Old guy advice (tl & too pompous DR)

toasty said:
Yeah but you also have to make sure your hobbies aren't exclusive of your family or pay particular attention to the time balance you spend between the 2. If your wife and or kids don't like running and you're training for a marathon, that is a lot of time away from them. throw in working a full time job and it is then difficult to spend enough time on things they want to do....balance is hard.
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Wife has taken it up, seeing the joy I get out of it. When she's out running I'm at home. Recently did a 13k trail run in Chiang Mai with eldest daughter. She loved it. When asked what she liked most or how it made her feel, she said proud. She's 9. I think we're doing all right, but thanks for your concern.
 
toasty said:
My mom was a union negotiator for her job, so I grew up in a pro union house but all I've seen from my dealings with unions is they fight for the shittiest of workers to look strong to the rank and file but no longer produce superior work compared to non-union shops.
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Unless you are the owner of the company, in other words if you are an employee, it is always more beneficial for you to be part of a union. Your wages and benefits will always be higher. There is almost zero downside to being in a union versus not. Even the dues you pay are more than offset by the increase in wages you have as a result of collective bargaining.
But sometime a couple decades ago, people bought the bullshit that a union somehow hurt the common man - that somehow they weren’t getting promotions because of the union. It’s bullshit.
 
GergreG said:
Wife has taken it up, seeing the joy I get out of it. When she's out running I'm at home. Recently did a 13k trail run in Chiang Mai with eldest daughter. She loved it. When asked what she liked most or how it made her feel, she said proud. She's 9. I think we're doing all right, but thanks for your concern.
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Sorry if you took the "you" in my reply to me you personally... it was meant as a general "you as in anyone reading that post" I've know a marriage that broke up over the wife becoming addicted to video games and ignoring her spouse and children...I've also got plenty of bro friends who think the perfect weekend is 2 days of golf and beer with the boys and leaving their wives to do whatever (and I sometime think whoever) they want to do. My advice was for anyone with a hobby that might be exclusive to be aware of that. Don't know you so wasn't trying to preach to you specifically. But re-reading it I totally see how I made that seem too personal.... Not my intention.... sorry.
 
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Jack Reacheround said:
Unless you are the owner of the company, in other words if you are an employee, it is always more beneficial for you to be part of a union. Your wages and benefits will always be higher. There is almost zero downside to being in a union versus not. Even the dues you pay are more than offset by the increase in wages you have as a result of collective bargaining.
But sometime a couple decades ago, people bought the bullshit that a union somehow hurt the common man - that somehow they weren’t getting promotions because of the union. It’s bullshit.
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I'm looking at it from a customer's perspective, not an owner or an employee's perspective....but yeah, balancing out fair wages vs profit making is tough and if I have to fall on one side or the other I go fair wages.......But my experience with union workers has been mostly negative. I had a building super get suspended because every tenant hated him, he sold union jobs in the building to non-union guys like one day this guy is making my sandwich at the deli next door the next day he is running my freight elevator after paying $2,500 for the job, etc. So the union suspends him with pay for a week or two then reinstates him back into our building. Now he knows nobody can touch him and he fucks with everyone he feels "tried to get him"....If the union listened to the legitimate complaints of 18 floors worth of small businesses, he should've been kicked out of the union, but at worst he should have been reassigned to another building, right? Nope. I also know engineers who had to work with railroad union's and they had to pay guys to show up and fall asleep in lawn chairs just to be allowed to work on the railyard's property. so yeah, pro fair wages, but also pro keeping people who get higher wages to a higher standard....but again, this is probably a whole nother thread "Unions good or bad" or some such.
 
Patrick Jane said:
Not just don't make excuses. Also don't be scared and don't get anxiety from pressure. If you mess up it's not the end of the world because nobody cares and you can just do better next time.
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I didn't get the last couple of positive bits out of the clip I watched but I agree with them. We have a tendency to think if we're not immediately great at something we won't get any joy out of it, especially competition, but the joy is often in the doing and in the getting better at is through hard work. Billie Jean King said "Pressure is a privilege" which I totally respect but never manage to feel myself. To me, in sports at least, pressure meant I was going to fold like oragami.
 
toasty said:
and yet you took the time to reply? i don't think I believe you....I think you secretly read it all, twice. Cheers,
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If I read all that, I'd be as Old as you. Which from what I skimmed, must be about 80, right?
 
davidlemonparty said:
If I read all that, I'd be as Old as you. Which from what I skimmed, must be about 80, right?
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did you at least read this great yet short reply?
Plutoburn said:
The irony I've seen a lot in real life is that unlike movies, people that needed advice the most tend to not want to hear it the most. And because we can only help people who want to be helped, most great advice tend to fall on deaf ears.
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-learn to play a musical instrument, practice regularly. find other people to play with, even if you suck at it.

-draw or paint once in a while, even if you suck at it. art supplies are cheap and not just for kids.

-write in a journal regularly, preferably first thing in the morning or right before bedtime.

-exercise everyday. can be anything as long as it gets you breathing hard and sweating.

-buy fresh veggies weekly. make salads as often as possible.

-drink lots of water always. stay hydrated. especially when drinking alcohol and partying.

-stretch for a few minutes every day.

-call your friend and relatives on the phone once in a while. dont go years without talking to someone.

-plant a garden if you can, or help out in someone else’s.

-try psychedelics (use caution if unsure.)
 
toasty said:
Cherish Family- BUT only if they are worth it. Just because you share blood doesn’t mean they are good for you the rest of your life. Toxic is toxic regardless of DNA and even really good families sometimes produce a bad seed.

Cultivate friends BUT only keep them if they prove to be worth it. Meet lots of people, discard most of them, keep the few that prove themselves through actions and words and proof that they care about you. (inspired by the very interesting recent thread)

Have fun- But make sure it doesn’t get out of control or go on too long- DWI- time to reconsider. Drug purchases taking away your rent money, time to reconsider, arrested- time to reconsider- Friends warning you about your choices constantly time to reconsider. Chasing your gambling loses & fucking over your debts, time to reconsider. It starts affecting your physical, mental or emotional health, time to reconsider. My theory of Fucknuttery is when you hit roughly 25 for males or 23 for females, you look up and decide if you’re going to get serious or be a high school like fucknut the rest of your life, my advice is don’t be a fucknut

Travel- when young do it on the cheap, after that do it as you are comfortable with it physically and financially. If nobody wants to go with you, go yourself it’ll force you to meet people. Personal advice don’t do it on cruise ships and all inclusive resorts, immerse yourself in where you are don’t seal yourself off behind fancy walls

Learning doesn't end when school does, learning doesn't only happen in schools. read some classics and philosophy there are reasons they have remained relevant a long time in human history

Invest- Max your work’s 401 match and then be safe with Mutual funds and Dividend paying blue chip stocks. Once you have a solid footing and reliable passive income, you can get crazy with micro caps and options. Do all of this only with $’s you can afford to lose.

Kindness pays dividends and Selfishness charges interest. In the long run you win with niceness you lose being a dick. In the short run dicks often seem to get what they want but rarely do their lives end up being fulfilling or their funerals well attended

Careers are important, but if you’ve got Maslow’s basic needs covered, look for purpose or enjoyment in your work rather than how big the salary is. Mentor those below you, one day they may be equal or above you. Work for a charity or someplace that helps other people rather than just making a profit selling useless shit.

Embrace your interests and find people that share them, don’t be worried about if they are “dorky” you like something, others do to, the internet is really good for this ala Sherdog. None of my friends still follow MMA yet I get to spend quality time with all of you here.

Write mma Haiku's it is so fucking zen!

I would love for other old guys to kick in their thoughts so these crazy younglings can learn from our mistakes.
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