Venting What's one of the MOST successful careers/positions one of your former peers has achieved?

[LuzurPhagget]

Some friend I had in high school is now a manager/ financial advisor at Deloitte. A friend I had in college is a frickin "Operations Consultant" at Loblaws. A former lab partner is an account manager at Petro-Canada. Dafuq?!? And others are managers, senior planners. Dafuq?!? Not everyone has it in them to be a fucking manager, but apparently I was surrounded by budding "leaders of the future." Jesus. It feels like life is mocking me. The longest I've ever held a job was a year and a half (albeit with 2 major depressive episodes spread out in there). This time I was able to leave on my own terms (I guess THAT'S an accomplishment; not getting fired for fucksake), but still feel like I've accomplished shit! I don't even have any good references from that place! Fuck, I always feel like I have to restart from SCRATCH. It's so fucking exhausting. Just can't get ANYWHERE in life!

Anyway, I KNOW I shouldn't compare myself to others. A hundred years from now, and hell, a frickin few planets away from here, nobody will give a shit about what we accomplish on this Earth. But still, it just feels like all these people have grown and experienced good things in life and experienced joy...and I'm just a fucking wanker trying to stay alive for some reason. Constantly looking for "silver linings" and counting my blessings and trying to be grateful. Fuck. I dunno, it's so frustrating.

 

[terry_a_davis]

I only have 2 real friends, one is long term sick and the other an electrician. In my 20's I had a job where I was a leader of a small team (about 15 people) and loved it. I did things differently to the team leaders that had gone before me by still doing the mundane tasks my team were doing, working very hard alongside the team instead of relaxing as the head of the team and just dictating, and many respected me for it, people seemed to respond to this by working harder themselves and we achieved good results.
I'm messed it all up by getting involved with drugs which resulted in mental illness.

 

[LuzurPhagget]

Nice. Leading ain't easy. There will always be SOMEONE who thinks they can do the job better than you. And ugh, leaders like that who don't "lead by example." They just give you a target and expect everyone to miraculously reach it without any guidance, through the sheer power of "belief and positivity!" But if you fail to meet those targets, you get reprimanded. Pfft. "Dear leader, thanks for the absentee support...asshole."

 

[terry_a_davis]

^ It taught me quite a lot about people in a group dynamic. Rivalries, grudges, jealousy, how people responded to things like praise and feedback, all very interesting to witness. The majority did respond well to me mucking in with them and working really hard and it gave me a massive kick when the productivity went up. I think the team members got a boost also (and pay was partially related to performance). Great days, happy memories, nice people (I liked everyone, even those who didn't like me lol).

 

[LuzurPhagget]

Nice. Yeah, those dynamics are interesting. Things are so up in the air right now, I'm not sure what to do. I was really set on travelling, so when the borders up again, I should GTFO as soon as I can...but who knows when that will happen. Anyway, if I do have to stay here much longer and have to get a job again, I'm thinking of doing work just for myself. Just for the experience and the fact that, those group dynamics are just so annoying sometimes. If there isn't good leadership, working there is just kinda shite. Everyone always kissing ass/ intimidated by the superiors. etc

 

[MartyByrde]

Doctors, nurse practitioners, lawyers, CDC experts, ESPN reporter, small and mid-sized business owners...and one guy ended up acting as the Red Power Ranger. I had a good run myself for a while there too.

I've found much of success is due to luck, timing and who you know. That's not to say these people didn't work hard, just that hard work doesn't always equal success.

 

[LuzurPhagget]

Doctors, nurse practitioners, lawyers, CDC experts, ESPN reporter, small and mid-sized business owners...and one guy ended up acting as the Red Power Ranger. I had a good run myself for a while there too.

I've found much of success is due to luck, timing and who you know. That's not to say these people didn't work hard, just that hard work doesn't always equal success.

Holy shit, the Red Ranger? Jason Lee Scott? That's pretty damn impressive!

I actually kind of miss the people from high school. They were very high-vibrational. Positive, smart, kind, good-energy. I wish I got to know them better. Pfft, I didn't even take my graduation photo or go to prom. I feel like I've been diverging further and further from that kind of people in life. Oh well.

 

[MartyByrde]

Holy shit, the Red Ranger? Jason Lee Scott? That's pretty damn impressive!

I actually kind of miss the people from high school. They were very high-vibrational. Positive, smart, kind, good-energy. I wish I got to know them better. Pfft, I didn't even take my graduation photo or go to prom. I feel like I've been diverging further and further from that kind of people in life. Oh well.

Same. Dropped out in 10th grade. Only school function I ever bothered with was the 8th grade Halloween dance. And that was because my best friends were lip synching Surprise You're Dead by Faith No More. I can still see them. Damn, youth is awesome.

 

[Cashewmilk]

Hah... can totally relate. Out of all my elementary, 3 high-schools, out of all the kids I went to school with, I turned out the worst, by far. A heroin addicted prostitute. But I can tell you who has the biggest heart of them all and the most empathy, and probably better for the planet than all of them? Me. I'm poor, I'm childfree, I live with my family, I don't drive, I barely eat food, I never go out, I don't litter, I recycle, I rescue animals, I listen to suffering people and give to the homeless. A lot more than any of them, self absorbed, polluting multiplying sons of bitches that rape the planet and don't give a flying fuck about anything but themselves and what others think of them.

 

[Mr2005]

My mums cousins in London are fairly successful. Ones in the west end and knows Andrew Lloyd Webber. Ones taken Warhorse to South Korea and one was instrumental in getting gay marriage passed. She also applied to be the pm secretary but lost out.

 

[Wallace]

I've been there, OP. I've known people who are successful in everything from engineering to academia to finance. You're absolutely right that comparing yourself to others is dangerous, and the statement that hard work doesn't always equal success is also spot-on truth. A lot of us have been dealt some shit cards in our lives, and it's unfair and it sucks. The one caveat I would give is that while we can see our own shit cards, we almost never see the ones other people hold.

My point is that everyone suffers, in one way or another. I've known attorneys who were making over $1 million a year, drove sports cars, owned huge houses and married someone amazingly attractive, and they were still desperately unhappy. As long as you have the notion that you need _________ to be happy/worthy/good enough/complete, you're going to suffer. My friend thought that lots of money and prestige would stop him from suffering. It did not. He took to drinking and drugs and ultimately CTB as his lifestyle caught up with him.

I think recognizing that suffering in one way or another is a universal thing helps us to understand one another, and that being willing to share how we are vulnerable can open ourselves up to a lot of positive things. The alternative to perfection isn't failure, it's to make our peace with the idea that we are, each of us, 'good enough'.