Had some CRAZY events happen this week. I can’t go into a bunch of detail, but I was offered a huge raise and a promotion in return for putting nursing school on hold - which I can do with no academic penalty for up to 3 years, so I now have more time with my kids, and to train! I’m still taking a class because the end goal is a 4 year degree, no matter what it’s in, but depending on how this position goes I may switch my degree, which I’m in a great position to do because I was only 2 weeks into nursing school after having completed all the prerequisites you need to do…anything. Life is going to be more comfortable for my family with this raise, for sure, and my company showed their appreciation for what I do for them, which I, in turn, appreciate as well.
It definitely goes back to my motto for any job I get: “As fast as humanly possible, make yourself un-fireable”. The best way to do this at any job is to learn as many things as you can outside of your job parameters. First off, it makes the job interesting when you can continue to learn new things, but most importantly, when the shit hits the fan and heads are on the chopping block, the last one to go will be the one who knows the most.
Anyways, plenty of people on here are probably more successful than I, and don’t need advice from me, it was just cool to see my plan of action work in a stellar fashion. I was reminded of @T3hPwnisher’s “more trouble than I’m worth” - I made my departure from the company more trouble than it was worth, and they responded in kind. Ambition, idealism, attitude - those are all good things, but they are ultimately intangible, and you can have all three and still fail. In the end, it was the work I put in that got me this opportunity.
Side note: my 6 year old ran a full mile with me today. I honestly have no idea if that’s impressive or not for his age, but I was impressed. I don’t force him, I only encourage him. It was a roller coaster, for sure - he asked, if he finished the mile, if we could get ice cream afterwards. I said sure. We started running. Around the 3/4 mile mark he started showing signs of wanting to stop, and asked if he could have the ice cream anyways - I told him we can stop whenever you feel like it, but you won’t get ice cream, and that’s not a punishment, it’s just what we agreed on. So, with less than a quarter mile to go, he told me that he was okay not getting ice cream, but he was tired and just wanted to stop. I told him, go ahead buddy, that’s fine, but I’m finishing this mile. He slows down like he’s going to walk, and then suddenly picks up the pace and ends up finishing the full mile, with us sprinting at the end towards the finish line. He screamed “YES” as we crossed it, hugged me, and then flopped down in the muddy field that the track surrounded. A couple minutes later - since it was starting to snow and was very cold, we got up, went to the car, and got the dude his damn ice cream.
I have always loved being a dad, but this phase right now is the best it’s ever been. Just like with my job, the effort I put in is what determines what I get from them.