What was the changing point in your life?

[Guest WyattEarp]

What changed your life forever to where you figured out what you wanted to do for a career, who you wanted to be as a person, and what you wanted to do with your life? and if you could name one or two people who were influential in that process, who were they and how did they impact your life for the better?

[Mike.357]

I am still waiting for all of that to happen. I still can't figure out what I want to do for a career.

I know my grandparents were the biggest influence. Do it now, was kind of their motto. You don't know what life will have in store for you so don't put things off. Do it today.

[Garufa]

I'm still waiting on that life-defining moment.

For influences, my grandparents taught me never to live beyond my means.

Edited December 29, 2011 by Garufa

[Caster]

Yeah...I got nothing. Sorry.

[Guest bkelm18]

Yep. Let ya know when I get there.

[MudBugjr]

I think i have had a couple times i feel like I'm headed on the right direction. Not always the case though. I was really influeced by my grandparents as well. I did recently a few months ago at the great age of 40 goto the doctor and was told my blood pressure was heart attack city. That scared me . Went in for one of the ,many crazy neck head aches that I have been having for years. took some meds lost about 25lbs and haven't had a headache since. so I decided to let things not bother me as much. so that was one of those moments.

[Guest 22-rimfire]

At 25, I thought I found my career and life.... things changed.... layoff, divorce, getting poor etc. So, I am still looking for that changing moment. Hint. It is not going to happen.

So, I tell young people to go to college or get training beyond high school in a field that you can actually get a job with those credentials. But if you change your mind later and this isn't for you, at least you have that foundation for the next challenge. Life is a journey.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

I think I haven't had that life changing moment, also. Several writers have given me

good guidance. My dad was my most influential figure and he didn't live long enough

for me to give him that credit. My wife and her intellect always challenge me. I grow

from that.

Are you experiencing one now?

[UncleJak]

I had a friend die 2 years ago. He was 35 years old. After that, I searched my soul and I now know my purpose in life. I have heard of people living their entire life without knowing why they are here. I am blessed to have been shown my path. I have not fully achieved everything yet, but it is much easier knowing the directions.

[Guest WyattEarp]

I think I haven't had that life changing moment, also. Several writers have given me

good guidance. My dad was my most influential figure and he didn't live long enough

for me to give him that credit. My wife and her intellect always challenge me. I grow

from that.

Are you experiencing one now?

Yes I can say I have been for the past year and a half. Considering the replies I'm pretty fortunate to have experienced it. It feels good to being doing something good and productive yet while having fun doing it. I guess everyone just comes into their own at some point, and it takes things happening for us to understand who we are, and what we are supposed to do in life, and how we can make a difference in other people's lives.

[Guest dubaholic2]

i think my changing point was losing my career that i had 4 years invested in and going from about $50k/year to being unemployeed for about a year and making about $12k/year and consequently losing my home. i figured i have nothing to lose so i decided to go back to school and try for a new career. so, i just finished my first semester at roane state and im looking to try to get into their RN program. my mom has been my biggest influence. she has always stood behind me and helped me in any way i needed. she also went to college at the age of 42 and completely changed her life for the better. im truly lucky to have the parents i have.

[Guest WyattEarp]

recently, I've begun to have this desire to do something great. I'm not sure what I can do, or how I can use my talents and skills that I'm learning while in college, but somehow I want to make a difference, provide something useful to help other people out. But school still has to be my first priority since I'm so close to being done. I'm thinking though, I have this awesome video camera, maybe I could find some people who have had life changing experiences, and make some documentaries or something like that, put them up on a website where people could watch them, and maybe through me finding people, and getting them to share their stories and experiences, it will help others to do the same? It's a starting point to build on.

[Guest 22-rimfire]

Parents are interesting animals. When you are 8, they can do no wrong. When you are 15, everything they say and do is wrong. When you're 25, you begin to see that Mom and Dad know something about life. I have never stopped trying to please my parents after age 25. Their opinions are always welcomed. What I knew would not please them, I kept to myself. They clearly were the most important people in my life, but both are gone now.

For those in school, try to get good grades. Choose a good school too. Good ones are usually harder. You'll thank me later. Employers look at grades no matter how much you think they aren't important.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

At age 62 I'm still trying to figure out what to do when I grow up.

I get interested in something for a day or month and sometimes a few years, then get tired of it and get interested in something else. Have been lucky enough to several times turn "hobbies" into "jobs", but then the jobs get dull wheras the hobby was not dull.

Majored in several thangs and kept losing interest and dropping out. Finally went back and gutted out a degree for the heck of it because at the time that piece of paper was an important influence in what people thought about you. Maybe it still is.

Worked in the graduated major about 3 years then switched to music (which had kept me distracted from my studies thruout school). I'm a horrible musician but managed to make a living and it was fairly interesting for a long time. Started getting bored with music and started part time musical electronic stuff which seemed more interesting than the "steady gig" of music. The problem with electronic manufacturing-- It is fairly capital and advertising-intensive. I never got up the nerve to borrow a bunch of money on a gamble. So about that time computers got affordable and programming was easier to sell on a shoestring without going deep into hock. Am still doing the programming but actually that is pretty boring after a few years. Maybe I can gut it out a few more years until I'm too senile to do it anymore.

The advice I give to youngsters (which they always ignore)--

Get a 2 year degree that will pay money so you can later self-finance more school if you want it. Pay attention in math class. There will come a day you wished you paid more attention in math class.

A couple of years accounting classes never hurt anybody, no matter what you do!

Major in the most boring thing you can find. It is a supply and demand thang. Few people are masochistic enough to major in truly boring subjects. There will be shortages in the boring fields and you will be paid better for your interminably boring but relatively rare skill. Regardless how interesting your major in school, after a few years in the work-place it will be ultra-boring, so if you are gonna be bored at work regardless of the field, you might as well make good pay being bored!

If you are into working on gadgets, learn to work on very expensive gadgets. It takes about the same smarts to work on $1000 gadgets or $1,000,000 gadgets, but people get paid a lot more to work on the spensive gadgets.

[BigPoppa]

Pay attention in math class. There will come a day you wished you paid more attention in math class.

................................................AND Spanish

[laktrash]

................................................AND Spanish

Sad but true That way you know what they're saying about you

[Guest bkelm18]

................................................AND Spanish

I refuse to learn it. UT requires you to have a few semesters in a language even for science degrees, so just to stick it to them, I'm opting for Latin. A language that is completely useless. I can already half-ass speak German thanks to High School.

[Dad03]

Major milestones in my life are: Engineering Degree, Marriage, attained Professional licensing, & Kids.

I change a bit at each milestone.

IMO having kids, being the best dad possible and raising them right is the biggest and best of all.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

I refuse to learn it. UT requires you to have a few semesters in a language even for science degrees, so just to stick it to them, I'm opting for Latin. A language that is completely useless. I can already half-ass speak German thanks to High School.

Thats a shame. I flunked both latin and spanish in high school. Got very bad memory and it is a miracle I ever learned english. Long ago there were no foreign language requirements for BS, MS degrees, so I made sure to get a BS specifically to avoid the torture of language classes.

Now, Fortran, C++, Pascal, Asm-- Those are much easier to learn.

[Guest drv2fst]

When I was 20 I did not know what I wanted to do with my life. I dropped out of college and went to work in a field I was interested in. That is when I met a mentor that showed me Software Development was a way to invent things and build them with only your imagination and a computer. That set me on my career path. I returned to finish my degree to pursue my new career.

When my wife and I had our first child (10 years ago), my life changed in so many wonderful ways. Too detailed to go into here.

Almost three years ago I had a car wreck that could have (should have?) killed me. That changed my life again. Until then, work was a way to make money and keep busy. After that wreck, I started thinking about what I really wanted out of my brief time in existence. I decided my career and time at work should be all about helping others. So I started a new company to do just that. It's a completely different way to look at life, from a "what can I do to help?" perspective as opposed to the usual "what's in it for me?" perspective.

Edited December 31, 2011 by drv2fst

[gregintenn]

I haven't changed. I started out this way and just gotten bigger and balder. I've Forrest Gumped my way through life for nearly 40 years now, and I'm not likely to change much in the forseeable future. Not the answer you were looking for, but that's all I've got.

[BryanP]

My first real summer job in a warehouse at 14. I knew I wanted to do something that was in air conditioning.

I saved the $ from that job and bought my first computer, an Apple ][+.

[Oh Shoot]

I have found life to be a complex pinball machine with relatively minimal control over intent vs outcome. Life is what happens in between making plans.

Quite a ride though -- if you're bored it's your own fault.

- OS

Edited December 30, 2011 by OhShoot

[Good_Steward]

The birth of my first child, my son, and the death of his mother and my wife less than a day later. That happened 11 years ago the 28th and 29th, respectively, of last month. It was shortly after that when I gave my life to the Lord.

Five years ago, I remarried, and almost three years ago my second child, my daughter, was born.

Life is so full of "life changing" events that it is almost impossible to remember all of them, because some may be so subtle that they are not even truly recognized at the moment. Those are definitely the ones that stand out above all in my adult life, though, without a doubt.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

I've Forrest Gumped my way through life for nearly 40 years now.

That is a great turn of phrase!

I have found life to be a complex pinball machine with relatively minimal control over intent vs outcome. Life is what happens in between making plans.

Quite a ride though -- if you're bored it's your own fault.

Yep, being bored can't be blamed on anybody else.