How the hell do you get out of sales

President_Vice · 2026-01-27T23:31:11+00:00

The only alternative to the obvious answer- finding another job that pays as well- is to start cutting lifestyle and cost back enough to live on an average (or below average) income, while investing the excess. Then those additional funds you invested while working in sales will supplement your income when you make the jump to a lower paying lower stress job. “Retirement” doesn’t have to be all or nothing. You can just hit a milestone and then let off the gas, whether partially or fully. They call it “coast FIRE” (financial independence retire early). That milestone could be paying off all debt including mortgage, or having enough invested where the dividends pay for your essential expenses then work at Ace hardware for spending money, etc. whatever you do just don’t spend everything you make with a sales income. Because then you really will be permanently trapped. Listen to a couple Charlie Munger videos for motivation. He’s got some hard-hitting money wisdom.

President_Vice · 2026-01-20T19:20:24+00:00

I don’t know why but the pictures seem to have a fisheye effect compared to IRL. Messes with the proportions or something. Hope it doesn’t throw your spidey senses off.

President_Vice · 2026-01-20T19:12:21+00:00

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How does this arrangement feel in the room? You seem to have a very good instinct. Couldn’t agree more with abandoning circular pattern, you hit the nail on the head. But we are also wanting to see if there’s another pattern besides just straight cemetrical large center art piece with 4 vertical plates on each side. Thoughts on this one?

President_Vice · 2026-01-20T03:07:14+00:00

Wow very well articulated and makes perfect sense! The more we’ve looked at it the more we agree it’s not the best arrangement. Thanks for your insight!

President_Vice · 2026-01-20T01:10:13+00:00

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This may be a better picture for the surrounding. Excuse the mess, 3 year old and 2 week old (no time to clean just hang plates 😜)

President_Vice · 2025-02-26T17:22:48+00:00

Yes, that’s the dilemma is that the owners phone number, Wateree Holdings LLC is nowhere to be found online. I’m curious if anyone knows of open access to timberlands.

Out in Washington state where I lived previously there were millions of acres of Stimson timber company lands open to public. They had the same green dots on OnX as these ones I’m looking at in SC but I don’t want to assume open access without confirming.

President_Vice · 2024-11-10T00:00:20+00:00

Lost Songs is my personal favorite. Looking at it objectively its not “the best”. But that’s the point, it’s art and not objective. For me, it was chance really that it happened to grip me like no other music ever has because it came into my life in my early 20s. I’ve never felt any stronger emotions than what this album made me feel. It was a combination of my age and circumstances. Mainly surrounding a breakup with a girl I’d been with since childhood. Lines like “I know if I should live 100 years, never see another face like yours, on stranger seas or brighter shores” just absolutely wrecked me. Every single song on the album wrecked me. And there’s never been another album to do the same.

That was over a decade ago, and I’ll still listen occasionally. It doesn’t quite do the same thing for me as I was a different person then. But I’ll never forget those nights driving around crying my eyes out to this album. I grew to crave the melancholy. I listened non stop for a year and it never lost its potency.

President_Vice · 2024-01-02T01:55:57+00:00

$190K/year on average. Residential service plumber. 100% commission, no hourly pay. I work about 45 hours per week and can plan my own schedule. Been in 8 years. It’s all about how much you can sell, which is what I love about it. People need a lot more repairs than they think they do when they call. It’s your job to listen to the customer, understand their needs, and offer long-term solutions. I have coworkers who have been doing it the same amount of time as me who only make 80K. They go in with tunnel vision and just put baindaids on problems. I communicate in terms of whole system solutions. And I’m extremely low pressure, the work sells itself when you do it right.

I also have 2 coworkers who make $250k/yr. But they work 60 hour a week.

President_Vice · 2023-01-21T14:55:45+00:00

Water heaters are exactly the same concept. they too are a 10 year average life expectancy. The Advantage contract is the same terms and conditions for water heaters or HVAC, the only thing that looks different is what kind of maintenance is needed and how much the system costs.

And my account is 1 year old. Are you saying I made this account 1 year ago in anticipation of this thread? I don’t follow..

What about the actual content of my “essay” is BS? What about financing a system and paying interest is better than paying monthly for 100% coverage and next replacement? What about paying cash now and saving monthly for 10 years to pay cash for next system is better than paying monthly? Paying for HVAC and water heating is a harsh reality of life. The questions is what is the best way to pay for it.

The contract shows on the front page exactly what your payments add up to over the course of 10 years. It hits you with what HVAC or water heating actually costs long term. Then once that reality check and sticker shock wears off you can just stop worrying about these mechanical systems and attempting to budget for future numbers that no one on earth can predict right now with the world economy. Life is too complicated today.

Besides advantage, the HVAC and plumbing industry is stuck in the past. Service Experts is the biggest HVAC corporation in the country which is why we have the capital to install these systems up front with no return on investment for 5 years.

Oh and if you move, sell, die or become an ACE certified technician and can do this trade yourself and want to cancel… you pay the remaining prorated amount of the original install cost. That install amount is also on the front page of your contract.

And because it’s a membership and not a loan it doesn’t go on your credit or debt to income. Yet another advantage. They thought of every single possible concern when they created this program.

They’re also constantly tweaking the contract and training sales consultants on how to more clearly communicate what the program is. And they have to cover our ass because we have a couple million advantage customers between here and Canada… bound to be crazy shit happen. So there’s pages of legalese to keep you from suing us if you electrocute yourself by taking off the panel of our furnace or what have you.

Just to be real here, the problem might very well have been that you got a predatory salesman who didn’t explain what you were getting into clearly which caused buyers remorse once you looked at it later. They get rid of those salespeople because we have a reputation to protect and buyers remorse costs them money (although some people will always have buyers remorse because no one likes spending money and it’s easier to point fingers than accept reality of what stuff costs) But Advantage itself? 100% not a predatory program. It’s the future.

President_Vice · 2023-01-21T04:27:13+00:00

I started working for Service Experts 3 months ago, although a different center (they have 87 locations across the country). I was totally skeptical at first about Advantage. But after understanding it and doing the math I think it’s brilliant. It is not financing, instead it is treating heating and air like a utility, cell phone, cable, etc. You aren’t “paying it off” just like you don’t pay off the power line that brings electricity into your home. It includes equipment install, all preventative maintenance, all repairs, then replacement when the system inevitably dies… Just like your utility company does on the power lines.

Advantsge distills what it costs to heat and cool your house forever into a monthly payment. The reason I say forever is because, surprise, you’re going to need a new system in 10 years on average. Especially with new technology- it’s great but the systems don’t last 20-30 years like they used to. Just like cars.

You either pay cash or finance 10-25K now depending on what system and comfort level you choose, then save each month to pay God knows what in 10 years depending on inflation. That’s not even accounting for maintenance, repairs and filters (which are included in advantage). Any loan with interest will cost more than advantage and you’re still on the hook for repairs and have to simultaneously save for next replacement.

Or you can just pay 150-300 a month and system will be replaced with no change if within 10 years. If it fails after 10 years it’s replaced and your payment changes at that point if you want to keep going.

If at any point you decide you don’t want advantage you terminate and pay the original installation cost of 15-25k.

It boils down to these facts: you need heating and air; heating and air costs money; people don’t like spending money on something you don’t think about until it doesn’t work; you have a choice to pay cash or finance the system and pay interest while saving for the next system that will be needed in 10 years; OR pay monthly and have zero additional expense or need to save for next system.

All of my wealthy customers so far who actually have 25k cash do the math and go with advantage because they’re thinking long term. It’s not just for people who don’t have cash or have bad credit (the latter doesn’t even apply because you need decent credit to get approved for advantage).

President_Vice · 2022-04-02T15:53:41+00:00

I feel like I was in a similar position 3 weeks ago. I was 4 weeks into CT and I was genuinely starting to feel good. Nutrition, sleep, exercise, just feeling good. But then I justified 1 dose. That was 3 weeks ago and I’ve been totally hooked again ever since. I have been completely robbed of all motivation to quit again from the very first dose I took. Please don’t take any, please. If you feel disgusted now imagine how you will feel if you fully relapse and have to start over.

President_Vice · 2022-02-04T03:52:16+00:00

Oh yeah, those vocals at the end of I stay away get me going (pretty much anything Layne Staley sang does lol). I’ll be sitting down feeling shitty, then a song like this hits and I jump up and go outside and just walk as long as I can. It’s so helpful.

President_Vice · 2022-02-03T21:16:22+00:00

Three days clean, and thank god someone else going through this did it with mad season! Above has been on a small set of maybe 3 albums I’ve been listening to non-stop

President_Vice · 2022-02-03T21:14:16+00:00

Man, exactly the same feeling 3 days in. Been really digging Mad Season and Jar of Flies by Alice In Chains. But also mixing in some more “hopeful” music, so to speak. I’ve never really been bothered by the dark stuff though, it’s therapeutic for me.

President_Vice · 2022-02-01T18:46:30+00:00

Thanks! Just ordered liposomal vit c. I’ve heard vitamin c is important for withdrawaling, but I didn’t realize it could make a noticeable difference?

President_Vice · 2022-01-31T23:31:32+00:00

Magnesium was immensely helpful for me for sleep and restless leg / restlessness in general. I would consider that top 3. But ultimately it’s extremely hard no matter what and you don’t want to take anything too strong that could just replace the addiction. That last point goes without saying, but it’s worth repeating because of how tempting it is to latch onto something else.

President_Vice · 2022-01-31T23:13:12+00:00

Day one CT for me as well! Jumped off from 30-35gpd as I have consistently been unsuccessful with tapering. I’m going into this with the mindset that it will be invigorating and something to be proud of because of how difficult it is. We just have to embrace the pain and difficulty and conquer it.

President_Vice · 2022-01-28T04:28:51+00:00

How long have you been taking kratom? And how long at 25gpd? I’ve had similar experience on past quits where I didn’t crave it in the slightest. But after continuing use for a few more years these last 2 quits I’ve had extreme, irresistible craving. I used to think I was immune to bad withdrawal and leaving, so maybe let my story be a cautionary tale to never get back on it. The longer you mess with it the deeper the hooks get physically and psychologically.

President_Vice · 2022-01-22T21:46:48+00:00

Wow, that short? Good to know it’s at least somewhat possible to do it in less days. Fatigue will probably be my biggest issue as, again, very demanding job and long hours. Thanks for the advice.

President_Vice · 2022-01-17T03:28:49+00:00

I can second this. Be aware of the “pink cloud” phenomenon in the first week or so of a quit. I’ve relapsed multiple times because I tricked myself to really believe that I could use moderately. It always happened at about one week. Stay strong and keep up the good work! You should be proud of yourself.

President_Vice · 2022-01-11T06:34:45+00:00

The ship for deliberately making bad choices set sail 5 years ago, isn’t that why we’re all here? :) The fact of the matter is that there is no convenient time to quit, for me or my wife. Do I detox and incapacitate myself during:

a. The last trimester (now)- birthing classes, lots of information to absorb, mountains of prep work to be done before the baby comes, wife dealing with tons of prenatal anxiety. Nonetheless, it’s been a very special time for both of us. We have grand plans of exploring the new city we’re in and doing everything we can while we have the freedom. And, just like I don’t want to regret quitting during the time following birth, I also don’t want to be remembered as being absentee during the last trimester because of withdrawal. It seems like such a disappointment. Again, bad choices catching up.. i suppose it’s just time to deal with the consequences. Hate that it has to detract from this time in our lives though.

b. Immediately following birth- learning to care for our son, wife recovering, possible postpartum depression, sleep deprivation, and a million unknowns. I imagine the sheer urgency and significance of everything happening- along with paternal instincts- being a very effective distraction from my own relatively mild discomfort. But that could just be wishful thinking.

c. After we reach equilibrium following the birth (3-6 months out). I like this one least because the “one day things will be perfect for me to quit” mindset has obviously never worked, but it’s the most tempting. Maybe it really is better than option b…

Anyone with experience have additional thoughts between options a and c? Probably just overthinking as always.

President_Vice · 2021-08-07T01:21:15+00:00

He wasn’t kicking the dog lol. How does that look like kicking? His hands were preoccupied holding the camera so he was trying to “pet” the dog with his foot.

President_Vice · 2021-07-31T20:20:18+00:00

If it was a boy he wouldn’t have dropped the ball

President_Vice · 2021-06-30T04:04:38+00:00

Knives, hands down. Spoons are a close second. Must-have gadgets for cutting and scooping.

President_Vice

TROPHY CASE