Over the last few years, I have worked on quite a few entrepreneurial projects.  They have all stopped for one reason or another.  In all honesty, I did not commit 100% of my time to them.  Here again, I am in NYC work on various projects and not committing to one project.

I just read the posts that I wrote myself 3 years ago about choices in career.  I am somewhat not in finance any more, back to work on various projects.  Apparently, I have not found my calling yet.  I re-read Paul Grahm’s article on love again and this paragraph stood out for me.

“The test of whether people love what they do is whether they’d do it even if they weren’t paid for it—even if they had to work at another job to make a living. How many corporate lawyers would do their current work if they had to do it for free, in their spare time, and take day jobs as waiters to support themselves?”

One of my business now is importing lumber and supplying other goods via government contract.  I am pretty sure I can safely say that I would not be doing it if I was not getting paid.
Gosh, if money was taken out of the equation of deciding what work I love to do, I would be at a complete loss.

The search continues.

Really deep down inside, there’s an entrepreneur in me that’s waiting to get out.

Like most people, I have a lot of ideas and like to talk about them.  Most of the ideas die out in this stage; after a couple beers, they are never talked about again.  Funny thing about this idea was that I never talked about it; I just went and did it.
When I came back to the US, I was looking to help my uncle, who owns shoe factories in Vietnam, secure a few contracts with US brands, so I started looking details of the import and export business. The gist of the business would be to represent his company, a shoe manufacturer, in obtaining shoe contracts from name brand companies.  Other than wearing shoes everyday, I can’t tell you much about the details of shoe making.  Naturally that would make pitching a shoe factory’s ability to a shoe designer quite difficult.

At the end of the day I am connecting buyers and sellers.  So who are the big buyers out there?  Think about this for a moment.  Nike?  What about Target?  What about Walmart?  Now we are talking.  Or the US Government!  Bingo.  If the US government is the biggest buyer with their ungodly budget, then why don’t I find out what they want to buy and find people who have the goods?  The process makes much more sense when it’s driven by Demand rather than Supply.  Further, they are probably the most recession proof demand there is because no matter how bad the economy is, people are still paying taxes and the government is still spending.
That was four weeks ago.  Fast forward to today, I now have my first contract with the military to deliver Apitong Lumber to them.  www.taiwanjackllc.comÂ

Admittedly, my entrepreneurial track record is not very good, but I have high hopes for this one

My friend forwarded me this article which I thought really nailed it on the head regarding finding something you love to do.  Here’s a quote.

“Always produce” is also a heuristic for finding the work you love. If you subject yourself to that constraint, it will automatically push you away from things you think you’re supposed to work on, toward things you actually like. “Always produce” will discover your life’s work the way water, with the aid of gravity, finds the hole in your roof.”

You can read the rest of the article here.

http://www.paulgraham.com/love.html

There certainly are a lot of questions, the same questions I have asked myself before, that I am asking myself again after reading the article.  How do I go about finding what I love to do?  How do I find something that give me the most enjoyment and money?  People say do what you love and everthing else will follow.  It’s wisdom that I question; what if I love doing something that I am not good at. 

Tens of thousands of people go on American Idol because they love to sing.  What if I am not good enough at anything to become the best at something?  There’s so much uncertainty, but maybe that’s the best part of it.  If I already knew, getting there won’t be as sweet.

With every job, there are pros and cons.  Some are more obvious than others.   I think it’s very important to look at those details when you choose a job.  Let’s look at some examples.

Imagine if you are a software engineer who programs the software used in microwaves.  You put in your 9-5, and you get your bi-weekly paychecks.  That’s about it.  The knowledge you learn on the job really does not help you outside of the job.  (Unless you come up with a new technology that makes microwave much better and you start a new company with your idea)

Now imagine if you are a real estate broker.  You put in your hours at work, maybe some weekends too.  In addition to the paychecks that you get from the company, you also get a very good understanding of the local housing market as well as the process of buying and selling real estate.  What you learn on the job helps you in your life outside of the job.  Another perk is that once in a while, a deal comes around for a very good price, and instead of selling the property, you buy it yourself for a easy flip.  A friend of mine works as a real estate broker and that’s exactly what he did.  An elderly woman really just wanted to sell the house fast, so he picked it up for an easy flip. 

Another perk is that as a real estate broker, you are constantly meeting different people and making connections.  You may introduce a buyer to an accountant who bought a house through you.  That buyer might run a carpet cleaning company.  You, in turn, would use their service to clean the house that you are about flip, and you would get a better deal because you had just introduced them to a trust worthy, capable accountant who you personally also use.  The point is you meet people through your job.  As compared to a engineer sitting 9-5 in a cuble, the hidden perk of a real estate broker job is much more attractive.

If you are still in college, these are very important things to look at when you decide on a job offer.  If you are already in the work force, you may consider that the job you have really isn’t helping you in the long run.  If you are young and don’t have responsibilities of children or mortgages, it’s not too late to reconsider a different field.  If you are a 9-5 guy in an engineering field, you might consider getting your MBA to make a career switch easier.  Consider this, a friend of mine made over 100k as a commerical real estate broker straight out of school. (a California State University)  It maybe scary to make a career switch, but if you don’t think you are getting much out of your current job either in the size of the paycheck or the lack of perks, you might just take the plunge and start over on the right foot.

As a twenty something barely a few years out of school, I often talk to friends about career choices.  What could I possibly be doing right now that would lead to better long term gain? 

From a purely financial rewards perspective, I’ve looked at the everyday salary surveys and then there’s the wallstreet salary survey.  Besides running your own show (owning a flourishing business), there’s not many job that come close to that type of pay.  As a software developer, I luckily got my first job out of school in the finance industry.  Now at my second job at an investment firm, I am slowly moving over to the “business side.”  The financial rewards will come at some point, but most importantly, I am enjoying my work a lot more now.  Rather than being a worker drone, I feel I am learning a lot and going somewhere. 

Even so, every now and then, I wonder about the “what if’s”.  What if I spend the 11 hours at work somewhere else instead?  Maybe I can be a great real estate broker, I can meet a lot of people, make a lot of connections. And when a hot deal comes up, I can snatch it and flip it for godly profits.  What if this.. and what if that?

 

At the end of the day, the “what if” scenario always comes down to deciding how I want to spend (and invest!) the most valuable asset I have, which is my time.  I think of my current job right now as an investment in my future.  I am learning new skills and knowledge that will help me become a trader someday.  But at the same time, what I do give back to the company is my current skillset, computer programming.  It is as close to a win-win situation as possible. 

Time is your biggest asset (unless you have already made it and are enjoying your retirement), so look at your career wisely.  Are you investing in your future with your current work?  Or are you simply applying your current skills, but not learning.

Here’s a book Nobodies to Somebodies : How 100 Great Careers Got Their Start I am reading now.  Like the title says, it’s about how the Nobodies of yesterday became the Somebodies of today.  It answered a lot of my own doubt about career choice.  You might find it helpful too!