thanks kitsune - i really am not looking for a pat on the back, i am not special, i haven't done anything extraordinary.
i seriously bristle when i hear people say that there are no jobs and ________is holding them back. what i have found is that no one can hold me down, but myself.
life is about weighing the risks and prioritizing. when i was a headhunter/recruiter a new VP came in and told me the only way i was going to make "real" money is in sales. i asked him to allow me to train in the sales dept in addition to my normal duties, he said no - he didn't think i had what it took to be a salesperson. i hadn't him my resignation on the spot. he asked where i was going and i told him i didn't know, but i knew that i would be selling something. i decided that if i was going to learn sales i was going to go into the most demanding sales environment around. 2 weeks later i was a car salesman (go LJ!). later that year i sold that VP a ford Excursion and just raked him over the coals on it, to the point that my commission on that deal paid my mortgage for 2 1/2 months. i sent him a thank you card with a PS that said "not bad for a guy who doesn't have what it takes to be a salesman, huh?"
i knew i wanted more, i took the leap and 2 positions later it has really paid off.

One thing that I ran into in South Georgia that I thought was very cool is the Georgia Freenet Project. Obviously, a lot of people don't have computers, so the state has several trailers that they haul around and setup temporary computer labs. The locals that elect to can get free training on how to use a computer when the van shows up in their town. I thought that was a very cool way to help assist those that need to expand their careers and feel trapped in a small town. Its run by volunteers.

It's bigger than you think.

Don't forget that in order to get something better, sometimes it takes more than what that person has, and I don't mean "guts" either.


Not always that easy.

Careers in IT, that's a great route to wallmart these days ;)

How about an accountant into a LION TAMER!
sorry, just a bit of Python...

i think i will back out of this now. needless to say i believe in the indominatable will of men and women. those who want something badly enough, will attain it.