Well lets see I really dont know where to start. I guess as a kid my dad like working with wood. We used to do drywall and build things and I guess thats why  got into construction when I got out of the army. I was an airbourne mechanic in the army I lerned to over come adversitiy, how to work on vehicles.  I got to see some different cultures.  I spent a year in Korea that had to have some kind of literacy to me.  Anyway after the military I started warking with a gaurdrail company out of columbus did that for a couple of years. That taught me that road construction was very hard work and that not everyone is capable of the work that goes on in construction. After that I worked as an electrician for almost 6 years that was a very rewarding job. Some of the thing that you do as an electrician are pulling wire running conduit wireing up light fixtures, switches, wiring up panel boxes and so on you get the picture. Then I became a union carpenter I worked on bridges, in power plants, in dams and in office building. There is such a wide range in the jobs that you can do.  You can do dry wall you can do concrete work, metal studs, rigging, pile driving, and scaffolding. I did a little of them all but my favorite was scaffolding.  When I first started to build scaffold I didn't even know what the material was they would tell me to go get something and I would get the wrong thing but after a while I figured it out and became one of the best in my local hall.  The challenge in building scaffold is the layout not everyone can layout a scaffold. The actual building is not that hard just think of it as a big erector kit that you had as a kid its basically the same thing.  So I guess that I owe that to my dad. I beleive that has been a big literary influence on my life. But as for now I think the my cousin has been a big influence on me. He has been a pilot for about 20 years and I have talked to him for acoule years now and (with lack of work thanks to Obama) I have decided to go back to school at 38 to become a pilot myself.  I think that someday that will make my daughter a lot more proud of me that being an unemployed constuction worker. Well I hope this gives you a little insight on my influences in my life, and the gumtion to stay in school to better your lives.