Looking back on my life, I've come to realize that everything I've accomplished, I did due to willpower. The most noticeable example was when I was working as a firefighter/EMT. It was a career I had my heart set on for many years. When I was old enough to pursue it, I learned that it wasn't an easy job to get into. Believe it or not, there are long waiting lists of people trying to land these jobs. (Quick aside: I find it a real shame that public safety--in addition to teaching, etc.--doesn't pay nearly what these workers are worth or what they sacrifice for the greater good.)
I went to technical school to get a certificate as an EMT, then went on to get state-certified. There were a little more than thirty people who started that class with me. I think twelve graduated, and out of the twelve, I think it was only seven who got their state certification. So, needless to say, it was pretty grueling. I was determined to succeed, and I did.
Fast forward a couple of months and I land a paid position at a fire department while also working during my days off with an ambulance company in the closest major city. The following time at these jobs was stressful to say the least. I entered burning structures, helped out at motor vehicle accidents, and went on more medical calls than I ever care to remember. I saw the worst in most people's lives. I watched way too many people die and most of the time, their deaths were needless and some premature.
One Sunday while I was on duty, the stress I was experiencing had become unbearable. I had a wife and child and another on the way. My salary of $18,600/yr was our only income. We were renting what basically amounted to a shack for $250/mo and we were robbing Peter to pay Paul to juggle our bills.
That Sunday, I sat at the dining room table in the fire station with the classifieds spread out before me. I wrote a short list of things I wanted in a new career. Much better pay was the first item. Followed by: low stress, working a set schedule, being able to stay clean, etc.
I turned through the want-ads, from A to Z, looking through the myriad job postings and comparing them to my list to see if the job might fit my criteria (based on my limited knowledge of each job anyway). I remember coming to the Computer Programming listings. I didn't know jack about computers, let alone programming them, but those salaries! Many were close to six-figures. For a guy making what I made, they were up in the stratosphere. (I imagine The Beverly Hillbillies Theme here: "Swimming pools and movie stars")
I remember deciding that programming is what I wanted to do. From what I understood, an office job met all of the criteria on my list. I set out finding out as much as I could about programming and the people who did it. I became a sponge to soak up every bit of knowledge that I could about this job. I saved money and bought a book. For Christmas, I received programming software from my brother and a hand-me-down computer from my father-in-law (a poky 286). I loaded the software and followed along in the book, then bought another book, and another. When I was able to, I spent all my time in front of the computer in a little nook of that shack, learning to program in C. I did this for a year and finally, when I felt reasonably comfortable, decided to send out my resume.
By this time, I'd left the fire department and was working in a warehouse assembling windows. It was horrible, back breaking work, but it allowed me more time to focus on learning to program. I ended up getting two job offers. The first was with a small company who published manuals. They programmed in a language called Awk, but said that if I knew C, learning Awk wouldn't be hard. The offer was for 24k/yr. I accepted, knowing I had another interview in less than a week with a more attractive company. That second company offered me 27k/yr and I would be programming in C for Windows.
Everyone who knows me, and knows this story, says that what I did was quite remarkable, but I'm unable to see how it's remarkable at all. I was miserable in my previous situation, despite being in a career that I thought I loved years before (beware of the glamour in any career; there's almost always a "gotcha"). I was determined to fix my situation and that's what I set out to do.
After all, I was a programmer now. I was in a field that matched all of my criteria for the perfect job. I'd spent a glorious year immersing myself in development and loved every minute. It was my passion.
Fast forward twenty years to today. It's no longer my passion. Programming stopped being a passion a few years into the career when I could no longer program things I wanted to program, but had to develop something that someone else wanted; what the person paying me wanted. That sucked all the air out of my sails. I've experienced burn out three times during my tenure and I'm tired of trying to ride the wave of technology evolution. Never have I seen an industry that changes so quickly, so often.
I discovered FI/RE about two years ago and found my new passion. I'm steadfast in my belief that I, too, can achieve financial independence and retire early. Jump off this treadmill so I can do the things that interest me. Slow down. Enjoy life. This is a proven path to success, and I've made up my mind that I want to succeed at it.
After all, where there's a will...there's definitely a way!
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