A Fresh Perspective (2004)

Year 2004.

The first step towards real lifedom.  The chain of long drawn out consecutive years of schooling were finally done. 

 

In June I made the move to the small city of London, Ontario.

Knowing little about what I was getting into, I couldn't wait to get my career started as a day trader.  I found myself playing captions of Wall Street in my head hoping that some day my aspirations would come true and that maybe, just maybe, I could be as wealthy as Gordon Gecko.

Well, in short, I wasn't making any money as a day trader and that's when reality began to hit.  I had enough money to survive three measley months and clearly that wasn't enough time to understand what it took to succeed as a trader.

The unfortunate thing was that I really enjoyed learning about the stock market and everything that came with day trading.

I loved the fact that I could play the market however I wanted to.  I could be a buyer or a seller.  I traded when I wanted to trade and no one told me what to do.  It was the sort of autonomy that most only dreamed of. 

Unfortunately, with very little money to get me through the learning curve, I had to move on.

In the next 5 months, I went through 2 new jobs:

There I was, a University graduate working for Culligan Water as a salesman.  I had my own Culligan van, my own Culligan jacket, and even my own Culligan business cards!  It wasn't until I was told to go door to door to solicit water coolers that I realized that the job was not for me.

After Culligan was Radio Shack.

Yet another sales position.  Wondering if this was my destiny as a Business graduate?

The Shack was a neat little place for electronic geeks.  It took some time roaming up and down the store before I got a good grasp of the products and let me tell you, there were plenty.

It actually wasn't all that bad. I enjoyed talking to the old folks who regularly hung out at Cherry Hill mall, where the store was located.  Working there was somewhat entertaining helping customers with their broken 30 year old watches, faulty cable boxes, computer inquiries, cell phone inquiries, hearing aids, wheelchairs etc. etc. etc.

At the end of the day, working at Radio Shack was a means to an end and that end came quickly.

I was broke and unsatisfied. Thinking that there had to be more to life than this.

(A picture of my friends Aaron, Jeff, and me in the garage of my place in London, ON, 2004)