• Life Advice & Visual Arts Welcome Guest
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules
    🌌 Share Your Dreams! 🌌
    📸 15 Years of Photo Contests 📸
  • LAVA Moderator: Shinji Ikari

Something to think about for those of you who are in the process of choosing a career

L O V E L I F E

L O V E L I F E

Bluelighter
Joined
Aug 2, 2000
Messages
9,523
Location
New York, NY, USA
"Do you really like to play basketball?" . . .

. . . was the question posed to then-New York Knicks' forward Bill Bradley, one night in the 70'a at a post-game reception in Chicago.

"Yes, more than anything else I could be doing now," Mr. Bradley replied.

The man who asked the question then explained the reason he asked.

"I once played the trumpet.

I think I know what you feel.

I played in a little band.

We were good.

We'd play on weekends at colleges.

In my last year, we had an offer to tour and make records.

Everyone wanted to except me."

When Mr. Bradley asked why he chose not to continue playing with the band, the man replied:

"My father thought it wasn't secure enough.

I guess I agreed.

The life is so transient.

You're always on the road.

No sureness that you'll get your next job.

It just doesn't fit into a life plan.

So I went to law school and I quit playing the trumpet, except every once in a while.

Now I don't have time."

"Do you like the law?" Mr. Bradley asked.

"It's okay. But it's nothing like playing the trumpet."
 
<< Point in case of someone who didn't play the trumpet and hates the state of his life.

Truly think about it folks.
 
*raises hand*

I'm in the hate my life (career wise) state too

I'm one of those people who never discovered where their trumpet was. Still looking too.
 
Last edited:
My trumpet got taken away from me by a number of bad decisions I made.....ultimately it was my own greed that caused my downfall.

Now I play another trumpet....it's going to take me a few years to graduate from trumpet school though....
 
You don't have to have your trumpet taken away from you!!!!

NO REALLY...you have have to be willingto sacrifice those things that you sacrificed your trumpet for.

He was right, playing the trumpet WAS less secure

So give up your security huh?
 
^^^ I would, but then I'm me, I've lived pov before, I could live that way my whole life if I was happy...

Still, to think of yourself as old and poor, now that's sad...

What about old and dead. You don't have to live to a ripe old age...

But then, dying young is such a cliche isn't it...

* spits on all of you * =D
 
Last night I sat in a takeaway at 3am and asked an old stoner dude whether I should play the trumpet or not.

He had chosen to play the trumpet and he was gnarled and twisted with bitterness.

He told me not to play the trumpet.

I am trying to find a balance.
 
wtf this trumpet shit is confusing lol.

Anyways i agree to an extent. You shouldnt do something you hate.

But look at me. If it was up to me I would be a HS school gym teacher and coach football. I have thought about doing that but decided against it.

You got to figure things. Im a very smart guy and a hard worker. I have no limit to where i go in life. But I look at it this way.

I can either be a teacher and enjoy my job a lot. But then i would be making 50k a year or so. Not bad but not great either. I would have a Decent house, decent car, etc.

Or I can go into a field that i enjoy (maybe not as much as teaching) and make a lot more money. Would have a Nice house, drive a nice car, have a boat, have a motorcycle, maybe have a beach house, be able to go on vacations a lot, etc.

To me its not worth it to be a teacher. You get what im saying? but i definitly agree dont do something you hate
 
Yeah this is one thing that ive always been thankful for. Its something I have, that very very few people have. My career isnt a job to me, its my passion and my life. What Im doing is something ive only dreamed of being able to do, ever since I was about 5-6 years old. Theres hardly anything I dont like about it. I get super excited about this line of work even.

I know pleanty of people that "like" their jobs. I dont just "like" this shit, its been my lifestyle since I was a wee little tike. To me what I do superscedes sex (Id rather work with computer graphics than fuck 9 hot women simultaneously from dawn to dusk and get paid for it). My passion for my career is something that few people have, or will ever have the opportunity to have, and this, imo, is one of the greatist gifts one can have in life.

Dont get me wrong, I worked my ass off to get into the position im in now! And for anyone to really follow their passions, you will have to do the same.

Or I can go into a field that i enjoy (maybe not as much as teaching) and make a lot more money. Would have a Nice house, drive a nice car, have a boat, have a motorcycle, maybe have a beach house, be able to go on vacations a lot, etc.
Click to expand...

IMO this is exactly how NOT to choose your career. Im not saying anything abotu you man, you sound happy and thats cool. But I knew pleanty of people in college going into more higher-end salaried careers who loathe their jobs now, but still do it for the money/level of living it provides. These people picked their area of academia based on average salaries for employees of that nature. Ive yet to speak to any of these old friends who arent constantly bitching and moaning about how much they hate work. And these people are only in their early-to-mid 20s, I cant imagine how much theyre gonna hate work when theyre 40+! To me, money isnt worth it. And anyone chasing money, posessions, etc, is never gonna be happy. Only way to be 100% happy (as far as a career goes) is to do what you love. (im not saying you cant be happy in life of course, after all, work isnt a human beings be-all end-all of existance, im just saying as far as while your actually @ work...)


Signed,
THE WOOD
Grandmaster technoshaman and
Comptuer Graphics Systems extroidenaire
 
Last edited:
Is it just me or am I the only one who doesn't want a lifelong job or career.

I don't want to become a bum, if thats what your thinking, but I can't see myself being happy punching a clock the rest of my life.

Job security does not nessasarily mean that your retirement will be secure.

I guess I need to quit my secure job (with good benefits) that pays my bills, go back to college to learn how to get out from under an employers foot. I never thought that the things I learned in highschool were preparing me for real life. They only prepared me for a factory job, or low wages.

I will never be happy working all my free time and paying bills and saving a small sum. Is that what most people strive for? A secure job that pays the bills that you don't mind doing for the rest of your life.
 
Most people are a bit to afraid to really fly and do what they wanted to do. So people seek out jobs that fulfill there needs for the moment, like a job that you didn; t have to go to college for, or a job that pays a lot of money.
Imo that is also why the average 20 year old person is so much happier about live than the average 40 year old.
40 year old ppl tend to have made some wrong choices in their live and tend to be to proud to say: "well i didnt like the first part of my live, let's get back to college and study astronomics 'cause that is some really interesting shite"

Im just happy it seems i chose my trumpet, goin to university to become a pharmacist:)
 
I'm still figuring out what i want to do.
thus far, i ended up in grad school in sociology...we'll see how that goes.

ebola
 
^yep. you make your lips vibrate and the trumpet responds. smoothly in a good note, roughly in a sour note; you feel it in your hand and lips. use this plus any rhythm and youve got a decent show. if you love it, you can become great at it.

more to think about if your in the process of choosing a career
 
There is a reason that your job is considered "work". Very few people love what they do, and most people find things outside of their job to motivate them. Anyone that claims to love what they do is fooling themself or full of it (usually). Most things that people do for fun are not the things that can become a career.
I don't love going into work to do taxes for people, but I know I can make a lot of money and, over time, even be able to start working from home for people when I pass the CPA exam. It isn't fun but it could be a lot worse.
Actually when I worked at a bike shop (which I'm now returning to) I didn't mind going into work, but I don't even make enough money there to live on my own. So I could have a job I don't mind, but live with my parents my whole life?
Or I could just ride my bike all day and hope that I get good enough to make a living riding my bike. But there's only a handful of individuals that can do that, and I doubt I could ever be one of them.
Sooner or later, 99.9% of the population will have to make sacrifices in their personal life to devote more and more time to their career. It happens, and you just have to deal with it, and what I've learned is to value my time outside of work more and more.
 
You can still make a lot of money and do something you like. Hell, I know people who practically use accounting textbooks as pornos.
 
Last edited:
Is it possible that one could move to a place that he/she enjoys so much, that it doesn't matter that they're not playing their "trumpet?" It would be great to find a trumpet of some sort, but maybe starting secure and moving to a place where you enjoy the culture and people could be just as satisfying.

Nothing like playing the trumpet, but maybe second best?

This is a head scratcher.
 
You have to realize that at some point, whatever you do for the almight dollar is going to become work, and nothing else. That's why they call it work, and not fun, passion, love, etc. You may think you love your work now, but few people end up feeling like this in the end. You may as well find something you are good at and enjoy doing. People with lots of money and possesions tend to be owned by both of those things. To make a lot fo money takes a good deal of your time, in almost all cases. Sure, you can buy yur boat, motorcycle, Cessna, whatever, but good luck finding time to make use out of these things, especially if you have a family. You will work your fuckin ass off with the illusion, as I see it in many cases, that your upper class lifestyle is really worthwhile.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top