How often do you dream of those days when you no longer have to trudge off to work each morning and put in your time so that you can earn your pay? Once, twice, three times a week? I thought about it every day for 20 years. When the time came that I could take an early retirement I jumped at the chance. I thought all my troubles were over.
It took exactly seven days to get all my worldly possessions loaded up in my motorhome, all my obligations taken care of, and I was off to see what this country holds. I was free. Free to sleep in. Free to get up early and watch the sunrise. Free to stay up late and howl at the moon. Free to lay around for days on end. Fish, hike, read books, daydream. I was free. Or, so I imagined. I lived that way for a couple of years before reality slapped me in the face.
The economy took a nosedive. I found myself right in there with everyone else. I had thought that my guaranteed retirement was safe. Eighty percent of it was. However, losing the 20% is what really hurt. Just a little something that I never planned on, but it happened nonetheless. Freedom was in danger.
I spent the next year looking for something to replace that income I lost. The increasing cost of living now meant that I would not only have to replace my lost income, but I would have to find something to offset the rising cost of living. My freedom did not last long. I had to go back to something I never really enjoyed in the first place.
But, I did not stop dreaming and looking for something I could work at part time, though. Not having to hold down a steady job had gotten to be something I really enjoyed. If I could only replace that lost 20% and just a bit more to offset the cost of living raises that I no longer received I just might be able to get back out on the road. I kept looking.
Nothing got by me. I tried online surveys. I tried putting ads on my personal website. I answered every get rich quick scheme ad I came across. I suppose you are chuckling to yourself now. Like P.T. Barnum said,
I may have been born at night, but I was not born last night. I did not fall for every ad I read. I'm afraid to tell you how many I did fall for, though. I don't want you falling out of your chair laughing only to injure yourself. You see, I soon realized that I was one of those suckers. So, I stopped answering those ads.
That left only one recourse - work. A steady job again. It took exactly two months for me to realize that the life of a regular hourly employee (or salaried) was no longer for me. I could not shove myself back into that mold again. In short, I was miserable. The stress headaches returned, heartburn set back in, sleepless nights and restless days followed one another like clockwork. Oh, whatever happened to my dream?
Here is where I am supposed to tell you how the story ends. But, let me get sidetracked for just a minute. Today I spent a great day out in the wilderness of the Dixie National Forest with a friend of mine. We saw an eagle in the wild as it hunted for a meal (up close - real close). We watched prairie dogs play, going in and out of their burrowed homes. We enjoyed the warmth of the sun beating down on us and the cooling afternoon rains. We had a good time traversing rugged terrain in my jeep and out and about on foot. I do not know what tomorrow holds, but I can be pretty sure it's not going to be trudging off to work. That you can take to the bank.
But, wait a minute, Jim. Didn't you just get through telling us that you had only one recourse left and it was work? Yep, that's what I told you, but I was wrong. A few months ago I was introduced into something that would change my life forever. No longer is a steady job in my future. Look out world I'm back on the road. Tomorrow I just may change the view from my front window. But, I also have the option of sleeping in and only thinking about changing that view. Tonight I just might throw a dart at the map to determine the direction I will be traveling tomorrow, or the next day, or next week, or next month.
As I was growing up my grandfather instilled in me that happiness and health is more important than wealth. Without your health any wealth you may acquire cannot be enjoyed to its fullest. So, throughout the years I have tried to take care of myself. I have also passed along Granddad's message every chance I get. Health is the most important asset you can have. Helping others attain good health can only lead to wealth, both psychologically and materially. That's where I'm at today.
You see there's money to be made in the "good health" industry.
Those guys charge way too much for sitting in their waiting room. I don't know about you, but I'd much rather be putting those dollars into my pocket and not theirs. "How do you achieve such a place in life?" you ask. That is where all this is leading.
A few months ago I met a man who asked me how I kept myself in such good shape. You see, I don't work out on a regular basis. I do try to eat healthy, however succeed only about 50% of the time. I take my daily vitamins and a supplement or two, but that is about all. He asked me if I'd like to get paid for taking my daily dosage of pills. Wait a minute, buddy. I'm not some guy's walking experiment. Not going to happen. He said okay, but left me his card anyway.
Several days went by and I got curious. After one particular stress filled day at work I went home and decided I had had enough. I really needed to find something to replace that "job" I just know I was going to eventually walk away from. I rummaged around and found that little business card and began to do some research. The computer and I stayed up quite late that night. What I found intrigued me. What I didn't find amazed me. How could this worldwide company be so different than all the rest? It's not like it's a household name, but over the past 3 decades it has
I went to work the next day and sleepwalked through my 10 hour shift thinking about what I had found (and not found) the night before. That night the computer and I spent another long, long night of research. The day after that (my first day off of 2 the company felt obligated to give me - they didn't want to pay overtime) I spent at the library. More research. Almost everything I found shed a favorable light onto this business. The industry has gotten some bad ink, but this business received almost none. How could that be?
I picked up the phone and dialed the number on the card. I had a few questions. And, I expected answers. No problem. Straight forward answers is what I got to my straight forward questions. No money to join the business, no obligation to stay with the business, and no money to get away from the business. It was not like Hotel California. I did not have to pay to get out if I didn't want to stay. Now you're talking.
I have never paid for a job in my life and I was not about to begin. If I go to work for you I expect to get paid for my efforts. Not a problem. There were so many ways to acquire income that I couldn't remember them all - and, I have trouble reading my own hand writing after a couple of days. No problem. It's all written down for the world to see.
Well, I joined up. Skeptical, but still joined. I'd try their products. Might do me some good. But, I was not going to harangue family and friends about this new business venture I was in. That you can take to the bank. It didn't take long, though, and people began to notice a new bounce in my step. And, believe it or not, I felt better than I had in years. When asked what my secret was I just told everyone that it must be that phase of the moon where all the loonies come out of the woodwork. Maybe I was of them.
It seems I was a bit embarrassed to tell anyone that I had joined an organization that promoted good health. I got to feeling bad about not sharing my secret. Up until now I had always promoted good health. Every chance I got I felt obligated to tell others about how important good health is. Why the change? Why was I so hesitant now about openly promoting good health? What changed? I had.
and I didn't want to share it. I was feeling good and wanted to keep all that information to myself.
However, that tendency to horde this information left me working a job I did not like and continued to threaten my dream of freedom on the road. There was opposing actions at work inside me. One said to keep my newfound health a secret and the other said that I needed to share it in order to release the bonds that held me firmly into a position I did not enjoy - that of going to work everyday. I made a commitment to try sharing my "good health secret" with just a few, and with only those who might ask.
A few days later I passed along my secret. And, they wanted a piece of the action. Now I was on the hook. How was I going to tell them everything? Oh, no. I was in a quandary. I couldn't tell them just some of it. I had to share everything. So, with the chance I might be laughed at, I told all.
They wanted more information. They wanted a piece of the action. Okay. I pointed the direction and quietly led them down the path to the door that opened to their future. The future that included good health and a dream they could reach.
That first person soon led to a second and a third and a fourth. It wasn't long and my little foray into a new adventure forced me to spend more time than I really cared to.
Walked in one day and told him what he could do with that job I so detested. Now I was really on the hook. If this new venture did not work out I was going to have to go begging for a job that I had just quit and surely did not want.
Think back to what you had read earlier. My day spent in the Dixie National Forest. The other day it was Cottonwood Canyon on the Escalante-Grand Staircase National Monument. Just last week it was Cedar Breaks and time inspecting petroglyphs at Parowan Gap. I firmly believe my near future involves a trek along the Loneliest Highway in America. You see, I did not have to go begging, the doctor is not getting my dollars, and I can attest that my eyelids do not contain light leaks. I get the opportunity to check them out on a regular basis.
It took far less time than I ever imagined for that to occur. I spend a couple of hours each day on my new business venture and enjoy the time I get to help others with theirs. I am once again living my dream. One of my friends has a dream to spend more time with her growing children. She's just a couple of months away from that. Another wants to finish building his home. He's already begun. Another wants to buy a boat and sail the Caribbean. That might take another year or two. They're all attainable, though. With far less effort than anyone had imagined.
I'm a bit hesitant to share what I know and what has put me back on the road and let others reach their dreams. Why the hesitancy? Do I fear laughter? I don't think so. What I fear most is that I may not be able to help everyone achieve their dream. What happens to those that get left by the wayside? Can I feel good about asking others to assist me in my goal of spreading good health, happiness and good fortune? Is this too much for one person to handle? Oh, so many questions and yet I know where I can find the answers. All I have to do is dig out that little business card that was handed to me so many months ago and all the help I need is a call away. No, I am not left out in the world to fend for myself.
just like I am there for those who ask me for assistance. This is a team effort. The power of many to overcome the bumps in the road on our paths to our dreams.
If you'd like to join us you can begin the process by visiting Your future is just a click or two away.
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