Street Smart vs. Book Smart

I'm gonna write again about my favorite topic of making money. You see, I may have this money consciousness in me because I am an accountant. And my prolonged problem of having no work. I guess to find work I want to go back to the basics wherein you find the work that you love and you do it. You take note of your inventory of talents and you find out what makes you feel alive and then, you pursue your passions. I guess that's what work is all about. I guess you find something that you do in this world and you do it and you make money on the side. I think what is important is you do your dream. I've definitely experienced doing something I didn't love and it becomes an everyday chore, like you're just sitting at your desk and you find out that it doesn't make you feel alive or maybe you should do something else in your life. It was definitely like a waste of time and you somehow start to search what it is you really want to do. For me, it was always applying for a job that I think I wanted. But I always failed. You would think that it is easy to find something you love but it wasn't in my case unless you have some small budget to spare for a class that you really, really want. Searching for a job, at least in my case, was a very frustrating practice. You would know they are searching for one thing and if you don't fit in what they are searching for, you would automatically be out of the list. I've grown old searching for a job, but I am still hopeful. It's very surprising that sometimes they would prefer those who have recently graduated to those who were already there in the job market for so long for certain reasons. I don't know anymore what makes a person qualified for a job?!? If your resume states a certain amount of experience they would agree to it. If it has a Masters, they would agree to it. I have so many plans unfulfilled because they didn't hire me. When I was younger, I would plan to have a job and to study. But because they didn't hire me, I wasn't able to go on with my studies. I tried to study MassCom, Law, even took the NMAT for I thought I would be able to find a job, save up for my plans to study my desired course and go on with my plans to study. Unfortunately, I was always stuck in the wanting to have a job phase so eventhough I had grand plans of pursuing a career in a different field, it would not always come. I thought I could become a working student until I finish a desired course. But, wanting to have a job dragged on and I have nowhere to go. I loved studying and so with the savings that I had, I attended an acting workshop, hair science and beauty culture, free photography classes and others because I was able to afford those. I studied again computer classes for Web Technologies and Java with my own savings for the hopes that I can make a career shift to IT. But in the hiring process, they would always look for a CompSci degree. Again, I didn't make use of what I studied. Maybe, what I absolutely wanted even before was just to have a job and use my skills and talent and make money for that is what's important, I conclude. All those years of having no work, I would ask money, of course, from my parents, and it was easy for me,then. After all, I was young, in my twenties, hated my accounting job, and all I wanted was to study or to shift careers. I would go to a nearby mall and ask for a hundred or a hundred and fifty bucks, and it would be enough for my meal, internet and a reading material because I love to read. I would read Entrepreneur magazine or some business and leadership books just to learn how to get rich. Sometimes, I would buy my mom pasalubong - food or a showbiz magazine. And all those years, with the small money that I got, I would never fail to give my mom a gift on her birthday or on Christmas. With the money that I got from my mom, I would go to the different malls around the city I live in and always try something new like new food, new magazine, play billiards, bowling, or go to a place I've never seen. When it was time to go to Makati or Ortigas, I'd ask for 250 and it was enough just as long as you hit two birds with one stone, applying for a job and at the same time pasyal in Makati or Ortigas. I got through with just a small amount of money. And I was happy. I would always buy but I buy cheap. In the internet, I got a few friends from an association of entrepreneurs and website for law students. Sharing your ideas with them definitely makes you feel trusted and understood. In my wanting to learn about business, I attended different business opportunity seminars regarding products such as IT products, real estate, insurance, loans, cosmetics. I guess, I have an inclination to sales but I still sort of shy about it, and I wanted to be trained by somebody whose good at it. In my internet buddies, I sort of pitched in my accounting services and a lot has responded but because I wasn't serious about it, was just toying around the idea of making money from accounting on my own, I didn't pursue these potential clients. Anyway, it was a learning experience. Right now, I would purchase business books I could afford and learn from it. Sometimes, newspapers, but I'm sort of wondering if those who advertise could be trusted. Some are from blind ads and you would think if they could be trusted. Anyway, I continue to learn from everyday experience. There was a time when I asked my mom for 50 pesos just to be able to test my selling skills on the street, I would try to sell cosmetics, hoping to make money for the day, but I guess I was shy about it so I didn't make anything. Sometimes, when you go out for example in the mall when you already run out of money titiisin mo na lang ang uhaw mo, makauwi ka lang. Before, I would go to Powerbooks just to read for free. I would drink Starbucks on very few occassions. Now, I just live with the few hundred bucks I receive each month from my aunt and mom. Sometimes, I hope I could put my years of watching tv as a MassCom degree in my resume for I learn a lot from watching tv. Or my years in the streets as an MBA in my resume. I definitely hope, I could find money soon. For the others, they definitely have talent in making money. For me, maybe I am just learning. But it's fun to learn and so far, all these years, I have never made making money as serious as I am taking it now.