My true calling?
Don't get me wrong, I love games. I loved cars too at one point, loved many girls, loved all kinds of things, but the fact is, unless you feel like you are progressing, you will not love it forever. I had my own auto body shop and did alright with it back in the early and mid 90's but it seemed like I was peaked out, and after enough shitty customers who complain about the dent in the right back door when the car was hit in the front left bumper you start to wonder why the hell you are here.
So I got into games. I loved games. My love for games was undying, invincible. I'd make games the rest of my life I thought. Until massive stress from working 16 hour days, nearly 7 days a week for 8 years straight rewarded me with divorce, bankruptcy and many heartaches. Even then I plodded on another 4 years, and still have some waning dreams of running a successful game biz. But for the LIFE of me, I cannot invest a single mouse stroke into a piece of art, or a playable demo, or a sweet design document, all the things needed to get published. I just can't do it. I FEEL like it would be a waste of time because it takes a monumental effort to get a marginal deal.
Early August I got laid off. I had just bought a rental property that needed a lot of renovations, so I just worked on it full time as fast as I could to get it done and get it cash flowing. I actually really enjoyed the whole process. Is it because I really enjoyed eating drywall dust, crawling in a 120 degree attic to do wiring, or getting slivers and cutting my fingers or scraping my leg pretty much daily? No. Was it because I felt some kind of reward for making some rotted house look sweet again? Maybe a little, but No. Was it because I felt like I was finally on the path to financial freedom? BINGO!
Why am I obsessed with being financially free? I've had boatloads of money in the bank before but it didn't feel that great because I knew the game industry would fall through again, leaving me broke eventually. Its more of a feeling of being stacked, and being able to stay stacked that makes me feel good. Its that feeling of security, and control, and most of all IMO, the feeling of PROGRESS which compells me to get up and do construction work, wiring, plumbing, whatever it takes, I will do it. I don't care.
Bodybuilding taught me to do things wether I felt like it or not, in order to succeed. Yet with games, I applied that discipline, and it didn't pay off for me. Projects fail, people get laid off, I guess that is the nature of the business. I guess I don't like that nature. I want to build something that lasts, and I believe that my true calling is real estate. I want to make good money, and I think I can do it with real estate.
I know for a fact I can flip houses, even in this down market for some good profits. This would help fund my dream of building a lot of rentals, which would ultimately give me the ability to do whatever I want, which might just be making games again. But only after I can afford to hire 10 people full time to work on a demo that kicks ass. Anything less is just insanity and won't have it.
So I think my true calling is going to be real estate. I like making deals, and I do enjoy fixing things. I'm good at it. Eventually I want to be making games, but I think I need a lot of passive income to do it right, so to me its more logical to focus on real estate to get rich, THEN try games again. Or at least get to the point where I don't have to worry about money and could work on some game projects.
So I got into games. I loved games. My love for games was undying, invincible. I'd make games the rest of my life I thought. Until massive stress from working 16 hour days, nearly 7 days a week for 8 years straight rewarded me with divorce, bankruptcy and many heartaches. Even then I plodded on another 4 years, and still have some waning dreams of running a successful game biz. But for the LIFE of me, I cannot invest a single mouse stroke into a piece of art, or a playable demo, or a sweet design document, all the things needed to get published. I just can't do it. I FEEL like it would be a waste of time because it takes a monumental effort to get a marginal deal.
Early August I got laid off. I had just bought a rental property that needed a lot of renovations, so I just worked on it full time as fast as I could to get it done and get it cash flowing. I actually really enjoyed the whole process. Is it because I really enjoyed eating drywall dust, crawling in a 120 degree attic to do wiring, or getting slivers and cutting my fingers or scraping my leg pretty much daily? No. Was it because I felt some kind of reward for making some rotted house look sweet again? Maybe a little, but No. Was it because I felt like I was finally on the path to financial freedom? BINGO!
Why am I obsessed with being financially free? I've had boatloads of money in the bank before but it didn't feel that great because I knew the game industry would fall through again, leaving me broke eventually. Its more of a feeling of being stacked, and being able to stay stacked that makes me feel good. Its that feeling of security, and control, and most of all IMO, the feeling of PROGRESS which compells me to get up and do construction work, wiring, plumbing, whatever it takes, I will do it. I don't care.
Bodybuilding taught me to do things wether I felt like it or not, in order to succeed. Yet with games, I applied that discipline, and it didn't pay off for me. Projects fail, people get laid off, I guess that is the nature of the business. I guess I don't like that nature. I want to build something that lasts, and I believe that my true calling is real estate. I want to make good money, and I think I can do it with real estate.
I know for a fact I can flip houses, even in this down market for some good profits. This would help fund my dream of building a lot of rentals, which would ultimately give me the ability to do whatever I want, which might just be making games again. But only after I can afford to hire 10 people full time to work on a demo that kicks ass. Anything less is just insanity and won't have it.
So I think my true calling is going to be real estate. I like making deals, and I do enjoy fixing things. I'm good at it. Eventually I want to be making games, but I think I need a lot of passive income to do it right, so to me its more logical to focus on real estate to get rich, THEN try games again. Or at least get to the point where I don't have to worry about money and could work on some game projects.
posted by Joel Huenink at
12:43 AM
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