Failure IS an option

I've been listening to a radio show (www.allamericangold.com) about how our economy is going in the long run. Yesterday and today, Joe Jaiquin was talking about coaching his basketball team and the importance of failure. It is not just an option, it is CRITICAL that our kids be allowed to fail, to learn that they must get up and try again.

Well, I'm taking this in a different direction. Sometimes instead of trying again, we need to learn to try something else. Have you climbed on that horse 100 times, only to be bucked off each time? Maybe you need a different horse, or maybe you need to ride a bicycle. Heck, even Walt Disney and Donald Trump declared bankruptcy and started over!

I've known since I became a computer programmer in 1981 (yes, I'm that old) that it wasn't the best possible job for me. It's a job, that I was able to do, that most people cannot. But it was never my passion. I worked with many people over the years who would slave at their computers all day long, only to go home and play on a home computer all night. Not me! I could not wait to get away from the computer. So why on earth did I get two degrees in computer science? Because I never wanted to admit that I made a mistake in 1980 picking the career. I never wanted to admit (drum roll please) that I am a FAILURE as a software engineer.

OK, that's done. Now what?

Well, the best. "funnest" most satisfying job I ever had was as an instructional designer for Lockheed Martin. Once that job went to just doing the scheduling and teaching, I got bored and hired my replacement. I need a teaching position where I will be constantly stretched to design and solve problems.

Whoa, that is WEIRD. I just got a robo call from Jefferson County offering me a job as a teacher in Thorton. Well, it's not a job offer, but it's notification that a position exists which the computer thinks I may qualify for. You must admit, the timing is remarkable.

I think I'll be a teacher when I grow up. =sigh= Time to go back to college.