So much and so many passions, how am I ever gonna put it all together

Ok so a short history on myself..... Or Book :)

I've always had an interest in Mechanics, metal working and gadgets all my life. I also love to draw and sometimes take my ideas from that drawing to something in real life. I believe I inherited this from my Grandfather who was a self taught Plant Engineer for Sheller Globe back in the 50's.

I took classes in Vo-tech to learn more about the basics of machine work and design and then some Drafting & design in Jr. College but lost interest in the slow learning process and structure that had to be followed. I've always been one to figure out how things work just because i enjoy it and you never know when you will need the knowledge for your own ideas or problems. Off and on I have taught myself how to use different design software programs and actually invented a few motorcycle parts that I machined and actually sold to the public for extra cash.

After graduating high school I started work for UPS as an unloader and worked my way up into supervision where I gained leadership skills and hard work ethic. I also worked as a Motorcycle tech for Yamaha during the day since I had plenty of extra time to be making money. I left UPS and the Yamaha dealer after 7 years mostly because the grass and the money looked greener on the other side in Safety & health.

Well I went to work in Safety & Health for 3 construction companies as Safety Director for 9 years. I learned to train & translate rules and regulations to all types of education levels, from owners to field labor. I have always liked meeting people and helping them. Basically, my daily task was to sell the idea of working safe to 450 people that were more interested in getting the job done fast not safe. I never really felt at home in this position because I had little interest in Construction and there was that constant feeling in the back of my mind that it was my failure every time someone was hurt. Even if it was 3 hrs away on a random job site.

Got laid off this past January due to the economy and was floored! I had no idea what I was gonna do but I knew in my heart that Safety was in no way my passion. I've always had in interest in things that were Not so safe. I had a decent severance package that gave me a little time to try to regroup. I read 48days while searching for my inner passion but I was soon running out of time and started to stress a little so I started thinking of ways to make a quick buck at something I already knew how to do.

 I posted an ad on Craigslist for Motorcycle & 4 wheeler repair and before I knew it I was swamped with work to do. My dad had a local shop that he let me work out of till i got on my feet. This seemed great at the time and I started to think this could be my dream job and I was able to relocate to a much larger building with tons of potential. I went in halves on the rent with a friend that does metal working and in our spare time he has taught me a lot of the trade on an english wheel making Airplane cowlings. I love it but there is only so much money that can be made by hand and he is in a different situation than me financially so he doesn't want his business to be any busier than he already is.

The biggest problem with a motorcycle shop is it is a very seasonal business. I was so busy I couldn't keep up in the spring but now I do good to make a couple hundred bucks a week. this is not nearly enough to support my family. I have a great reputation around the area but this is a small town with a limited amount of motorcycles and its hard to get people from an hour away to bring their bike.

I feel like I can be and do greater than this if I could just put all my gifts to the right line of work.

I guess what I am hoping is that someone may able to help me decipher my experience and gifts and give me a hint on how to better use them.


Thanks in advance and sorry for the long read