8 Alternatives to Working a Regular Job You Don't Like

Discuss personal development, self-improvement and motivational psychology.
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Winston
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Post by Winston »

Here is a similar article to mine about how to quit your day job and travel around the world. It's pretty funny and good.

How to kill your day job and travel the world

http://postmasculine.com/kill-your-day-job

The minimalism lifestyle

http://postmasculine.com/minimalism
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Winston
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Post by Winston »

Check out these great points about true wealth and happiness.

http://postmasculine.com/minimalism

Happiness studies consistently bring back a couple of findings: 1) that we derive far more happiness from experiences than we do from possessions, and 2) that we’re better off investing our energy in our relationships than the things we own.

Getting rid of unnecessary possessions can therefore indirectly improve our quality of life through the following ways:

1. Frees up more time and money to spend on experiences and with people.
2. Forces one to invest more of their identity in their behavior and attitude and less in objects around them.
3. Removes the stress of loss aversion and trying to hold on to what one already has.
4. Saves money (always a stress reducer).

http://postmasculine.com/wealth

Psychological studies on happiness in the past couple decades has supported this. Research shows that money correlates with happiness up until a middle-class income and after that, there’s no correlation between money and happiness. Happiness flatlines.

Money buys happiness only when it is spent on experiences and earned without costing too much time. This is why I find it less useful to define wealth in terms of money, and define it instead in terms of the quality of life experiences.

Wealth is having the freedom to maximize one’s life experiences.

Money is a requisite for wealth, but so is time and so is efficient use of that time and money. Money gives one opportunities for more experiences. But one must also have the time to pursue those experiences. Having the money to travel to Australia isn’t worth anything if you can’t ever take time off work to go there.

Your fundamental needs take precedence: health, food, shelter. If these three needs are not met, then nothing else is going to make you happy and not having them is going to make you miserable. But assuming you have those needs met, then research indicates that the experiences which create the most happiness are:

1. New and unique activities.
2. Shared experiences with others and building relationships.
3. Passion activities.
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mattyman
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Post by mattyman »

So true Winston. That's a great philosophy you have on life. If only more people would adopt that view. I certainly do not want to be working full time with only a few weeks off a year. The feeling of being owned by someone else? Thank goodness I'm now casually self-employed and back living at home (with the occasional trip around Europe). I don't understand why people have to by so much shit and live incredibly wasteful lives?
Your fundamental needs take precedence: health, food, shelter. If these three needs are not met, then nothing else is going to make you happy and not having them is going to make you miserable. But assuming you have those needs met, then research indicates that the experiences which create the most happiness are:

1. New and unique activities.
2. Shared experiences with others and building relationships.
3. Passion activities.
On that note I would like to add more importantly, that we also have emotional needs, of which living a more simple life can help in meeting. I'll spew forth my thoughts, though it might seem a bit long-winded.

Attention;
to have the opportunity to give and receive quality attention and social contact.

Intimacy (emotional);
the need to feel connected to others, to be accepted warts and all, to have people we can really be ourselves around without fear of judgment. Unfortunately, so many aspects of western culture foster a hostile competitive, individualistic attitude that render people incapable of building trust in each other.

The need to feel we belong;
the opposite to feeling like a 'fish out of water'. The feeling of a sense of belonging, that you fit-in, don't feel like an outcast, being part of a society, or a group in that society that meets that need. If you find yourself with very different values, motivations and temperament to others in your peer-group can leave you feeling left-out. Not having this need met can leave you doubting yourself. Example would be someone who's quiet and intellectual being amongst people who are only into sports and reality tv

A sense of autonomy and control;
feeling able to make decisions over the outcome of one's life and being able to influence one's path. The conventional model of employment for a lot of people contravenes this need. Other things that can infringe on this need is fear and bad conditioning.

A sense of competence, that we're good at something;
this is probably one of the biggest needs that work satisfies, and one of the reasons unemployment is said to be bad for mental health. This is the sense of wellbeing brought by doing things you love and that give you that sense of achievement, meaning and value, things that stretch you, things that you feel are a satisfying challenge. Sadly, Anglo-american society is arranged that much of this need must be met through full time work or formal education. The sad truth is that people are often not in jobs that maximize their talents and that are not meaningful, but just a means to pay the bills. However, there are a myriad ways this need can be met beside the full-time job. Traveling, working on a business, a hobby, or learning something new, honing a skill or whatever floats your boat can bring that, and having the choice to know what makes you tick

A sense of value, of purpose;
this is basically the sense that your efforts are valued and appreciated. It's that sense that you're valuable and you have something to offer, the sense that you're wanted, needed and important. Many people get this need met through conventional employment, as with the above. Take it away, again we have a void left in which self-doubt and self-esteem issues can proliferate. Many people also get this need met by being valued in a relationship or a good friendship. Many of the options illustrated here can easily satisfy that need.

A sense of identity or status within groups; Tied to the above, we need to feel recognised and acknowledged for who we are, we need to feel a sense of pride in our values, our role to others, our place within our groupings. This should definitely not be based on shallow things like money on possessions. I suppose it ties in with fitting-in and being appreciated.

The problem with workoholic societies is that so many of these needs are dependent on 9-5 employment. Why many people develop substance problems, and mental health problems when 'unemployed'; the absence of these vital needs leads people vulnerable to self-esteem problems, feelings of emptyness and depression.

Plus, they try to fill your head with fear of becoming 'unemployable'. Quite a clever system to enslave people
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Post by Winston »

I just thought of an 8th alternative to working a regular job, which I will add to my article:

Extra work and promotional gigs through talent agencies

If you are near a major city, you can be an extra in films, TV shows, commercials and corporate videos. This kind of work is easy to get. No experience is necessary. You just have to show up, follow directions and bring several sets of clothes. The pay is minimum wage, but it's fun and easy. I know from personal experience since I used to work for a talent agency in Reno, NV.

Most of the time as an extra is spent waiting in the lounge with the other extras. They feed you meals, provide snacks in the waiting lounge, and call you when they are ready to shoot the scene. The people who show up as extras are usually very social and friendly with each other. They tend to be wannabe actors who don't like working regular jobs. For some reason, those types are very social with strangers. You can make a lot of friends talking to other extras in the waiting area. Even the girls there are friendly and will talk to you, though that doesn't mean they will go out with you.

Local talent agencies cast for extra work. It is easy to get. Just call all the talent agencies in your local yellow pages, or find them online via Google. Then call them or email them for submission procedures. When I did this in the 1990's, I called all the ones in the phone book. Nowadays you can just contact them online or apply online probably. There are even online agencies nowadays. Just Google "Talent agencies in *your city*" or "Extra work in films in *your city*". There is probably a national website that handles them nowadays.

If you are reliable, they will tend to give you more extra work, or ask you to call an extras hotline for directions to the next gig. They also seem to like casting minorities for some reason, especially Asians, probably to give the video a multicultural look. There are not many Asians in acting or trying to get extra work, so any Asian that comes along will be perceived as extra valuable. (I know this from personal experience since I'm Asian) Some people even work as regular extras everyday in TV series.

If you are lucky, sometimes the director will bump up an extra to a speaking role, which means big bucks and makes you eligible to join SAG (Screen Actors Guild) if you work three days in a speaking role. This happens rarely, but it did happen to a hot Asian chick on Nash Bridges one time, with Don Johnson.

The easiest extra work to get is for blockbuster movies, small budget local commercials, and corporate videos, aka industrial videos. For example, in Seattle or Redmond WA, Microsoft casts for corporate videos regularly through talent agencies and casting agencies. It's easy work. You just sit in the background and do what they say, and they give you a hundred dollar bill in an envelope afterward.

Talent agencies also assign promotional work as well. Companies are always trying to promote new products. So they contract with marketing agencies, who in turn contract with talent agencies to find actors and models to do temporary promotional work. In these gigs, they have you stand in public streets or malls and pass out flyers or give out samples of a company's new product. It's easy work with no pressure. You don't have to sell anything. You just have to approach people and put flyers in their hands or get them to sample the product you're promoting.

You don't have to look like a model though. They can't always get models to do this kind of work, so they will often just settle for an average looking person. They gave me tons of this kind of work after all. I was really good at it because I enjoyed approaching women every minute, and this gave me a legitimate excuse to do so. :)

These promotional gigs pay about $10 an hour and are very easy. I did it for years. As long as you're reliable and do your job cheerfully, they will always have promotional gigs for you because companies are always trying to promote new products. So the work can be very regular, if you want to work regularly that is. Summer, when people are outdoors, is the peak season for this kind of work. It's also fun in that you promote a different product every week and get to stand outside and enjoy the sun.

This is all independent contractor work with no commitment. You can quit anytime. But if you are reliable they will give you regular work. I did lots of extra work and promotion gigs through talent agencies. Call all the ones you in your area and ask how to apply. Or email them if they have a website. It's easy and fun.

I did this kind of work a lot in San Francisco and Seattle, so if any of you are in that area, I can tell you who to contact. I also worked for a talent agency in Reno, NV, so I can tell you who to call for that area too.

Warning: Beware of talent agencies who quickly try to sell you expensive acting classes. Many of them do this. When you come in, they tell you that you have a lot of potential and all you need is some training, so they try to sweet talk you into paying $900 for their acting classes or modeling classes. Or they will require you to get new headshots from only their photographer.

These are considered scams by the industry, but many lower end agencies profit mainly from this kind of thing, so they don't have much choice. Some of these lower end agencies who try to sell you classes do give you real work. But you should try to see if they will give you work without paying for their classes or paying for new headshots from their photographer. Be firm about it and see if they will give in. You should also ask around to see which agencies are more legit, or try to Google their reputation.
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miss_conduct
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Re: 7 Alternatives to Working a Regular Job You Don't Like

Post by miss_conduct »

Great article Winston, I really liked the #5 eco-village lifestyle...
I've tried going the "casting calls" route...and despite that there is a lot of filming that goes on in Georgia, (think of The Walking Dead) I've borne no fruit from my research...but I kind of suspect that you lived in a better area for such work.

I know of a man who teaches a course on "passive online income"...he's a very good guy, not a hack trying to sell some kind of cockamamie "make money in your sleep" program...seems genuine...his course is free on Udemy and he's got 2 e-books for sale ($2.99 each). His website is called the "Make Money From Home Lion's Club".
Be good, or be good at it.
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Winston
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Re: 8 Alternatives to Working a Regular Job You Don't Like

Post by Winston »

Hi all,
I added an eighth alternative to this list of alternatives in the first post. The eighth option is to work as an extra in films and movies. I've done it before and it's a lot of fun. You get paid while eating snacks and meeting people. The scenes you get to be in are usually brief,, so most of the time is spent in the waiting area. And the work is temporary so there's no commitment to staying long term. The people you meet tend to be more open minded because the type of people who like to do that kind of work are usually "freespirit" types like us who don't like to hold a regular job. lol. So they are kind of bohemian types and vibe well with our type.

Here are some links if you are interesting in doing this to earn some money.

http://www.wikihow.com/Become-an-Extra-in-a-Movie
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/ar ... extra.html
http://www.entertainmentcareers.net/res ... -an-extra/
http://beinamovie.com/extra/index.php

To see a list of national casting calls for extras, check here:

https://www.backstage.com/casting/open- ... s-casting/
Check out my FUN video clips in Russia and SE Asia and Female Encounters of the Foreign Kind video series and Full Russia Trip Videos!

Join my Dating Site to meet thousands of legit foreign girls at low cost!

"It takes far less effort to find and move to the society that has what you want than it does to try to reconstruct an existing society to match your standards." - Harry Browne
IraqVet2003
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Re: 8 Alternatives to Working a Regular Job You Don't Like

Post by IraqVet2003 »

Winston wrote:Hi all,
I added an eighth alternative to this list of alternatives in the first post. The eighth option is to work as an extra in films and movies. I've done it before and it's a lot of fun. You get paid while eating snacks and meeting people. The scenes you get to be in are usually brief,, so most of the time is spent in the waiting area. And the work is temporary so there's no commitment to staying long term. The people you meet tend to be more open minded because the type of people who like to do that kind of work are usually "freespirit" types like us who don't like to hold a regular job. lol. So they are kind of bohemian types and vibe well with our type.

Here are some links if you are interesting in doing this to earn some money.

http://www.wikihow.com/Become-an-Extra-in-a-Movie
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/ar ... extra.html
http://www.entertainmentcareers.net/res ... -an-extra/
http://beinamovie.com/extra/index.php

To see a list of national casting calls for extras, check here:

https://www.backstage.com/casting/open- ... s-casting/
Fascinating post!!!
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Re: 8 Alternatives to Working a Regular Job You Don't Like

Post by Winston »

How to Find Meaningful Work.



How to Find Fulfilling Work.

Check out my FUN video clips in Russia and SE Asia and Female Encounters of the Foreign Kind video series and Full Russia Trip Videos!

Join my Dating Site to meet thousands of legit foreign girls at low cost!

"It takes far less effort to find and move to the society that has what you want than it does to try to reconstruct an existing society to match your standards." - Harry Browne
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Re: 8 Alternatives to Working a Regular Job You Don't Like

Post by Winston »

This spiritual hippie guy who looks like Jesus explains why wage slavery exists in our prison matrix and how you can get out of it.

Check out my FUN video clips in Russia and SE Asia and Female Encounters of the Foreign Kind video series and Full Russia Trip Videos!

Join my Dating Site to meet thousands of legit foreign girls at low cost!

"It takes far less effort to find and move to the society that has what you want than it does to try to reconstruct an existing society to match your standards." - Harry Browne
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