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  1. #1
    Join Date
    30th January 04
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    ramblings of a .........

    i appreciate your endulgence .... cause i'm going to kinda let my hair down.....

    i noted a comment from graham to one of my silly comments in which he said i was young and i took that as basically having time to deal with things. t'would that it were!

    i'll say i have past that half century mark and slightly beyond. i turn 51 tomorrow, the 28th of august. all in all not a bad thing. but now, well, i've got some things i need to do and i'm not sure how to go about doing them.

    my father died at 53 years of age. i haven't dwelled upon that fact over the years but the closer i come to 53, the more i realize that life on earth is truly a precious gift and very short in time. dad's been gone 21 years now. not so long in the greater scheme of things, but in life as we know it, thats a long time. i guess the mortality thing sets in and i'm just trying to deal with it in my own way.

    i've been fortunate enough to support a family to fruition. my daughter is 500 miles away with her husband and bringing up her family and my son is getting married in just a few short weeks to start his own. i say 'my', but i mean my wife of 29 years and myself. we've brought up a pair of good kids. i even wrote a song about them called There They Go.

    anyway. I've spent my entire adult life working for the "other guy". not that i've done bad. just that what i've done has enhanced the other guy and i remain status quo.

    (side note: hamish, i have to love you, man. You mentioned once of traveling 30 miles, round trip, to pick up something at the store. my daily jaunt to work is 130 miles round trip. ) i'm just tired of doing that.

    i have some talent in the field of woodworking. I haven't used that talent for sometime. but this past summer, or winter for graham , i've purchased a number of wood tools and have been working on the woodcraft. i've made a few things and have had a positive response from a number of folks. some family and some not. either way it's been encouraging.

    you know, i'm kind of confused and i'm not too sure where i'm headed with this .... but let me say, i work for someone else, and i don't want to do that any more. i want to work for me and i want to work for my wife cathy, bless her heart for putting up with me for this long.

    i guess where i'm headed is i want to let go of the corporate life, start my own life and go from there. no doubt there is a financial question, but i'd just like to know what others think of giving up the corporate umbilical cord and replacing it with your own umbilcal cord.

    best regards,

    ambrose

    sorry guys ... and gals... for this bit of rambling

  2. #2
    Join Date
    30th May 04
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    Kailua Kona Hawaii
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    Ambrose, let your heart lead the way, and do what you know you have to do. There will be days that certainly aren't as good as others, but you will grow and appreciate them. You have more skills than you ever imagined...look at those two kids...now...that my friend is success...and I know the feeling. I left my career at the ripe old age of 39...I don't really regret doing it...but I did it for some of the wrong reasons..I'm 53 now, and along the road had to face my own mortality...but now I'm happy...life is good...
    You will find great understanding and support in the most unusual places...here for sure...we all have a history...
    AND: HAPPY BIRTHDAY !!!!

    David

  3. #3
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    28th March 04
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    Ambrose, you've accomplished more than many people. Sometimes what we do no matter what it is just isn't the right thing. And sometimes it takes drastic changes before we find what it is that will make us happy. No one can tell you what is best for you, many search all their lives and end up miserable in the end. Know that you have a quirky bunch of blokes on this site whoare here for ya.

    Rob Wright

  4. #4
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    21st May 04
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    Ambrose. I may not be the most serious poster on this forum. There are others that have that honour. Having said that you have managed to stir -up in me a certain amount of things that have been on my mind about myself for some time.

    My Father was Irish Catholic second youngest of thirteen. He past on not some two years since. My Mother died when she was forty seven.some thirty years since.

    All in my family on my fathers side have met an early demise. in fact my father outlived his younger brother by about 30 years.Where am I going with all this? Well I'm forty four I fact older than my fathers brother when he died.I just can't help thinking that I'm nearly the same age as my Mother when she died.It weighs on me now and again.That there has been so much early death in the family.

    So here I sit thinking what have I done in this world.I try to focus on what I have . The best decision I made in my life was to leave England. I had a chance and I took it. If you have a skill then use it.

    However I don't know what your finances are and just like the most of things today ,things cost money. I also work for the man.I do enjoy the anonomous way of life it's rather safe.I still doesn't stop me dreaming of what I'd really like to do.From what I have read it hasn't put you off either.

    Best of luck to you Ambrose and your family....David
    All the Best.....David.
    Why be part of the crowd Choose a Freelander Sporran
    A Member of the Caledonian Society of Norway
    My Photo Gallery Flickr

  5. #5
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    21st April 04
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    Happy Birthday. Do what makes you happy. Every thinking man feels the opposite tugs of "prudence/compromise" and "integrity/independence". If life were simple, the choice between the two would be too. But sometimes prudent men get hit by buses, and I once knew a lady who ate fried chicken every day and lived to be 103. We never know the outcome of our actions with any certainty. So, what ever you do and whatever the outcome, live decisively. That's the mark of free will.

  6. #6
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    Graham is offline Oops, it seems this member needs to update their email address
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    Hi Ambrose, I can relate to how you feel, I'm only a year older than you, my five kids are a big younger, some leaving home and the feeling is that one's job is done..what next?

    Starting your own business may be a good idea.
    Make sure you do some kind of assessment of what demand there is for your product in your area, or where your markets may lie.

    Be sure to have sufficient reserves to carry you through the initial startup costs and keep you going until you are making a profit.

    Be ready for a drop in income and possibly long hours working.

    But there are may advantages in working with your own hands to provide an income.
    I wish you well!

  7. #7
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    23rd January 04
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    Ambrose,
    Can you be happy if you don't take this chance?
    Can you live the rest of your life knowing you took the easy way?
    I say follow your dreams!
    You may have to cut back on some things. Things that you are accustomed to having but don't really need are sometimes hard to give up. Comfort is a big addiction and one that we humans should avoid. We're not built for it. We're at our best when we struggle.

    Coincidentally, I changed from woodworking to kiltmaking and haven't had the chance to get to the shop since. I miss turning wood on the lathe. I got to be quite good and was giving lessons for a while.

    This thread has helped me make a decision I have been dithering over for some time.

  8. #8
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    29th April 04
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    Ambrose,

    I want to wish you a Happy Birthday!!

    Life does many strange things to ones soul and mind. I turn 53 in October, but like you say in the scheme of things it is just a drop in the bucket. I am one of the oldest in the family, a patriarch. On my Father's side of the family I do not have any cousins left. On my Mother's side of 15 cousins 6 are left. With my siblings only 3 of us are left (out of 4). All died in their 40's it does tend to make one think of mortality especially when others in the family live to around 90.

    As far as setting out in the goal of self employment I have to agree with what others have said who work for themselves. It is tough, but well worth it as long as you have the passion. DARE TO DREAM, DARE TO SUCCEED.

    I would like to share the titles of a couple of books that are rather helpful in keeping the mind focused and how to work through the financial ups and downs. Making a Living Without a Job by Barbara J. Winter ISBN # 0-553-37165-7 and Creating Money by Sanaya Roman & Duane Packer ISBN # 0-915811-09-X.

    Glad to hear that you are wanting to experience working for yourself, and please do not ever look back at this time of your life with regret.
    Glen McGuire

    A Life Lived in Fear, Is a Life Half Lived.

  9. #9
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    24th April 04
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    Good Day Ambrose!

    I too turned 51 this year (1953 was a good year for us wasn't it? ) and I've done some of the same soul searching you are it's not an easy thing to do.
    I have no easy answers,I don't think there are any. As I've read the posts in this thread I realize there is much wisdom in what has been said from both the young and shall I say more seasoned . My only suggestion is to give your decisions much thought, much conversation (your Wife and your family are your helpmates in this), and much prayer.
    I wish you well.
    May all your blessings be the ones you want and your friends many and true.

  10. #10
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    4th March 04
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    Change is a good thing.


    I am certainly several years away from the half century mark but have had experience with life changes(mine was out of my control). I have found out in my "adventures" this summer that if it was easy to follow your dreams everybody would. I am an example that things don't work out exactally like planned. I am NOT saying don't do it but I am saying be prepared for the good and certainly the BAD. Planning is key! My two cents are experiment with selling your handy work part time for a bit see if the market is out there. Also will it produce an income 12 months of the year? if not what can you do to get through the lean months?

    Maybe I am tainted by my unfortunate luck but hey what can you do but stay as positive as possible

    Chris

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