If you had to name your greatest accomplishment...

[Shrek]

...that has lent itself to the most success of your various life endeavors to date and will lend itself to many more to come in your life, what accomplishment would you choose?

Although what I consider my greatest accomplishment is very simple in the grand scheme and common to most of us , I have found the majority overlook it for a more complex accomplishment they consider unique to themselves or at least a small sector of society.

As each new generation of my various social groups arrive on the scene I have always enjoyed the evolution of the perceived greatest accomplishment and their reaction to the simplicity and impact of the one I heard of a lifetime ago but still applies.

Think of your greatest accomplishment that has ensured you the greatest success fast or take some time to think it over yet later in this thread while we will all see valid accomplishments on the quest of our life successes, I bet most will agree that the simple accomplishment common to most gets overlooked for ones a bit more complex.

My first thought of my greatest accomplishment was my college graduation but I decided that was wrong after my entry into working on space launch technology when the common simple accomplishment made itself clear to me while studying the history of our space program.

BTW it is very important in pursuing dating relationships also.

I'm not sure it's an accomplishment as such, but, long time ago, I used to work all the time, and never get ahead. Finally, I realized there has to be a better way to live. I realized that I was so acclimated to going to work, paying bills, taking a day to "relax" but cramming a whole week of living into that one day didn't work for me. It just made it worse. I engineered my income reporting so that I got a pretty nice tax refund one year, and didn't spend it. For the first time in my life, I sat on $3000, even when I needed money to pay the bills. Slowly, reality crept back into my life. After about 6 months, I had learned to think about money as it actually is, only an exchange medium. In and of itself, money is worthless. As time went by, I realized that I didn't need more money, I needed less bills. I learned to live within my income, and less. As a result I began to accumulate a little here and there. I was lucky to be born into poverty so that doing without excesses just came back to me so easily.

That was some time ago. When I was 53 years old, I figured that I had enough to last, and quit working. I dedicated my time to my passion I'd never really had enough time for...sustainability. All those years of getting up before the sun to tend to the garden before I went to work paid off, though. I wasn't starting in the dark, like a lot of folks are doing nowadays. AND, I was lucky, just lucky. Born on a farm, always been healthy, and can figure out most things, given enough time. I've thrived. Now, my job is living.

So, the accomplishment would be that I learned to live within my means. I can tell you that I work harder, physically, than I did when I was in home repair. BUT, I'm working at what I want to do, not for money. It may not make any sense to some people, and that's OK. It's not a contest. You got your ways, I got mine. My goal was to live at my own pace, doing what I wanted. And I've accomplished that, all by first learning to live within my means. Don't spend money you don't have. Don't borrow money. Slow down and enjoy life. How, you wonder?? by living within your income. It's not all that hard, it just seems that way.

[Dixie Bee Acres]

Raising my children to be good people with high moral values.

[homefire2007]

Raising my children under difficult circumstances and liking them as well as loving them. The transition from 'mother' to regular unique person is a challenge for me. But I'm up for it! Anytime I do something I'm afraid of is a big accomplishment for me...kind of like navigating through Dallas and Nashville on the highway...or the time I drove through Tulsa in the midst of a grandaddy of a thunderstorm Small but important victories

[MoonRiver]

I went to a small liberal arts college that went from a 2 year school to 4 year during the time I was there. There had never been a fraternity at the school. Some friends and I started one. I became the 2nd President.

During the time I was president, I wrote the bylaws and was able to get the fraternity approved by the college as an approved student organization. We also found and rented a small house, so we had a fraternity house with 3 brothers living there. Many a great party was held there. I think the fraternity lasted for about 5 years. The guys 2 or 3 years behind me fell down on the job.

I have used the skills I gained from being president throughout my career.

I learned a lot in college, but not very much of it was in the classroom.

[hawgsquatch]

Raising godly children. Even though they have strayed at times they know where home is.

[elkhound]

Originally Posted by zong

I'm not sure it's an accomplishment as such, but, long time ago, I used to work all the time, and never get ahead. Finally, I realized there has to be a better way to live. I realized that I was so acclimated to going to work, paying bills, taking a day to "relax" but cramming a whole week of living into that one day didn't work for me. It just made it worse. I engineered my income reporting so that I got a pretty nice tax refund one year, and didn't spend it. For the first time in my life, I sat on $3000, even when I needed money to pay the bills. Slowly, reality crept back into my life. After about 6 months, I had learned to think about money as it actually is, only an exchange medium. In and of itself, money is worthless. As time went by, I realized that I didn't need more money, I needed less bills. I learned to live within my income, and less. As a result I began to accumulate a little here and there. I was lucky to be born into poverty so that doing without excesses just came back to me so easily.

That was some time ago. When I was 53 years old, I figured that I had enough to last, and quit working. I dedicated my time to my passion I'd never really had enough time for...sustainability. All those years of getting up before the sun to tend to the garden before I went to work paid off, though. I wasn't starting in the dark, like a lot of folks are doing nowadays. AND, I was lucky, just lucky. Born on a farm, always been healthy, and can figure out most things, given enough time. I've thrived. Now, my job is living.

So, the accomplishment would be that I learned to live within my means. I can tell you that I work harder, physically, than I did when I was in home repair. BUT, I'm working at what I want to do, not for money. It may not make any sense to some people, and that's OK. It's not a contest. You got your ways, I got mine. My goal was to live at my own pace, doing what I wanted. And I've accomplished that, all by first learning to live within my means. Don't spend money you don't have. Don't borrow money. Slow down and enjoy life. How, you wonder?? by living within your income. It's not all that hard, it just seems that way.

we musta drank from the same spring as young people.

[Twp.Tom]

I would have to say 'just being here', is by far my greatest accomplishment*. Everyday is like a bonus 'Blessing'. They say You don't know what you've got till it's gone-I've got it made, and I know that. Wouldn't trade it with anyone else. I feel guilty some times, cause I have so much? Maybe that's why giving it away feels so good? It can all change in a blink of an eye*.

[Darren]

I think anyone would put their kids first. What I thought was a great accomplishment that would have led to follow on results as a learning experience went no where.

Government in spite of what is taught in school is run from the top down. Any input by the voters is pretty much an extracurricular aspect of the day to day business of others using the one stop feature for those with connections.

We've had flooding issues in this county since recorded history began. A group of us formed after a Corps of Engineers boondoggle meeting called for suggestions on how to spend an appropriation on anything but flooding.

The facts that came out were:

1. No new dams would be built. That wasn't a big deal.

2. In the Appalachians An existing rain and stream gage network is connected to the National Weather Service via radio.

3. Crest predictions for the river were always wrong. Too low.

4. This area is at the limits of the Nexrad (weather) radars in both Pittsburgh and Charleston, WV. Radar isn't helping the NWS do a good job for this area.

5. The river that flooded the county seat in 1985 was not being monitored.

The idea of getting a stream gage installed on the unmonitored came up. If we can't do anything about flooding, let's at least do what we can to get a better prediction.

Stream gages are installed, maintained and monitored by the government. Most thought we needed to write letters and get Congress to do something. I found out the cost of a gage was around $14,000. I suggested raising the money and installing it ourselves.

That was met with the usual, "That will never happen." It did happen.

The manager of the responsible state agency, at my request, sent me a letter stating the cost for installing the gage and twenty years of maintenance. He eventually got reprimanded for that. Nowadays it takes a memorandum of understanding (lawyer job security) between all parties involved.

I raised the money and a year later the gage was installed. I thought that would serve as an example of the potential of citizens getting off their [butts] and making something happen rather than begging Congress for a favor.

I was wrong. People have been so conditioned to putting on knee pads and begging their masters in Congress it's probably in the DNA by now.

[Laura Zone 10]

Greatest Accomplishment?
ac·com·plish·ment

noun \ə-ˈkäm-plish-mənt, -ˈkəm-\ : something done, achieved, or accomplished successfully
: the successful completion of something : the act of accomplishing something
: a special skill or ability gained by practice or training



Training up 3 children in the Way they should go.....
Loving them when they do not chose the right path, and guiding them back to the path.
I do not see that as a 'completed' task....as I will always have the honor of being their mother!

Special skill or ability gained by practice or training?
Gardening. Went from 2-3 tomato plants and crap soil to 125 plants, from seed, canned and enjoyed.
Reading, reasearching, asking questions, reading some more...

The rest of my life is a blank canvas waiting for me to put a brush in beautiful paint and design my own ending!!
My dad always told me: Laura, life begins at 50, trust me!
I'm not quite there, but he's looking more and more right, every day!

[Ramblin Wreck]

Heck, I don't know. I agree with Tom that getting this far in life and enjoying each day is quite nice. It's not a cure for polio or putting the first footsteps on the moon, but it's all good. The new little (just off the bottle) calf likes it when I scratch her back and ears. That's something...isn't it?

[Terri in WV]

Considering some of the stupid things that I did when I was young, I think it's accomplishment to have made it to the age I am.

Then there's raising my kids. That's still a work in progress. Ask again when we've made it through the teen years!

Having my 3 children, 2 stepchildren, 11 foster children and now a bunch of Grands makes me incredibly happy...

There is one other thing in my life though which took me by surprise and gave me some of the most thrilling, humbling few minutes of my life..It was my last day working at a prison in Pennsylvania..maximum security...the inmates had asked the Warden if he'd permit me to visit each "block"..there were 6 of them..with 120 men in each..Prisons are set up with "bubbles"..the glassed-in area where the corrections officers work the doors, phones, alarms, etc. I passed through the first block bubble door and saw all of the inmates standing outside of their cells...3 tiers of them..you could have heard a pin drop..

and then they began to applaud...and they didn't stop for a good solid 5 minutes...I felt as if I were in a movie...they had a spokesperson for each block...that inmate was allowed to approach me and say why they did that..

What they said will be in my heart until it stops...To have these men give me a standing ovation time and time again was incredible...because I "cared"....wowza..so yes, that's right up there a real close second to my family

[simi-steading]

I lived to see 20.. Then I lived to see 30.. then 40 and 50... .Then add to that I never spent more than a night at a time in jail... pretty freaking amazing...

Then in between all that, there has been a whole lot of similar life like the post from zong.. scary similar to my thinking, and it's where I'm getting started on my over 50 life... getting back away again from the consumerism corporate lifestyle mentality.. that world just devours itself and you. So many people I knew don't get me leaving all that money laying on the table at work and running into the hills.. .literally...

[arcticow]

My greatest accomplishment(s) are my two daughters...

[Shrek]

Yep. Many when they think of their greatest accomplishment seems to be leaning towards the more complex , wider perspective type or family as what they perceive as their greatest accomplishment just as my friends and I thought it out so many years ago.

Now here is the common simple accomplishment we all have in common and the old guy who first asked us this one tossed at us younger guys when he asked us the question.

He said our greatest accomplishment regardless of the others we thought of and their significance in our lives, getting through potty training was actually all of our greatest accomplishment.

He told us to imagine us achieving whatever goal we had be it being elected President, getting promoted, married whatever, unless we were an astronaut wearing a 5 day diaper under our space suit, if we were 35 years old , achieving whatever and still making stinky in our britches, nobody would ever want to shake our hand or stand a stage beside us as we were being recognized for our achievement.

Imagine how bad a blind first date would go if as you met them for the first time making that important first impression and you or them all of a sudden pooped your pants.

As I said in the first post, our greatest accomplishment is really a simple one achieved in our first few years but sure had a big influence on whatever each of us considered much more noteworthy in our life accomplishments.

[Darren]

I'd consider the effect on the person who made the accomplishment because of the knowledge or education derived from the experience. That can reorient your thinking and redirect your life.

Many times you don't know what you don't know until you do something that exposes you to the inner workings of a process that turns out not to work like many believe. We all have more capability to do things the government would normally be thought of as the sole provider of a service.

There's also money within government agencies that a private individual can tap and essentially redirect if that redirection solves a problem for the agency while suiting your purpose. In that case other than having a solution, I didn't write a letter or grant, The redirection was the transfer of money from one agency to another, The end effect was that I raised the remaining $7,000 to reach the amount required to fund the gage in less than an hours time.

The manager of the department was more than a bit surprised when I called and told him all of the funds were available and he would receive an addition of $7,000 via a transfer to his budget. The gage was complete less than a month later. He was surprised again when I walked into his office and gave him all of the permits and paperwork he needed to legally install the gage. Turned out the state had never gotten permits before.

http://i411.photobucket.com/albums/p...n/DSCF0220.jpg

[CountryWannabe]

My greatest accomplishment was to learn to be the person that I really am. I have done a lot of "stuff" in my time, most of it very successfully. Most of it because I was driven to prove that not only could I do it, but that I could do it superbly. Now I can just be me and if a person doesn't like that I don't give a clam. Reclaiming me has taken a while but it was worth it.

Mary

[doingitmyself]

My reply is best read while listening to Kenny Rogers. It has taken me nearly 55 years to have learned to.....

"know when to hold em,

know when to fold em,

know when to walk away,

and know when to run"!!!

Pertains to everything from jobs to women and everything in between!

[Ardie/WI]

I'm alive.