I’m not sure if I need any Do-Over’s in my life… but from time to time, my brain tells me I might have been a tad bit more careful when picking some roads I’ve traveled down.
For example: The road of computer science as my college major.
I’ve told a number of people that knowing what I know now about what the degree entails, etc, that I probably would have been happier taking Computer Engineering. But the truth is, that had I done this though, I probably would not have started a company (for numerous reasons). And I like to think that JR Computer Associates, is a childhood dream come true.
But from time to time, I go down even larger roads where I have strange passions that I happily hid behind my computer science mask.
I have a strange love of finance. I love the numbers. I love the statistics. I love reading about how people run their businesses. To that end, the stock market is one of the few things I check daily…  I’m not talking about checking things like the price of the Dow or Nasdaq… I go much more in depth… I read up on specific portions of the market (lately mostly about natural gas companies that have high dividend yields (most of which are known as Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs) because of their business model)).  I love getting into a sector and trying to understand what’s driving it. What if I had gotten my degree in finance, business, or econ? Can you imagine that Justin?
I also have a strange love of law. My mom says I love to argue. My grandma tells me I should be a lawyer. I love reading the sides to an argument. I also think law is one of the few paths that work to get into politics (strange)… which, while I don’t have a passion for politics, I do have a strange passion to want to change things that require political involvement.
But I could never imagine myself studying enough to be a lawyer… I’m not a memorizer, I’m a computer.
But can you imagine if Justin had become a lawyer?
It’s one of the few things I love about my day-to-day job now… I work with a wide array of businesses… Marketers, Lawyers, Doctors, Stock Brokers, Government Entities… All of which give me a great insight into how these things work.
But still… My brain like’s to play What-If games far to often. In fact, it might be my greatest flaw.
How’s that for a weird post?
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Ditto.
I have had four separate careers in my adult life. The average for an adult was six career changes last I checked. I like to think of career choices as “what should I do first?” It is great to analyze our gifts and interests. Sometime as a business owner we are able to morph our business to include many interests as you have done, even taking our business down a completely new path. Other times it is great to become an employee for awhile, or to go back to school or gain education from volunteerism. I love to be a dreamer, set goals, track my success and plan the next endeavor. It keeps life exciting and if we are fortunate, we end up living our passion.
I too sometimes think about what could have or might have turned out differently. In fact Natalie just asked me this question. In the end however, I’m glad for the decisions I’ve made, and decide not to dwell on those that could have been different. After all we can’t change them…yet 😉
I love you just the way you are. You have been blessed with many gifts. The journey is sure to be an exciting adventure!
Hi Justin,
You should be coming up on your 62 birthday, Hooray Social Security, Oops, I can’t live on $1162.00/month. Now what do I do.
As a Professional Headhunter, I have seen many career professional with many degrees, who still don’t know how to figure it out. So congrats on being where you are
Charlie
see you next week