It took a while to realize, but then again finding it was worth the wait. My life purpose seems bright, as an entrepreneur but more importantly as someone who’s made it for themselves. It’s not about the product, or the innovation even. It’s about resourcefulness and problem solving, playing in a field where the only rule is that conventional wisdom is wrong on everything. These days all I do is challenge tradition and look for unique opportunities, whether it be with my start-up team or else with freelancing and looking for some side jobs or whatever it is I do. I’m grateful and delighted that I realize my niche in life, a calling to seek out underdeveloped ideas. I fully embrace how awesome and liberating this experience has been so far, and can only drool at how awesome it will continue to be. That’s me in a nutshell though - slightly crazy, definitely committed to seeking out life and taking a few risks.

I once was a slave to the rat race, for sure. I wanted those 40 hours, wanted to work for someone else. But I knew from a young age - I’ve known longer than I should have waited before acting on it - and it all came from the simple lesson in Monopoly. You will never make a fortune going laps and passing go. The only real money in Monopoly is through building empires, spending wisely and accumulating assets. That’s what I aim for.

I was born and raised in southern Wisconsin, to two great parents. I have a brother who was a few years older than me, and got me into baseball. For most of my youth, baseball was really my passion. Of course, I eventually began to realize that I wasn’t going to become a professional ball player, and I instead had to find a different, more practical passion. That is when I discovered film editing. I started making movies with my friends, and before long we had built up a reputation for making hilarious short films for our class projects. We even had a new school rule named after us, regarding what can and can not be played in front of a class.

This passion for filmmaking lead me to attend Columbia College Chicago to study the art of film editing. I moved from a relatively small town in Wisconsin to downtown Chicago. In the 4 years that I spent in Chicago, I had the great opportunity to work on some amazing projects. I worked on everything from music videos to a commercial for a major brand. I met some of the best people I’ve ever come to know, and had an absolutely amazing experience in Chicago. But I knew I couldn’t stay there.

With what I do, there is really only one place to go: Los Angeles. As hard as it was, I said goodbye to my Chicago friends, and my parents in Wisconsin, and moved out to the west coast to pursue my passion.

I came to Mechanical Turk to indulge a hobby: I really wanted to buy a Nintendo 3DS, but with my bills and obligations, I just could not set aside the money to do it. I had heard about MTurk, even tried it out once before, but I never really got into it until last year. Something clicked when I decided that I wanted my 3DS. I did my research, learned some tips and tricks of the trade. I started seeking out requesters who were known to be good, used my resourcefulness to find different and quick HITs, and generally just started to enjoy it. I ended up getting my 3DS within two weeks, and I’ve been Turking since. While I had my job, it assisted me in paying off some extra bills, being able to buy Christmas and birthday presents for friends and family, and in general giving me some flexibility with my limited money. MTurk has actually been a great help to me through some life changes and transitions. I left my full-time job to move back home attend to some family matters, so mTurk is my sole income right now. It’s enough that I am able to take care of basic stuff, pay off my bills, and keep current on payments, while also having the freedom to re-evaluate my life, take care of an ailing parent, and do what I need to do. The money I earn on MTurk and the freedom it gives me is a great thing, and I’m so lucky to have found it.

After I got laid off, I struggled to figure out what to do with myself. I finally decided to follow my dream of becoming a writer. Unfortunately, this is a long and arduous process and success is not quick or even assured. To make ends meet, I had to find something else to do to make money but it needed to be something flexible so that I could work whenever and wherever I wanted to. I finally found the solution to be Amazon’s Mechanical Turk.

I have been “turking” for several months now and I really enjoy it. Initially, it seemed daunting as I had to put in a lot of time and wasn’t skilled at knowing how to work effectively. With experience that all changed and I can now work quite well and still have enough time left for my writing. I have just finished my first novel so the overall plan is working.

More than a simple job or something to do though, Mechanical Turk has actually helped me grow as a person. There are a lot of things that I have been exposed to that otherwise would have never entered my life. For example, I have learned quite a bit about several sciences that I was never before exposed to like zoology by helping to classify animal species from pictures. I have also had the great experience of learning about myself through taking several psychological and emotional type surveys and taking part in other scientific studies. These might sound like unimportant things but they have really opened my eyes to a lot of things and have thus even improved my writing by giving me better ideas and becoming more knowledgeable about myself and the world.

I grew up in South Florida and lived there until I graduated high school. I was raised mostly by a single mother after she divorced my father when I was in elementary school. I judged him harshly for cheating on my mother and couldn’t believe he would do something so vile. I left town after high school for college, where I met a girl who I’ve been with since then. Four years into our relationship, when I was a college senior, I cheated on her. I was disgusted with myself for turning out like my dad. I was able to mend things with my girlfriend and we are now living happily together, hopefully for the rest of our lives. After college I went to law school. I ended up hating it and feeling like I wasted three years of my life. However toward the end of my time there I found a passion for working with immigrants. My parents were illegal immigrants and it was important for me to give back to this community. After law school I took a position working part-time helping immigrants with all sorts of legal issues. It’s nice knowing that I can help people in practical ways. They know that they can trust me because I’ve been in their shoes. I hope to be doing this type of work for the rest of my life.

It was four years ago when the economic crisis hit the world badly and it was at the same time that the Telangana Agitation hit our state (Andhra Pradesh, India) very badly. Market in general in our state touched its lowest point as people were very wary about what would happen next. There were continuous strikes, boycotts, agitations etc. to the extent that all that had become an order of the day. I am into real estate and this is the sector which was largely affected by the ongoing agitation and world economic crisis.
I was vigorously searching for any part time job which would support my finances and take care of my overheads during the period of this agitation. I happened to find an ad in the newspaper highlighting “WORK FROM HOME” and I immediately contacted the person who published the ad. He had sent me some papers by courier in a few days after I paid him a nominal fee online. When I opened the envelope, I found the information about mechanical Turk. Instantly, I liked it, signed up and created my account and started working on HITs. That’s it! I started my part time job which immensely helped me support my financial needs in the times of world economic crisis and our very own shutdown due to Telangana agitation. Though the Mechanical Turk stopped new signing up options from India, I am still able to continue working on HITs and mint some extra money for myself as I had signed up in 2010. Thank you Mechanical Turk!

My story is about the first SF 49ers game i ever attended. My Father is from San Francisco and i grew up surrounded by 49ers fans. I can remember going to Superbowl parties in the mid 80s when i was very young. Naturally, i grew into a huge fan and lover of sports. I watched every game on television and followed the team very closely.

When i was 16, my Father got season tickets. Needless to say, i was ecstatic. My first game took place on a Sunday Night in November.

Needless to say, i was incredibly excited and couldn’t wait. The anticipation that built up all week was incredible.

Sunday night. Driving into the stadium i had seen so many times on television. Seeing the scores of 49er fans all dressed in red and gold was amazing. Seeing the tailgaters and drinking in all of the energy was an amazing feeling. And the game hadn’t even started.

What happened next was my most vivid memory from the game. As we were walking in the outer walkway towards our seats, i got my first glimpse of the field. It was incredible. The buzz of the crowd, getting my first look at 49er players warming up on the field. Seeing the giant logo at midfield, freshly painted and glowing brightly in the lights. It was fantastic.

The 49ers won an amazing game 31-27, with J.Rice breaking a record. I will never forget it as long as i live. RIP Candlestick.

It was a Saturday, I am sure of that. There are other details that are still blurry in my mind. The summer sun was beating down, and I was thankful for air conditioning as we may our way across the state. The hum of the road underneath the wheels of our SUV couldn’t drown out my thoughts. Would I be a good mother to these kids? Could I possibly handle working and parenting? Would they be scarred from the neglect they have experienced from their own mother? I couldn’t know the answers. Not until they came. Not until they were living under my roof. There was lots of uncertainty.

As we crossed over from Tennessee into Arkansas, ready to meet up with the family member that was bringing them to us, I began to get excited. I imagined sunset evenings in the park, pushing swings, and catching flying children off slides. I envisioned Christmas morning with matching pajamas, and tiny feet running into my room to announce that Christmas had indeed arrived. Birthday parties, Lego castles, Play Dough animals, and skinned knees. Superheroes, training wheels, chicken nuggets, and sippy cups. This was going to be my life.

Once we reached our destination, they were taken out of the car and came over to greet us. All boys. Four years old, two years old, and one year old. I hugged him, certain that they had no idea what was happening in their life. I was an adult, and I wasn’t certain. I packed their bags and car seats into my vehicle, and we buckled everyone in. And just like that, I became a mother.

I’ve lived a full life at a young age. Although I spent most of my childhood doing everything that was expected of me, I spent my early twenties exploring the world an expanding my horizons. For university, I studied in the desert at a small school. After I graduated, I worked at a zoo. It had always been my dream to do so, but after a short time I decided to travel. I spent two years living in Australia and traveling to some of the most beautiful places I had ever seen. Staying in hostels with strangers and crashing on couches of people I only knew from the references of acquaintances, I met some incredible people and made some life-long friendships. The people I met along the way came from all walks of life. There was the crazy walker who was walking around the continent, the accountant who vacationed for months at a time with no plan, the biologist who followed the warm weather around the globe. I visited places I had only dreamed about, went to art festivals that I will never forget, and worked jobs that made me realize there is much more to this world than living a mundane existence. I reluctantly returned to home with dreams of my next adventure, and am already on my way to accomplishing those dreams. My travels made me realize that we can do anything we set our mind to, and that there is no point in waiting to accomplish our dreams when we can do so right away.

I am new to mechanical turk. I recently finished up a contract with a reputable Energy company, but have been unable to find work. Its hard because I am going to grad school in the fall. I am by no means trying to get rich, but i need something to help offset the cost of grad school. Because its in England. Yea, its great and everything, but its also hard because it is so expensive. But i have been forced to take matters into my own hands. I would rather Turk 24 hours a day, than sit at home doing nothing and applying for jobs hours upon end. This is a better use of my time. Like i said, i dont expect to get rich, but no one can say that I am not hustling for my education. Because i am. And I think im doing a damn great job of it too.