When I was young the future looked so bright and the path so clear. I knew what I wanted out of life and I prepared myself appropriately. My two passions were pitching in baseball and designing things. I had a natural ability for throwing a baseball, which I developed with hours of practice each day. From grade school on I studied very hard to get good grades and attended a boy’s technical high school to further enhance my education. I spent a lot of evenings studying while others were enjoying fun, after school activities. I felt strongly that the proper preparations, hard work and sacrifices would guarantee my success in the future.
The course of my life changed during my first year in college when I signed up to go into the Army in which I served 18 months in Viet Nam. While in the service, I experienced a whole different world which caused me to search for a philosophy of life that would strengthen my resolve not to fall into the moral decay that was all about me. It was during this time that I meet a member of a Church whose example attracted me. After much study I joined that Church and that has made all the difference in my life.
After returning home from the military, I served a two year Mission for my Church which definitely expanded my life’s views. Following the mission I returned to finish my education. One of the benefits of military service was the G.I. Bill which enabled me to obtain both a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering, and a Master’s Degree in Structural Engineering. During this period I still had a desire to pitch, but it became obvious that in order to complete my education on time I would need to give up my baseball career for a more enduring career in engineering. Graduating gave me such a great feeling of accomplishment.
After graduation I returned home and obtained a job as a Structural Design Engineer for a Consulting firm. My career was started and life looked great! We (my new wife and I), bought a new home and started to build our family. Then, to my surprise, things changed again. The economy took a nose dive and I was let go after only 5 months. What a blow this was to find out there really is no security in working for others. The only job that I could find was working for an Insurance company as a technical services specialist. This new job was a ‘temporary’ step to help until I could get back into structural engineering. However, that did not happen as I had planned.
To be continued . . .
William Clausen is an author and entrepreneur for SynergyWeb, a continuing education and business development company showing people how to build business success. Get No Obligation Free Tips and Training at www.24hourwebcash.com/clausen6522. Find out if you qualify to be trained in having your own business at 1-800-719-8268 extension 19717. Outside the U.S. 1-480-355-5612 ext 19717. Also visit my new blog at http://synergyweb7.blogspot.com for additional information.