The Forums › Forums › The Workplace › Other › Poll: How do you support yourself financially? › Re: Poll: How do you support yourself financially?
Anonymous
I spent my working career at a major telecommunications company in western Canada. I worked my way up from being a lineman to Corprate Policy Analyst/Business Development Planner. I’m retired (10 yrs) from that, and have been working in High Performance Harley shops since retirement, where I design high performance Harley engines and chassis….just retired from that last year and now I do that work out of my own shop (garage)…..it has been my life long passion my other career I did as a mercenary $$$$$ for my time!!!
A major key for me was landing in a business/organization that allowed me to move change positions every two to three years…always different….three years was my stagnation time…..I had to move on or I would just start to stagnate, lose interest…lose my drive, my motivation, and to linger would have not been good for me, or my ADD stimulus seeking brain! I was often an extremely high performer….but ….not for them……it was for ME!!!! Nice little side benefit……the Corporation? Boss “du jour” seemed to like it too!!! BUT…..I did it for me!!!
As for retirement work…it is not work…..it is pure passion….and as Mark Twain said…”work is that which a body is obliged to do”….
In short, I attribute my success (what I call success) to a few things…..
1. I learned intimately who I was…and maybe more important, who I wasn’t.
2. I investigated, studied learned and understood why I was different and what that meant……in the world and society in general.
3. I accepted and embraced the difference….and came to understand what those differences meant.
4. I came to understand that although I looked like most other people, spoke the language of the population I am/ and was a totally different creature…with physical similarities to the majority of the people in society.
5. Finally I figured out that they (the Linear People) would never ever see, do, or even be able to contemplate who I was, how I processed, knew or gathered the information that I had, nor could they grasp my work cycles, or vision, insight or ability to see past present or future patterns.
My challenge was to to bring who I was to their table (they own it), and present (whatever it was) in a manner and format that they could grasp and relate to…….once done…..everything took flight….just like it should. The converse was also true…..until I did that life, work career…most everything was difficult……very difficult. So the key is/was…..understanding, I am not them…never will be…..can’t be…….won’t be ….it is hurtful and crippling!! As I said, I look like them, can communicate with them, dress like them, and share some similar traits with them….and often pass for one of them…….but, I’m not!!! I know that, I know how to work/function among them…..and communicate with them…….but that is where it ends!!!
That’s how a I have navigated my way through the Linear World…..well…. it a seriously condensed version actually but there it is.
Yes….Ash…good ADD partners might be a very interesting topic…
Toofat
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