Did you have any mission/strong sense of purpose: jobs

[shootingstar]

I did in various jobs. Not all jobs. It was to empower people with information and better skills to find information for making business / personal decisions/growth.

Do I still have it?  A bit. But yes, now it's more about money for food, shelter and retirement planning.

I'm asking 'cause for me...the personal mantra, kept me more motivated/focused to stay in same line of work when I got too jaded/dispirited. I needed to remind myself why I chose/stayed in similar line of work.  I left some jobs at certain times because some were just draining because of the politics or I stopped growing skill-wise.   It was never about hating the job itself or disliking client work. 

I know my attitude can affect others around. One thing I wanted to avoid was sounding like the jaded, stunted / unhappy bitch.

[ChrisL]

I had a few that gave me a sense of purpose.   The military obviously and working in the defense industry protecting classified military products.  The other was my job working for a crossing guard company. Keeping kids safe was really meaningful to me.

You might think being a cop but it really did’t fulfill me or give me purpose. I was just so conflicted the whole time.

[shootingstar]

24 minutes ago, ChrisL said:

I had a few that gave me a sense of purpose.   The military obviously and working in the defense industry protecting classified military products.  The other was my job working for a crossing guard company. Keeping kids safe was really meaningful to me.

You might think being a cop but it really did’t fulfill me or give me purpose. I was just so conflicted the whole time.

Good to be honest to yourself.

People don't realize but working heavily with information for decades and interacting with people on their attitudes (good and not so good/lazy habits ie. shitty research/loss of info.) and habits, opens up to whole worlds of subcultures of different client professions and subject disciplines.  I am in a greatly undervalued / misunderstood profession.  This is an ongoing discussion within the profession for a long time.  So it was important that I understood within self, for my own sense of purpose and contentment.

[JerrySTL ★]

20 of the 24 years that I was in the military were fulfilling. Some of my consulting work was very fulfilling as I was helping small businesses do better. Working as a government contractor was more interesting than fulfilling. Towards the end I was only doing it for the paycheck. I knew that my working days were numbered when I had no interest in learning new things.

[shootingstar]

21 minutes ago, JerrySTL said:

Towards the end I was only doing it for the paycheck. I knew that my working days were numbered when I had no interest in learning new things.

I'm having a slight opposite problem at this time:  I will miss the dynamic changes that will happen within our organization over the next few months, then next 4 years. My brain gets a real buzz growth whenever we upgrade to new platform...I am part of a central group that had to test, mentor key business unit leads for enterprise-wise software upgrade 2 yrs. ago and train user groups. I loved the work to be required to perform at that level, especially helping groups in change management.

Even right now, there's alot of stuff happening our shrunken work team has to grapple which I like tackling, even it means working with some less cooperative people. (I don't care what they think of me.)

[Zephyr]

Yes, I do.  The day I have no sense of mission, sense of fulfillment or think I am making a difference for the better, I will pull the chute and walk away

[sheep_herder ★]

Actually, my career in research began 2 years before I finished my BS. I spent a short time teaching and a shorter period in management, but was strictly research from 1988 to 2006. No problem having a strong sense of purpose as a researcher. Fortunately, during those last 18 years, I was well funded working on some very interesting projects.

[maddmaxx ★]

One goal.  2.5

[BR46]

In retaarment my only goal is to make my motorcycle and sidecar faster kinda like Bert Munro's life mission 

[MoseySusan]

Teaching was definitely my vocation, and I still have a passion for writing that I’m not sure how to channel into meaningful work. Not yet. I’m waiting for the Spirit (that called me into teaching) to direct my next vocation. 
 

It will probably be something I’m equally inept at doing.  Seeing how “those who cannot do, teach.” I had a very satisfying and meaningful career not doing ELA education. The next vocation will be fabulous.

[Ralphie ★]

1 hour ago, BR46 said:

In retaarment my only goal is to make my motorcycle and sidecar faster kinda like Bert Munro's life mission 

I very fondly remember the thrill of the chase, being in a tight pack.   Very fun.

 

[maddmaxx ★]

4 hours ago, maddmaxx said:

One goal.  2.5

I have metrics.   Everything in the car is metric.

[MickinMD ★]

I had a sense of purpose as a chemist, whether it was in pure research, developing industrial processes that provided local jobs and cut into the Japanese market share for various products, or in teaching teenagers and trying to interest them in chemistry and physics careers.

[Scrapr ★]

My sense of porpoise? Early on it was to feed me & family. Then as the business got more comfortable I helped advance the recycling of construction waste. When i started all C&D waste went to the landfill. After about 20 years there are enough recovery facilities to have all C&D waste go to MRF (material Recovery Facilities) for processing. We were using MRF  early on. The last couple years was a slog with woScrapr getting sick, passing and getting the new owner up & going. It's pretty nice being retaared

[BR46]

1 hour ago, Philander Seabury said:

I very fondly remember the thrill of the chase, being in a tight pack.   Very fun.

 

This is old school vintage racing where we hand make our own parts. A lot of high performance parts are not available for 40 year old motorcycles. 

I guess that where the fun is for me. Try to figure out how to go faster and how to make it happen. 

[12string]

Nah, I work, I get paid.  I volunteer for stuff to change the world, though I do get a small stipend for the church music

I certainly wouldn't take a job that I think could damage society.

I do envy a bit my wife's job at the church.  She gets paid about 1/3 what she could elsewhere, but makes  a big difference in the world.

[Ralphie ★]

1 hour ago, BR46 said:

This is old school vintage racing where we hand make our own parts. A lot of high performance parts are not available for 40 year old motorcycles. 

I guess that where the fun is for me. Try to figure out how to go faster and how to make it happen. 

Being only minimally mechanically inclined, I liked the box stock classes - first McCulloch, then Yamaha KT100 I think it was. I thought it was fun to be evenly matched.  But even so things like 4 wheel brakes and extra-sticky taars could be a big advantage in those classes

I was amazed once to see the porting job a guy in the open class had done.  There was definitely more port than cylinder wall!

OK, this sent me on a tangent!    I never really knew anything aboot Robert McCulloch.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/the_bridge_that_crossed_an_ocean

Well, shit, this is wild!  He married a Briggs.

History can be like a Seinfeld episodes with its tie-ins;.

Here is Carlisle - I wondered whatever happened to them,  Yes, started in Carlisle, PA, with roots in Kazooville, ie Erie, PA.  Site of a huge vintage car show that I have never been to even though it is snot far away.

https://www.carlisle.com/who-we-are/our-history/default.aspx

 

 

 

[maddmaxx ★]

7 minutes ago, Philander Seabury said:

Being only minimally mechanically inclined, I liked the box stock classes - first McCulloch, then Yamaha KT100 I think it was. I thought it was fun to be evenly matched.  But even so things like 4 wheel brakes and extra-sticky taars could be a big advantage in those classes

I was amazed once to see the porting job a guy in the open class had done.  There was definitely more port than cylinder wall!

Wash them in Simple Green, scrub till the black stops showing up on the rag (old rubber dust and dirt in the rubber pores).  After they dry soak them in WD40 to condition the rubber.  Voila, sticky tars.

My tar guru brought me from 1.5g launches to 2.09g with no more than this advice.

[Ralphie ★]

5 minutes ago, maddmaxx said:

Wash them in Simple Green, scrub till the black stops showing up on the rag (old rubber dust and dirt in the rubber pores).  After they dry soak them in WD40 to condition the rubber.  Voila, sticky tars.

My tar guru brought me from 1.5g launches to 2.09g with no more than this advice.

There was a step change in kart taars in the 70s or 80s or so when Bridgestone took over for Carlisle.  You used to slide, then you stuck.   Really changed things. Not sure how much cleaning would have helped the harder rubber Carlisles. Would have been economical to try though!  Carlisles lasted forever, Bridgestones did not.

 

[maddmaxx ★]

8 minutes ago, Philander Seabury said:

There was a step change in kart taars in the 70s or 80s or so when Bridgestone took over for Carlisle.  You used to slide, then you stuck.   Really changed things. Not sure how much cleaning would have helped the harder rubber Carlisles. Would have been economical to try though!  Carlisles lasted forever, Bridgestones did not.

 

That's hard to say.  My tires start out pretty soft........and I get them very sticky during the burnout when they become hot to the touch.  The change for me helped because I had been using traction compound which was fast but erratic and inconsistent.  Now my sticky is in the tire instead of on the tire.

The silly part of the sport is that now, some are using tire heaters before the race.  They are blankets that wrap around the tread, just like what one sees in F1.  I haven't gone that far yet.

[BR46]

1 minute ago, maddmaxx said:

 

The silly part of the sport is that now, some are using tire heaters before the race.  They are blankets that wrap around the tread, just like what one sees in F1.  I haven't gone that far yet.

I've been there for years 

[Longjohn ★]

3 hours ago, Philander Seabury said:

was amazed once to see the porting job a guy in the open class had done.  There was definitely more port than cylinder wall!

It’s a wonder he didn’t get a DUI.

[Longjohn ★]

3 hours ago, BR46 said:

I've been there for years 

I thought that was one of Donk’s flat tire repairs.

[Square Wheels]

I feel lost most of the time.

I often wonder if anything I've ever done matters.

[maddmaxx ★]

[Kirby]

56 minutes ago, Square Wheels said:

I feel lost most of the time.

I often wonder if anything I've ever done matters.

I don't discount questions you may have in other areas, but I can honestly say that I have made some real friends here, including a number that I've met in person.  People that have expanded my view of the world and exposed me to different careers, locations and lives. I've also gotten support here during a variety of difficult times including the passing of both my parents.  Plus there are plenty of times the forum has kep me laughing when I'm stressed or bored at work.

In the grand scheme of the world, this may not matter, but it certainly has made a difference and matters to me.    And it wouldn't have happened without you, so thank you, SW

[Wilbur ★]

9 hours ago, Square Wheels said:

I feel lost most of the time.

I often wonder if anything I've ever done matters.

While the majority of my career has been spent flying bus loads of tourists or billionaires around, I did enjoy the few years of air ambulance flying.  That truly was life saving for many and was the satisfying yet difficult jobs to do.  We saved lives and that did matter.  If I had the energy, I would do that again in a heart beat. 

[BR46]

Now that I think of it ....for over 30 years I did help people sleep comfortably at night. 

 

[MoseySusan]

13 hours ago, Square Wheels said:

I feel lost most of the time.

I often wonder if anything I've ever done matters.

Me, too. “Impostor Syndrome” hit hard when colleagues would talk about their upbringing, summer camp, master’s degrees, spouses careers, writing letters of recommendation for their AP students who were applying at Ivy League and CA schools. Neither of my parents graduated from high school, I went to college only because I got a full ride to compete on the speech and debate team, and I taught the students who read maybe one book in the past five years. I was there to recommend they not drop out and usher them into places they’d not imagined they could go, either. 

[Wilbur ★]

8 minutes ago, MoseySusan said:

Me, too. 

If you had a positive impact on a single student, you changed a life.  

[MoseySusan]

1 minute ago, Wilbur said:

If you had a positive impact on a single student, you changed a life.  

The high school I just retired from is ranked #1 in NM. I helped a lot of students realize they also belong there. 

[Wilbur ★]

52 minutes ago, MoseySusan said:

The high school I just retired from is ranked #1 in NM. I helped a lot of students realize they also belong there. 

So, what you did really mattered.  Almost everyone was afforded an "ah ha" moment by a teacher. 

[Scrapr ★]

5 hours ago, BR46 said:

Now that I think of it ....for over 30 years I did help people sleep comfortably at night. 

 

thank you for your service

[Airehead]

Yes, I am very mission driven to provide the highest degree of learning  and independence to our students with significant disabilities for however much time they have with us.  

[Wilbur ★]

I attended school in the same district my parents taught in so I would get a lot of feedback from students that had them as teachers.  I was always shocked to hear of my father being referred to as cool and how positive an impact he had on their education.  I was lucky, having family that were both excellent parents and educators. 

[Square Wheels]

21 hours ago, MoseySusan said:

Me, too.

You've affected far more lives than you'll ever know.