User:Flydpnkrtn/Quotes

Quotes that I find interesting:
Burning out at Work

I'm a very busy individual with peaks and valleys -- I go from 80 hour weeks for 3 months to 5 hour weeks for 3 months (on purpose). I see a lot of people in my fields burn-out regularly, and I wonder if it really has to do with workload, or if it has to do with a lot of other secondary causes. For me, the closest I came to burn-out was during a time of my life when my workload wasn't excessive (maybe 20 hours a week of billable labor and 20 hours a week of secondary support work). The workload was feeling stressful, but it was everything else in my life that was really having an effect that I didn't realize. I vented at the job, but it was carryover from other problems. I had a house that was too big ("housing prices always go up!" they said). I had big new cars that we replaced too often ("never buy anything on credit that depreciates"). I didn't take time to congregate with family and real friends -- my only friends were either employees, customers, or people in my field of work. I didn't take time to really have a vacation -- vacating from "reality." I wanted the newest toys, and I wanted them before others ("bragging rights.") My relationship with my significant other was cluttered with just that -- clutter. We had junk everywhere, and when we got our big 4 bedroom home, we had to fill it with more clutter or it felt empty. That clutter around me ended up cluttering my thought process peripherally, adding to the stress.

So what did I do? I downsized the clutter (physical, emotional and labor) and upsized the real personal time. I don't discuss business or politics or religion with my real friends and family -- instead we talk about reality, the now, the past. I "fired" a few of my worst customers who never seemed to pay on time but always called with this or that emergency. Sure, the billable rate was great, but the peripheral stress didn't balance out. I sold my home (and bought a few mobile homes throughout the regions I work and vacation in). I sold all 3 new cars and bought 2 used cars. We sold almost all our possessions except for our books and heirlooms (including all our technology, clothing, household goods, etc), and when we moved into our tiny 2 bedroom home, we bought new items that would last until our grandchildren would inherit them.

Now life is much easier. Work never stresses me, even when deadlines happen. I don't feel like I have to worry about traveling or spending time with my aging parents or younger siblings. I am able to really work on building real friendships of honesty and caring. My relationship with my significant other is so much better because we actually have time for one another, not for the junk and clutter we used to have. I actually work MORE now than I ever have, but I still have time for myself and for others.

Many of my old friends are burning out right now -- a few of them are millionaires who can't keep a grasp on living for today. I'd say a huge percentage of them are in major debt (50%+ of their gross income), some are living way beyond their means even though they're in the top 5% earning bracket. They hate their job, their spouses, their kids, their homes, their cars, and their lives -- because there is just too much. Where do they vent it? At work -- the place they spend 8-10 hours a day invested in. Their offices are clutter piles, their cars are messes, and their face and eyes show it.

If an outsider met them, they'd say that they work too much. They wouldn't blame the (leased) BMWs, the (mortgaged) McMansion, or the (on-credit) Armani sunglasses. They'd not even notice that they're living 1 person to a bedroom and practically 1 person to a bathroom, whereas historically we've seen the average around 2:1 on both, even 3:1 in some cases. They don't realize that the more you have, the more your mind is occupied on some level with all that stuff. On top of all that overhead, they're also paying probably 40-50% of their gross income to all the various government taxes, fees and costs. That's something most forget about.

Downsize your life outside of work, and you'll be surprised how much happier you'll be at work. A happy worker is one who is the most efficient, has the best job security, the strongest opportunity to advance, and even the greatest chance of attracting the interest of competitors in using your talents. It isn't your work that is killing you, it is your life outside of work. If you're a type-A personality that always has to keep busy, find time to de-busy yourself. My recommendation? Have one day a week with NO technology -- no TV, no radio, no iPod, no laptop, no cell phone. Try it. We have a "minimalist" room (the bedroom) with two lamps and a buzz alarm. That's it. It's great and lets me hide out from all the noise and clutter that still creeps in on occasion.

Anyone else go through a life-altering experience, and realize it wasn't your job that was the problem?

--from http://it.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=210302&cid=17135920

Real Estate Investing

Dude; It must suck to be you! I’m speechless. How did you get these loans? I’m also a web designer. I bought my first house in San Diego in 1999, I kept roomates in it to save on the 1500/mo mortgage which got me through the years. I sold it in 2005 for a hefty profit. I now have the money in CD’s paying 5% interest. I now rent while awaiting the crash. I didn’t make a million had I bought several homes in 1999 I wish I had but I bought my home to live in and had no idea that the price would triple in 5 years.

I really don’t have any advice for you. Maybe return the keys to the banks and bail to Mexico? If I were you I’d take off any identifying information on your blog. Your financial statement is especially going to hang you…just take down the blog.

--from http://iamfacingforeclosure.com/20/i-am-22-million-in-debt/#comment-267

Talent

People who have talent don't get rich.

People who organize talent get rich.

Since most of us on slashdot are havers, rather than organizers, we sense this as some sort of deep injustice, or dark irony. But really it's just a practical necessity. The organizers are the ones with the power to determine who gets paid what, so they naturally pay themselves the most. If you want that money, then become an organizer instead. -Anonymous Coward on Slashdot.org

BGolden on franchising Navica vs. Rolling my Own

Regarding franchising or pursuing the Southwest market, I'd encourage you to go for it on your own. I don't necessarily think the Navica name is necessary for you to start a business, and clearly you have some ideas about what your target market is. The topic of open source is busting open, and I think you've got great opportunity in front of you. -Bernard Golden

The Mayonnaise Jar and 2 Cups of Coffee

When things in your lives seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him.

When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls.

He then asked the students if the jar was full.

They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly.

The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full.

They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.

He asked once more if the jar was full.

The students responded with an unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand.

The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor as the laughter subsided,

"I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.

The golf balls are the important things--your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions--and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car. The sand is everything else--the small stuff.

"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls."

"The same goes for life."

If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.

Play with your children.

Take time to get medical checkups.

Take your spouse out to dinner.

Play another 18.

There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal.

Take care of the golf balls first--the things that really matter.

Set your priorities.

The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

-Forwarded email from work

Stanley Krute said...

I started work at MS in 1986, and worked on and off until 1997.

In 1986 the company employed 1500 people.

In 1989 I worked on Windows UI for a brief period. I think the company was up to 4 or 5000 people at that point.

Even then one could see that what MS did to IBM would eventually happen to MS, and that they would grow to become what they once laughed at.

Too bad. Vista is a bloated baroque thing that adds some kernel security and eye candy at the cost of doubling a machine's RAM and adding a high-end graphics chip.

If Ubuntu or another Linux can solve some of their remaining networking, graphics, and setup issues, they've got a major opening.

--from http://www.drizzle.com/~lettvin/2006/11/windows-shutdown-crapfest.html

Only 4 jobs prepare someone to be President

In U.S. history people from following classes have been elected President:

1. State Governors 2. Vice-Presidents 3. U.S. Congressional Representatives 4. Generals 5 (almost never, but once in a century or so) a U.S. Senator

This means that the following people will NOT be elected President in 2008:

Bill Gates Condoleeza Rice Rudy Guliani

and the following people have a real chance only if their opponent is also a U.S. Senator:

John Kerry Hillary Clinton John McCain John Edwards --from http://politics.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=209182&cid=17058484