Ming’s Wisdom

How are you supposed to thrive without a job? That’s the question I set out to answer exactly one week ago.

I had everything, an exciting job at Apple working on iPhones and iPods that have yet to be released, business travel that took me to 5-star hotels in China having my own private bathroom made of glass, and a nice, reliable paycheck. It was the stereotype of the ideal job, but I wasn’t satisfied. Each hour that passed by trying to make sure Apple’s next product was a hit, I felt that the earth was getting a little warmer, the poor were getting a little poorer, and the injustices in this world established themselves even deeper than before. Where was I while all this happened and passed me by, and how am I contributing to resolving global issues when I was simply putting electronics (albeit very well-designed electronics) into (fairly well-to-do) people’s hands? Sure, some of you might say (and have said to me) that the iPhone revolutionizes the way we communicate with each other and use information. But will it reduce segregation of the poor and rich, or teach kids the fundamental values of the greater good? Sorry, but I think improving the world through adding one more way for the rich to chat with their friends, that’s stretching the definition of philanthropy. Okay okay, to be fully honest, I also thought a lot about the hierarchy of corporations, and how the top of the pyramid was deeply established to keep its supports exactly that: supports. After all, what are the chances of me being able to take the place of Steve Jobs, by climbing the ladder? Heck, what are the chances of ANY of the Senior VPs getting to take the place of Steve Jobs?

Exactly one week ago, was my last day at Apple. What will I do afterwards? Eric insisted that I blog about this experience, so here it is =).

Here’s my plan: I will approach this in a three-pronged attack.

1. First, I need to simplify my life. The working life is complicated; working and commuting add lot of of thoughts and tasks to your daily routine. You make more, you spend more, and have more credit cards and belongings to keep track of. I’m going to be selling or recycling things that I don’t have a use for, and organizing the rest. My end goal is to have my life almost self-sustaining in terms of upkeep (banking, papers, taxes etc). I actually plan on writing a few more articles how simplifying can improve your life.
2. Second, I want to improve my habits. Lots of exercise, eating well, improving my eyesight, spending more time with loved ones. Pollute less, recycle more. Think more and learn more. It makes you feel good and want to be more efficient.
3. Lastly, I’m doing several projects to try my hand at making money. I will definitely make use of my programming skills since not everyone can be a good coder, and that gives me a head start. I also plan on doing some computer science tutoring as a side income. In addition, this blog will definitely be written in often, since it’s my venue to write about things I’m passionate about. All in all, my income will be much less than before at least in the beginning, but this still works because I’m spending my time now to cover the fundamentals in #1 and 2. A simplified life where I always have a clear view of my current state, and good living habits, will make life much less expensive. I believe that the savings accrued from work will last for a good period of time (perhaps six months), and after that the projects should be maturing to generate some income.

There will of course be updates to my situation in the future. Currently who knows what will happen with everything, but as things change I will definitely announce the (good) news .

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 28th, 2009 at 03:10 and is filed under Logistics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.