything) but to seek that place as a refuge from lifelong productivity (not just for yourselves but for others) is selfish.
That said, I wish I’d win that darn power ball!!! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif If I do though, I’ve got some wonderfully productive plans!
Work is a responsibility of life (to you, your family that you support, your coworkers that you assist in their endeavors and the customers, (internal and external) that you are there for in the first place). Work provides the wealth that makes this country chug. It's not ALL flash, this wealth stuff. It is a good thing. It gives us the best hospitals, universities and roads and on and on. These things serve us, and if they weren't here, things would be much harder.
I suggest that the rat race is what we make of it. It is for the most part a system in the machine that is our society. To jump to the fringe in an attempt at a utopia is a choice I suppose, but it is one made at the expense of others, as you will surely still enjoy the benefits that a great society like ours affords (not the least of which is the security that our national defense system provides).
If you find yourself in what I termed the fringe, because you've found something you love and are good at, so be it,.. (I certainly didn’t phrase the last paragraph to accuse anyone of anything) but to seek that place as a refuge from lifelong productivity (not just for yourselves but for others) is selfish.
That said, I wish I’d win that darn power ball!!! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif If I do though, I’ve got some wonderfully productive plans!
rozett
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Back in 2000, I was getting tired of the rat race... the 10-11 hour days, the 20 hour airplane rides, etc. We bought our Maine property as part of our 'plan' to retire after the girls graduated from college. Like others, one day my job was gone. And like others, much of our 'paper' assets evaporated in the market.
So, what I've done is traded one rat race for another. Now we're trying to farm christmas trees, blueberries, and raspberries. A lot of work to get done and trying to do it with a minimum of paid help. Actually have 200 berry plants and 1k trees to get planted in the next week or so. But it is great being outside, no airports, no bosses (other than the wife /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif ) and lots of seat time.
I always had a joke with the girls, that we would put them through college, so that in later years, they could support us in a manner in which we should become accustomed. Maybe now it's time. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
So, what I've done is traded one rat race for another. Now we're trying to farm christmas trees, blueberries, and raspberries. A lot of work to get done and trying to do it with a minimum of paid help. Actually have 200 berry plants and 1k trees to get planted in the next week or so. But it is great being outside, no airports, no bosses (other than the wife /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif ) and lots of seat time.
I always had a joke with the girls, that we would put them through college, so that in later years, they could support us in a manner in which we should become accustomed. Maybe now it's time. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
<font color="blue"> I always had a joke with the girls, that we would put them through college, so that in later years, they could support us in a manner in which we should become accustomed. Maybe now it's time. </font>
Earlier this evening, Betsy and I were discussing our health insurance. We've been self-employed for years, so have had individual coverage. About two years ago, our former carrier, Nationwide, stopped writing health insurance in Florida, so we switched to Mutual of Omaha. Now, they've given us notice they will be withdrawing from the Florida market on October 15. That's just 5 months short of Betsy getting Medicare, and 9 months short for me (she robbed the cradle /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif). They sent us a list of companies who are guaranteed to accept us. We've been checking, and our current premium of $1101 per month (with a $5K deductible) would go to $2,300 per month ($1K deductible).
So, I said, "Maybe we should go naked (without insurance) for 9 months. After all, we have never made a claim on any of our previous policies. All we have to do is continue to not get sick." Betsy said, "But, what if one of us does get cancer or something?" I said, "Heck, we'll just lose everything we have, and then the kids will have to take care of us."
I don't think she appreciated the humor in my statement...
Earlier this evening, Betsy and I were discussing our health insurance. We've been self-employed for years, so have had individual coverage. About two years ago, our former carrier, Nationwide, stopped writing health insurance in Florida, so we switched to Mutual of Omaha. Now, they've given us notice they will be withdrawing from the Florida market on October 15. That's just 5 months short of Betsy getting Medicare, and 9 months short for me (she robbed the cradle /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif). They sent us a list of companies who are guaranteed to accept us. We've been checking, and our current premium of $1101 per month (with a $5K deductible) would go to $2,300 per month ($1K deductible).
So, I said, "Maybe we should go naked (without insurance) for 9 months. After all, we have never made a claim on any of our previous policies. All we have to do is continue to not get sick." Betsy said, "But, what if one of us does get cancer or something?" I said, "Heck, we'll just lose everything we have, and then the kids will have to take care of us."
I don't think she appreciated the humor in my statement...
rozett
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</font><font color="blue" class="small">( So, I said, "Maybe we should go naked (without insurance) for 9 months. )</font>
whew.... I'm glad you qualified that... the thought of... well, nevermind /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Don, you hit the nail on the head. The biggest problem for all of us trying to get out of the rat race is health insurance. Pam is using almost half of her salary to pay for ours. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif And I don't see the problem getting fixed any time soon. The Dem's insist that it be run by the government and the Repub's insist that it not. And both are too stuck on idealogy to see any of us out here suffering. (Not intended to start a political debate) We just couldn't go without insurance.
whew.... I'm glad you qualified that... the thought of... well, nevermind /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Don, you hit the nail on the head. The biggest problem for all of us trying to get out of the rat race is health insurance. Pam is using almost half of her salary to pay for ours. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif And I don't see the problem getting fixed any time soon. The Dem's insist that it be run by the government and the Repub's insist that it not. And both are too stuck on idealogy to see any of us out here suffering. (Not intended to start a political debate) We just couldn't go without insurance.
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