Starting your career over

[philthom]

So last night I was struggling to sleep and decided to read stuff on my phone and leave the tv on when Oprah's finally appeared around 1am or so. Wasn't paying much attention to the tv, but then Oprah started talking about 'your calling', describing it as the passion in life you were meant to do.

Luckily for her her calling made her millions (billions?); and she challenged her listeners to follow their passion/calling in life. Not meaning to quit their jobs necessarily, but just to find fullfilment in what they enjoy.

My question to the MyBB audience is: do you know what your passion/calling in life is? Are you following it? If you were to be transported back to your matric days and had to choose a career, would you choose differently? Or are you satisfied with your life as it is?

I can honestly say I'm not following my calling or passion in life, but I have a plan in place to change that (in fact, I had a plan in place long before Oprah's finally came along). What say you? Do you have a plan for your life?

 

[OMB]

I can't say that I would choose to change anything that I've done since I finished school many, many years ago. Everything that I have done since then has contributed in some way to me being able to do the work now which allows me to follow my passion which is about developing other people and helping them to realise their true potential and lead better lives. However, if you'd asked me when I was in matric how I saw my life working out I would have probably just said "huh?"

I think my "calling" or passion only started to reveal itself later in life

 

[medicnick83]

I've found my passion / calling and that is EMS.
I love it with all my heart and wish I could do it full time, but at the moment, I can't.

 

[flarkit]

I've found my passion / calling and that is EMS.
I love it with all my heart and wish I could do it full time, but at the moment, I can't.

If you love doing something as noble as saving people, there has to be a way to allow you to pursuit it. It's too important!

 

[Other Pineapple Smurf]

When I turned 30 I gave up my previous career in sales and followed my passion. After 6yrs I've got no regrets. Sure I'm financially still worse off than what I was 6yrs ago (still earn less) but I don't care.

My dad was my inspiration as he only followed his passion in his 50's and he too has no regrets.

 

[Mila]

Not following mine
I have a plan, its just not as easy as I would have liked.
Yes I would go back in time and change loads of stupid things.

 

[Wall]

So last night I was struggling to sleep and decided to read stuff on my phone and leave the tv on when Oprah's finally appeared around 1am or so. Wasn't paying much attention to the tv, but then Oprah started talking about 'your calling', describing it as the passion in life you were meant to do.

Luckily for her her calling made her millions (billions?); and she challenged her listeners to follow their passion/calling in life. Not meaning to quit their jobs necessarily, but just to find fullfilment in what they enjoy.

My question to the MyBB audience is: do you know what your passion/calling in life is? Are you following it? If you were to be transported back to your matric days and had to choose a career, would you choose differently? Or are you satisfied with your life as it is?

I can honestly say I'm not following my calling or passion in life, but I have a plan in place to change that (in fact, I had a plan in place long before Oprah's finally came along). What say you? Do you have a plan for your life?

if i had to turn back time I would change to many things.

You only grow and enter the real world when it's too late.

 

[Geriatrix]

My question to the MyBB audience is: do you know what your passion/calling in life is? Are you following it? If you were to be transported back to your matric days and had to choose a career, would you choose differently?

NO idea what my passion is. If I could go back to matric I'd figure out how the **** to improve with maths and science. And then I'd go on a year long self discovery trip.And then I'd go study something with a future.

I've found my passion / calling and that is EMS.
I love it with all my heart and wish I could do it full time, but at the moment, I can't.

Eel Massage Society?

When I turned 30 I gave up my previous career in sales and followed my passion. After 6yrs I've got no regrets. Sure I'm financially still worse off than what I was 6yrs ago (still earn less) but I don't care.

What do you do?

if i had to turn back time I would change to many things.

You only grow and enter the real world when it's too late.

Indeed.

 

[Mila]

Emergency Medical Services

 

[skippydox]

I always thought my calling was to be an actuary...but unfortunately i couldnt manage an A in maths

 

[Cicero]

Yeah, I'm kinda doing what I love. But its not enough to be perfectly secure.

I have a few plans up my sleeve though - still young and dumb (mid 20s).

 

[zamedic]

Its been a question that has been bugging me lately. I am in IT as a Java Developer however its gotten boring with no challenges - I feel I have hit my cap and have nowhere further to go.

In the past, I was a BAA Paramedic but never grew since it was difficult to earn a good living from it. So, I guess I am now trying to find something that makes job worth it.

I am also looking at studying something else, give myself the option of changing my career path.

 

[Other Pineapple Smurf]

What do you do?

I'm a software developer. Was always my passion since I got my first PC in the 80's

One thing I can say is that prospective employer want passion more than anything else when giving somebody a chance. I thought that one had to get into development after school to make it in the industry and during my 20's I believed I misses my opportunity. After I set my goals of getting into development it only took me 18mths to land a job with an awesome company who gave me the opportunity I needed.

After a round of job interviews the last few months nobody cared about my age, thats when I released that if any employer is bothered with age, then there is something wrong with them.

 

[BouncyNinja]

i been in IT so long, started at school, been doing it for almost 15 years, if i could do it all over, i'd get my commercial pilots licence, and begin my own charter company ( my dream...

 

[Devill]

I am in finances. I would have loved to be a photographer or a Advertising manager but hay it didnt happen

I am not too heart broken as I can make a good enough living and the job is not all that bad.

 

[philthom]

I agree 100% with those who say you only discover your calling as you grow older and wiser in life. Especially in the society and culture we live in where it is taught to us from a young age to become doctors or CA's or whatever, not for any noble purposes, but purely for the economic benefit you'll gain by receiving a high salary from those jobs.

A man has to work. A man has to eat and provide for his loved ones. So we can understand our parents' reasoning of encouraging us to get high-paying jobs, but sometimes such teachings go too far, and you become materialistic and greedy as a youngster entering the 'real' world. The real world then teaches you lesson you'll never forget, and you either change or hate yourself forever.

I remember entering varsity as a snot-nose laatie thinking I have to study a Bcomm degree to highten my financial IQ purely because I read some Robert Kyosaki books. Nothing wrong with wanting to gain an understanding of the financial world, but it wasn't my calling/passion. I struggled and left without finisihing my degree, cause in the mean time I discoverd my calling so I didn't want to continue studying what I hated at the time.

Nothing went right when I pursued my calling, and today I'm lucky to have a job and finishing the Bcom degree I started (cause as a man you sometimes have to finish what you started and own up to your mistakes).

I'm older and wiser and believe after finishing the Bcom I can pursue my passion with a whole new and greater vigour then before.

 

[philthom]

NO idea what my passion is.

One way of discovering your passion/calling in life is to ask yourself: if you have all the money and all the time in the world to do what you love/enjoy and benefit not only yourself but people around you as well, what would it be?

Introspection is something we all have to do from time to time. And as Stephen Covey said, private victory precedes public victory.

 

[Picard]

I love being a teacher. There are only a few things better than giving a good lesson and having the kids respond to it in a positive way. There are so many adults in various professions who could contribute so much to kids' education. A "pet hope" (like pet peeves, just the opposite) I have is to see talent and intelligence that normally end up in the most lucrative sectors of our society, rather ending up in teaching.

 

[philthom]

I love being a teacher. There are only a few things better than giving a good lesson and having the kids respond to it in a positive way. There are so many adults in various professions who could contribute so much to kids' education. A "pet hope" (like pet peeves, just the opposite) I have is to see talent and intelligence that normally end up in the most lucrative sectors of our society, rather ending up in teaching.

+1

 

[Geriatrix]

One way of discovering your passion/calling in life is to ask yourself: if you have all the money and all the time in the world to do what you love/enjoy and benefit not only yourself but people around you as well, what would it be?

I have never had the luxury to explore the world enough to be honest. It's always been a struggle to simply pay the bills.

If I woke up tomorrow and didn't HAVE to work I honestly have no idea what I'd do with myself. I'd like to travel and explore the world but that doesn't benefit others.