Comments for Making a Good Life Happen

Comment on How to Follow Your Passion (When You Don’t Know What It Is.) by Bonnie Bell

Bonnie Bell — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 19:38:00 +0000

Dear John,

Thank you so much for your willingness to share your own experience of not being able to relate to the “emotionally loaded” word, “passion.” I am thrilled to hear that while in therapy for depression, you were able to see that your interest in, enjoyment of, or natural pursuit of learning was, in fact, your passion and that its corollary was teaching. Did it hit you like a ton of bricks? Or is that another “emotionally loaded” term for you? In any case, congratulations on finding your way.

All the best to you,

Bonnie

Comment on Some Thoughts About Passion by Bonnie Bell

Bonnie Bell — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 02:23:00 +0000

Dear Pema,

It is so great to know that you could read my blog half way around the world in Bhutan! And it is good to know that even though our countries and cultures are very different, in so many ways your concerns about the future – especially as they relate to your interest in one day starting a business of your own in Thimphu – are so similar to those of many people here. It gives me that “it’s a small world after all” feeling. Hope you will follow my blog now. I will be talking to you there as well as in our personal communications.

Warmest regards,
Bonnie

Comment on Some Thoughts About Passion by Pema wangmo

Pema wangmo — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 05:50:00 +0000

Thank you so much for sharing. I really enjoyed reading your article……..

Comment on Careering (Part 1) by Bonnie Bell

Bonnie Bell — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 19:15:00 +0000

Dear Ray,

Thank you for your precocious response. You are the perfect example of someone who knows, from personal experience, what “careering” is all about. You actually could have gotten stuck way back there when you graduated from college with a major in Geography and a minor in Economics. Your perception that you had received a great multidisciplinary education, rather than a specific tool set that somehow limited you to a certain role or industry, got you off on the right foot. Later, you could have have gotten stuck as an unemployed teacher or flight instructor or airline pilot, or much later than that, an unemployed management consultant. You could have gotten stuck any number of times, but you didn’t. You were always able to see that you were greater than the sum of your various parts. You could see beyond the roles you held to bigger and better roles you hadn’t held but knew you could. You kept learning and you didn’t have to throw anything out. A full career is exceedingly ecological, and, as you said, “A great sail.” Well done, Ray!

Comment on Careering (Part 1) by Ray Perman

Ray Perman — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 14:49:00 +0000

Dear Bonnie:
     Nice article. Important. Glad you mentioned the antiquated meaning of “career”. Great metaphor.
     I have had a rather unusual range of careers and many have asked if I didn’t regret “throwing out” so much to start over again in another field. My response is that I didn’t really throw out anything. All knowledge and experienced accrued to make me the well-rounded person I am today.
     At Berkeley I studied Geography (emphasis in Economics). Great multidisciplinary major.
     My first position after graduation was at an international flight school where I worked my way up from teaching English to foreign airline pilots, to teaching ground school courses in flight engineering (structure, aerodynamics, and aircraft systems: electrical, pneumatic, hydraulic, etc.), meteorology, and more. I then flew as a flight instructor, and finally as an airline pilot for a few regional carriers; and was occasionally invited into the front office to help with trip-generation and planning studies (Economic Geography!).
     When the last airline I flew for ceased operations (many did!) I made a radical change in course and became the director of operations for a gourmet ice cream company (later purchased by Baskin and Robbins). My aviator’s knowledge of engineering and electrical systems was key. During the construction of a new plant I was able to catch several significant errors made by the project consultant. There I learned even more about production, food science, thermodynamics, business, retailing, etc. I wrote the company’s first operations and employee manual (based upon flight training and aircraft manual formats).
     I left the ice cream business to accept a position with Peat Marwick Mitchell & Co. in their management consulting practice (specializing in airport planning). The firm’s training in business methods, accounting, computers was phenomenal. In this work I joined a team that forecasted regional growth in order to project increases in flight operations. Finally I was trained to perform computer modeling on large main-frame computers for assessing aircraft noise impacts; current and future. The work also entailed training in acoustics, and noise measuring and monitoring techniques.
     As I have always been an entrepreneur, I departed “Uncle Peat” to found my own firm consulting and designing high performance window and door, and curtain-wall and panel systems (All imported from Europe). The remarkable thing is that from my “colorful” career experience I am often the most broadly knowledgeable in the room, be it jobsite meteorology, engineering (as long as a real structural engineer isn’t there!), thermodynamics, electrical systems design, insulation, noise reduction assemblies, etc.
     I am also regularly engaged as an expert in litigation regarding windows and doors and noise reduction (Thank you, Uncle Peat!).
So, on the whole, although I’ve experienced plenty of rough spots, I’ve enjoyed a great sail.   And when someone asks me my opinion if they should make a career change I usually respond in the affirmative.
     Looking forward to parts 2 and 3.

All the best,
Ray

Ray G. Perman, General Manager
Kenner-USA, Inc.

Comment on Fear Fighting by Bonnie Bell

Bonnie Bell — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 01:59:00 +0000

Andrew: Thank you so much for your response. You made me laugh… And you bring up a very good point. It does seem as if our culture tends to embrace a “forever young” philosophy, which is all too often interpreted as “forever adolescent.”

If only it were more common to accept life as an ever-evolving movement toward responsible adulthood. That is not an end in itself, but presents a trajectory that includes a life that becomes continually fuller, deeper, richer, and more satisfying as you go. Unfortunately, that will not happen all by itself. It requires that we become wise managers of our lives, always learning from our mistakes and paying attention to what works.

The whole point is to wisely manage everything – our friendships, our marriages, children, our careers, and our money. That creates joy – something much deeper and more valuable than fun. But we can have fun, too!

Comment on Fear Fighting by Andrew Han

Andrew Han — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 17:02:00 +0000

You tell ‘em Sister! How refreshing to read your take on how our culture embraces everything but acting like an adult.

Comment on Making a Good Life Happen – for Someone Else by Bonnie Bell

Bonnie Bell — Sat, 21 May 2011 01:33:00 +0000

Thank you, Carol. The news tends to be so negative that sometimes it seems like nothing good is happening anywhere. But when you join forces with others who are working to solve problems rather than just gripe about them, the world seems more hopeful and personally satisfying. As Gandhi famously said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

Comment on Making a Good Life Happen – for Someone Else by Cjburns45

Cjburns45 — Tue, 17 May 2011 17:31:00 +0000

Wow – what a great experience to be involved in! It is so refreshing to hear how people help others in need! Congratulations on being involved and helping this family!

Comment on What’s Your Story? by Bonnie Bell

Bonnie Bell — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 21:10:00 +0000

Dear Andrew,

Thank you so much for your response and condolences following my post about Jim’s brother’s recent death.

I am sorry you didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to your dad. The one good thing to be said about a lingering death is that it allows for some adjustment to the reality of the anticipated loss, as well as opportunities for loving conversations, and a feeling that you said your goodbyes, although those particular words are probably rarely spoken.

The reality is, we don’t necessarily ever “get over” the loss of a loved one, but over a lifetime, we are able to incorporate that loss with ever-increasing meaning. I feel closer to both of my parents now than I did when they were alive. Familiar sayings, such as, “Love is Eternal and “Love Never Dies” become more concrete as time goes on.

I have found that relationships continue beyond the grave, not only in our memories that never die, but in the many ways we become the living legacies of our loved ones – in our expressions, mannerisms, attitudes, values, and of course our genes, which we too pass on. Cultures which strongly revere the dead make more and more sense to me as I get older.

Now that you are a father, you can understand your own father much more than you could have before. And how that you realize how challenging it is to be a husband, father, business owner, and active participant in your communities – a mature adult, in other words – you can begin to see who he was as a person, not just the man who happened to be your father.

With the exception of extreme abuse or neglect, we all love our parents more than we can know until we lose them; and our children love us more than they can know until the inevitable day they will lose us. It’s just the way it is.

In between, it’s wise to be mindful of this deepest truth, and do what we can to make a good life happen while we’re still here.

My best,

Bonnie