“Ever try. Ever Fail. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” - Beckett
What a humble thing you’ve done and most people can’t reach that kind of humility while sustaining intellect until 35-40 or after life has kicked the shit out of them - which ever comes first. Remember this. You are further along than you know.
Don’t ever use drugs. Don’t drink to your own detriment. The missing ingredient to your shit show is substance abuse. It will make change these trials which you can overcome into a crap shoot.
I don’t like self help books. I like literature when I am stuck. Try a little Dorothy Parker if you appreciate sarcasm. Oscar Wilde if you like to write - he will make you want to write more and better and forever.
Get every nickel of assistance you can from the government without beating the system.
Keep your supportive friends and family close and don’t let the others get in your head. People will support you but not forever. So don’t screw around while they worry.
Even when we think we know everything, even when we are told we are masters, we know only a little. Never stop learning. If you do it is the beginning of the end.
You are amazing. People online are idiots myself included. We are here for ourselves only. If you gleam any small nugget from our crap pocket it. But don’t bank on us. We are flawed like you but in different and/or greater ways.
You got this kid. You do.
-Fatova
Oh…one other thing…I am in my 40’s and my life is a shit show like you read about. I am only moments away from a crash and burn every day. But I am better than i was a year ago and believe I will better than THIS a year from now. The numbers bear it out.
Accounting is very useful for an entrepreneur. Managing cash flow is the life blood of any business. Get your degree. Work for a company like the one you would like to start to learn the business and then start your company.
You can’t control the way you feel, you have some control over what you think about, but you have alot of control over what you do. If you start doing the right things, you will start thinking about the right things, and if you start thinking right, the feelings will come. Don’t wait for the feelings, start now and let the feelings catch up.
All good advice,
Yes, this is important, I actually only started being able to laugh/cry a few months ago, and watching downloaded comedy really helped keep my spirits up.
Yes, it’s important not just to read in one area, to get out of this hole, I need to be creative and what is creativity but the joining together of different ideas.
Good advice, perfectionism is the mother of stagnation.
Excellent advice, my only problem is finding a frozen lake in Australia.
In the past I was deeply ashamed at getting sick, but now, I just keep doing it because I’ve always been doing it.
My grades weren’t exactly perfect before I got sick, I think I’ll only do a few courses at most next semester
Good advice.
Tell me about it, because of my childhood stroke, I am extremely sensitive to certain prescription drugs, antidepressants made me more depressed, and the terrible last three years were due to taking ADHD stimulants. I wouldn’t I don’t drink much, as my family has a history of alcoholism.
I wish I knew that then, it seems I am starting over.
Yes, that’s why I will persist with the course. You are right about getting into the right mindset.
No I want to be a lion tamer!
Oh and for advice.
Take care of your teeth.
Is that an indirect way of saying don’t get into any fights?
Flossing is more important than avoiding fights.
Plus, if worse comes to worse, the floss will make a handy garrott 
Stop lying about your age, and certainly don’t mention your lack of “ethical qualms about pirating books or media.” I’m not even sure why you mentioned it here; I don’t think I’d want to hire an accountant with questionable ethics.
- Exercise
- Finish your degree.
- Find a job.
- The rest sort of takes care of itself.
If you are looking to get into project management for professional development purposes (which isn’t a bad idea), you could check out the PMI Project Manager Body of Knowledge guide. I wouldn’t buy it, but you can find a lot of the content online by Googling it. (I happen to be studying for the PMP certification right now)
Unlike most “management books” that tend to be more soft-skills oriented and fuzzy, it’s more of a technical manual. i.e. here are the documents you need to create, here is how you make a project plan, here’s how you estimate costs, so on and so forth.
I hate that stupid saying “fake it till you make it”. There are few things in life worth doing that you can bullshit your way through.
“Faking it” is stressful. It puts you in a position you are ill-equipped for and makes you constantly worry about being discovered as a fraud.
Mood follows action. Don’t wait to be in the mood to do something. Start doing it, and about halfway through you’ll notice that the mood is with you.
Beware of intake ennui. colelcting information feels like you are doing something, and in some cases (like when you are getting colege credit) it can be very important. But it is completely useless unless you then produce something with it.
As for what to read, I highly recommend “The Screwtape Letters.” It is both humorous and ominous, and will help you recognize when you are falling into one of the many life-wasting traps available to us all.
The Demon Screwtape, on how to tell when a human has been brought to a sure path to damnation:
Except it’s more like.
- Exercise
- Finish your degree.
- ???
- Find a job.
- The rest sort of takes care of itself.
Thanks, I am looking through it, I’ll have no problem reading it as it is very similar in tone to the accounting standards.
You are right, besides, I am in a stable position right now, with a cast-iron excuse for being delayed, so I can afford the time to become an expert for real.
When, a few weeks ago you had to choose between being evicted or going without food, you might see things differently. I am not in the position to spend hundreds on books on the chance they might be useful. Call my ethics questionable, but when faced with the choice of floundering my whole life on government benefits, or pirating the knowledge I need to become a productive member of society, I choose to pirate. When the values in the equation change, I will start paying for things.
As for job applications, I don’t lie about my age.
Yes, this is generally good advice, but my problem is, even when I get started, I start to get tired, and when I rest, I find it hard to get started again and I might forget what I am doing. This is an especially big problem for brain-intensive work. ***Does anyone have any suggestions to overcome this problem? ***
Yes, this is very good advice, I’ve read books (and got an undergraduate degree) because it was the ‘right thing to do’, but the information was not applicable to my situation or needs.
I’ll check it out, thanks
For the getting started after a break problem - I leave sticky notes to myself about what I should do when I return to the task. Something specific and pretty concrete. When I come back to it, I do whatever Yesterday Me told me to do, and by the time I’ve done that, I’m back in the groove.
But I seem to need to take breaks every half and hour or so, or even frequenter
I guess I don’t know what you mean by tired. If you’re that physically tired you’re probably not ready to be in the job market. I don’t know of an employer who permits two breaks an hour, or more.
If you mean mentally tired/losing focus, rotating among tasks sometimes helps. Also organize your work do that hardest tasks are done when you’re fresh (whenever that is for you- some people are night owls, others work best in the morning, etc.) and save easy simple stuff for when your brain is tired.
“When I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead.”
-Barney Stinson
Why do you think there needs to be a #3? While no one is guaranteed a job, lots of folks find work right out of school. Don’t go into this assuming you won’t get a job; be positive ***and *** take the appropriate steps to boost your chances. Start networking now, look for internships, volunteer, etc.
Have you ever done a sleep study? anyone ever told you that you snore, or your legs twitch when you sleep?
This is beginning to sound like a disrupted sleep cycle.
It’s hard to do an internship and still have the energy to study. Then again, employers care a lot about how much time you’ve had since.
I get mentally tired, I can cycle or walk for hours, but sustaining mental effort is hard.
Yes, I’ll try your scheduling advice.
I think so too. When I record the sounds I make when I sleep, I notice I talk alot.
Shameless B.U.M.P.