50 life decisions

While I've never seen that movie, I can certainly relate to what you are saying. The path that got me to where I am right now was not expected. Financially/professionally things have worked out much better than I could have anticipated, and I wouldn't wish for a different business path (at least so far), but damn if I'm not sure that I know how I want to spend the rest of my life.

I feel strongly that I'm still going to navigate through differnet, bigger roads; but there's definitely something inside of me that says I won't be completely happy long term socially in the online internet industry. My life that's keeping me satisfied now as a single, near 22 year old won't still be what I'm interested in a little further down the road. I think a lot of younger people in this internet industry are going to be going through a lot of soul searching in the future.

My entire life is one big "thing" that I wish was done differently.

However, somehow... by luck I'm sure, I'm finally content in where I am and who I'm with.

Although, I'm certain that things could be 1000 times better if only I was smart enough to make better choices, or at least.. capable.

I think we've all done things we've regretted, but if my life had been different and I hadn't made the difficult choices, I wouldn't be where I am now... And I have too many wonderful things in my life to want to change it. Even one change, and things wouldn't be what they are today.

Hey WG,

You seem like one of the most honorable people in this business. I am sure you will find yourself with the right person and overwhelmingly happy in due time, good things come to good people.

I'm tempted by certain academic choice regrets... But given the fact that it took a lot of work, chance, serendipity, and effort to get to where I am now, I don't wish I made differing decisions.

Great post :)

I'd be in the FBI or I'd be a surgeon of some kind.

What you do for a living has a huge impact on your life. I think we all love the money this one creates but the social stigma gets worse as you get older.

I don't have any regrets and you can always change if you aren't having fun.

:glugglug

agreed

I got a job in San Francisco as a UNIX Systems Administrator Consultant.
$100k/year, 15% pay raise every year, benefits up the gazoo, 11 DAYS vacation per year.

My lawyer fucked me over on my visa application and I had to look into other ventures, porn it was. Sometimes I think about what it would be like if my lawyer didn't fuck me over. Where would I be? What would I be like? But when I think about the 11 days of vacation and the freedom I have now, I don't regret my decision :)

Congrats :)
WG

That was really nice of you to say, thanks, i appreciate that :)
WG

That's what I see as well, carreer wise, life couldn't be better. The way I was going through University, I was being socially programmed for a boring life working at some Fortune 500 where I would likely have gone insane making someone else rich. Thankfully that didn't turn out happening and I couldn't be happier with where my business / carreer are going. The social life though is something entirely different and I really do hope I can change where that is going since I'd rather a balance of the two than being misserable.

WG

Here you also make TCG rich.

You send most of your traffic to them and not your own paysites :-)

I don't do that out of the goodness of my heart, I get paid very nicely for that service. Besides, I have no interest in running or operating a paysite of my own.

WG

past is past... let it go :throwup

Wiredguy and Quiet, I can relate to your situations. When I was in Vancouver although I was having a blast, I did feel a bit lonely from time to time. Working out of my home didn't help either as I would spend 2-3 days at a time working my ass off barely seeing the outside world.

It felt like I was almost trapped in paradise. ;)

You guys are young and have tons of great opportunities and experiences still to go through. I know in a matter of time you will meet up with some amazing woman (or in WG's case a man LOL!) and he/she will blow your mind (and hopefully other places too!). Then after you are settled down and whipped you will be reminissing about the old days when you had no commitments and could do whatever you want, whenever you wanted to do it! LOL!

Welcome to my life! But I would'nt change it for the world! :thumbsup

DH

That's the main reason I got myself an office, if I didn't I would never see people or interact with the rest of the world.

WG

I have few regrets and I have never wanted to be anyone else. I've been homeless and pennyless but I picked myself up and it made me a stronger person. I can be happy without being rich, I have great friends, a wonderful lady soon to be my wife , a great job and some business' building.

But it took some major lows to appreciate what I gots.

I think what you appreciate most now is the double anal! :1orglaugh

DH

I agree ! Only looks ahead !

I could'nt ask for a better catcher.:Graucho

with the knowledge of today i would have done many things in a different way. but for i didn't know better at that time most of it was ok how it was.

If I wasn't doing this I'd be working basically helping people every day, but a shitty lifestyle..

Or I can work in porn and have a more relaxed life, and make more money.

I think about it quite a lot, I haven't closed any doors though, so I could still go back if I wanted.

Sometimes I wish I would have never cut her head off with that axe, but she just wouldn't shut the hell up.. someone had to do it.



Other than that, I'm glad I never ended up being a redneck, an acholic or worse. I'd rather look at the positive things rather than the negitives. Sure I wish I had done some things diffrent or things had ened up diffrent than they are now. However the way I look at it, if I'm really not happy with something it's up to me to change it. So as long as I'm still kicking I can't realy bitch if things don't turn out the way I want them too.

I've been thinking a lot lately about how one event has lead to another in my life. It's really strange to think about. And yes it's true how some of the simplest decisions or actions have ended up being life altering changes. I think back on how if I did this or that differently, where I would be now. I have regrets but at the same time I believe "everything happens for a reason." Sometimes I wish I didn't know now, what I didn't know then either but I believe some of the most valuable lessons are also the most painful ones.

Hindsight is always 20/20, so yeah I would probably do things differently the second time around, but I've also come to realize the past is dead and the only thing you can change is the future. It will be interesting to see what events will lead up to the life I have in 5 or 10 years. The financial aspect of life isn't nearly a fraction as appealing to me as other more important things in life. I've been rich and I've been poor, and I don't think there's any difference between the 2, because anybody with a strong mind and good heart can be happy in any situation.

The only goals and priorities I have at this point are self-improvement. Everything else will fall in place at it's own pace.

There have been times when I think "what if"? And "why did I?". But for every "mistake" I've made, something very good has come out of it that would never have happened had I not made the "mistake".

Case in point - I married an asshole, quit college and I married and had a kid too young. HOWEVER, I think my kid is one of the all time nicest, coolest, smartest, funniest people I've ever known and I can't imagine a life w/o having him. Had I not married that particular person at that particular time, I'd never have had my exact kid :)

Not to mention all the wonderful people I've met over the years that I'd never have met had things been any different. And those are just 2 of many examples. :thumbsup

Yep, Ventura and Van Nuys. :thumbsup

Loved that newstand.

same here, it's like a historical landmark really...


good memories of the Valley in the 80s...


:thumbsup

I think about this kind of stuff all the time. If I hadn't left my ex, I never would've quit my corporate job & become self-employed & definitely wouldn't have gotten into adult. My entire circle of friends is different. The music I listen to & movies I watch are my own tastes, not his. It's a dramatically different "me".

And that's just one small decision in the grand scheme of things!

Do you remember those "Choose Your Own Adventure" books? I wish I had one of those for my life. Not because I have regrets, but just because I think it would be a fascinating read. ;)

I tend to look at life as an interactive "game" of sorts. You make choices, some seemingly based on random series of events, some obviously with tremendous importance attached to them.

At the end of the day, it's all in what you make of it, and the conscious choice to be happy, regardless of your circumstances, and regardless of challenges put in front of you, is a hard one to stick by once you make it.

But if you can, then you'll find that you get much more enjoyment out of things, small or large, and that you'll develop a support system that works for you, provided you support the other people in it with the same respect for their time that they give to you.

I haven't quite yet figured out where the win/lose point is in the "game" of life, I'm starting to believe it really is more about the battles than the war, so to speak...

Nice.

A parphrase that is similar - You are the main character of your own story. So you should write one that at least you find interesting.

Sex fucked up my life.
Yes - I wish I had taken a different path.

She became pregnant - I did the "manly thing" and stayed for the "family" which is now none existent/dead/terminated by myself on a forever basis.

I'm selling SexEducation.com to recapture the life I should have had by going to University.

Absolutely - I took the wrong path in life.

Hey, I like that --

nope.

i used to look back and it stopped me from going forward.

recently, i made some diecisions that i thought were bad and they opened doors for good things.

Yes, we all did something that we regreted after doing it.

YES I DO

I remember having a similar conversation with you, but didn't know about the homeless part. Some story! I wish you and Sarah all the best, and good luck with building your business dude! :thumbsup

i think i'm older than you bro.

anyway, great post.

I wish I hadn't been arrested for auto-theivin' when I was young and filled with angst.

And I wish I hadn't spent so much of my younger years (see 14-18) parked in front of the computer.

Amazing how taking such hard crashes teaches you that you dont have to have it all to be successful.

Ive been getting the breaks for almost a year straight now, and every dollar I earn right now is a stuggle for me. But I'm slowly getting to an income that I can be comfortable with.

Hopefully a few months from now, all the shit I'm going thru at the moment will be worth it in the long run :)

I'm 54, married to a hot bi-sexual 27 year old who likes 3somes, I earn a lot of money working 6 hours a day shooting hot naked teens and live in a country where my income goes a very long way.

Which different path do you think I should of taken? :1orglaugh

March 1993 I replied to an ad for telemarketers out of college since I was broke at the time and living at home.

April 26, 1993 - 1st day on the job, the manager there sat me with a rep that been there 6 years named Bill.

Me and Bill became the best of friends over the next 6 years working together, hanging out after work, weekends etc.

December 1998 - I had a xmas party at my house I just bought with family and freinds. As were there, Bill tells me about working in the internet and this is the place to be. I take a job working at this local ISP he's the manager of. Total cake job.

March 1999 - I meet Bill's daughter Jennifer. She's single 22 and absolutely goregous. I had seen pics of her that he had, but, they were of her as a teenager... Seeing her in person totally blew me away.

July 1999 - Me and Jennifer have dinner at her place. 1 week later we move in, 3 weeks later are engaged, 10 months later marred. I sold my first house for an outrageous profit and move out the country where she lives.

May 2001 - We buy the home were in now. My IT consulting biz opens, catches part of the boom and cash flows like water.

May 2002 - I get into adult biz, as well, working my Corp IT gigs.

We are now going into our 5th year together :) and possibly looking at child 1.

All from answering that 1 ad in 1993 leads me to where I sit today writing to you all. Amazing to think that if I didnt answer that ad how it all would have been different.

I dont regret a minute of it. :)

Most of us do wish to do that. but we can't change the past.

Nicely said.
WG

Some great post in here ... Makes you go Hummm!!!

I look back but to be honest never wished any different. My life is great at the moment. I have great friends most of them in this industry but lots outside the industry as well.

I have met the love of my life threw an industry party in Toronto (She was there to hang out she is not part of the industry)

Now life will always have it's ups and downs. The way you handle them is how your level of happiness will be.

Remember to let go the things that makes you sad/mad and think about the good things being alive and having friends and family brings you.

Sleazy I will see you tonight bro ;-))

Congratulations bro :)
WG

Look back every nanoecond of your life to correct mistakes right away.

THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT is almost my favorite movie.
I have a dilemma with HERO :)

I wondered what would have happened back in 99 if I used a different Nick when I came on the scene in CONDOM.

I got contacted by one of the sponsors because he thought I was a chick. From there one we got to talking and I got introduced to the owner and other people.

How different would my life be if I didn't have a sponsor with pussy fever hitting me up?