I fell in love with a former girlfriend for a whole new reason, that is, a different reason than when I'd had the one before her. It had nothing to do with looks, money, social standing, or anything like it. She had gone through a similar struggle as me, actually one much larger in scope, and not only survived but prospered as a major Beverly Hills Attorney. I, struggled as a writer and cartoonist for several decades, not such a dramatic story as hers, and finally "made it". People ask us often, "How did you do what you did"? (they ask her much more so than me). The one thing we agreed upon was developing organizational skills, having a plan, and acting.
Since I went back to school and studied Internet marketing, she always said I was better at it than she was. I am not so sure that is true. I spend more than half my day doing advertising and promotions and don't make nearly as much income as she does. She doesn't even have a website or advertise and people are always lined up at her office door. So who is the better marketer is a bit of a moot point. Her clients market for her via word of mouth. And it works well.
My ex-mate has life head and heals above me, and I admire her for it. I admire he character and the way she works. Though I have learned to multi-task, she can multi-task ten things at once and do them all perfectly. She built a huge Beverly Hills law practice starting from a park bench, with English as a second language, and has more clients than with which she knows what to do. I on the other hand have some nifty Internet cartoon stores from my Londons Times Cartoons. Respectable? Well yes, and know. I make a good living, but a lot of my peers, doctors, lawyers and such, still consider me a Waylon Jennings almost grown-up cowboy. In other words, we don't share the golf course at the country club.
She drives a new Mercedes. I drove an '89 Buick Regal until I got a heart condition and stopped driving. She has a big home in the Valley. I have a modest studio apartment on a mountaintop in Arkansas. I now have a 2000 Saturn and I'm prefectly satisfied with it.
I live in the Ouachata Mountains in Arkansas. She says we "think small" and work too hard for too little. I wish Sam Walton could hear our conversations regarding "small-thinking people from Arkansas".
I don't really get much into New Age philosophy. Let me rephrase that. i do and I don't. I get into it from the biblical point of view, because, that is really all it is; ancient text rewritten ever so gently and packaged beautifully. And if we don't watch out, some "guru aka false profit" is getting rich as I write this. I prefer to read the same material free from ancient scriptures. Yes, its a harder read, but its the same thing.
Being an ex S. Californian, and please forgive me all you out there who don't fit that discription, New Age was, more or less a way of life. But if one takes the time to do a little research, most New Age is actually Ancient Age and simply reworded, slickly packaged and custom built to make a new guru wealthy. This new "The Secret" takes the cake, sort of a "Think it and they will come"; no action needed, simply attract it with thought. Okay. P.T. Barnum would love to know the buyers of this package. Sorry Oprah, I know you endorse it, but......let's think this through. Hard persistent work is the key to any success; not "law of attraction"; though I will admit, law of attraction does follow hard pesistent work, but I think they are putting the horse before the cart.
This confuses me. I wonder sometimes if it is about income. If it is, well, she's right. A seasoned attorney generally makes more money than a seasoned cartoonist and e-tailer no matter how "big we think".
She wants me to "live the dream". Ok ok. I don't like that term. It sounds so MLM-sh and I feel like I'm in Egypt starting a Pyramid scheme. But I digress.
But I have an ally. He's long gone now but his words live on in his writings; Carl Jung that is. Many people do not understand Jung's message and that's okay. I think it was because he was so interested in the spiritual and metaphysical side of things. So am I. But he, like I, am also interested in living in the now, enjoying the now, appreciating the struggle. For if not to appreciate the struggle, once the dream "happens", what's next? I don't want to keep living for "new dreams". I want to enjoy the ones I am living and gradually evolve into other ways of life, if they look health and positive for me.
Jung warns us that once we have achieved our dreams, we may not necessarily be 100% happy; in fact, he adds that we can almost count on that. That does not mean not to pursue happiness. It is part of our personal and national Constitution. It is just to realize that reality. We will always have problems and issues, no matter what.
I think the thing to do is "do what you like". For some people, the dream is money. Back when Nelson Rockefeller was one of the richest if not the world's richest persons, he was asked, "How much money is enough?" He answered, "Just a little bit more."
I worked in corporate America for two decades chasing the almighty dollar. I made a lot of them. I can assure you they did not buy me happiness, and, in retrospect, because I hated what I was doing for a living.
My dream is to do just what I love to do, and the money will come. Will it come immediately? I don't think so. Bill Gates money took years to compile as did Warren Buffet. The captains of industry stories are filled with failures and missteps before living the dream.
I go with the person or company who is trying to provide me with the best product or service, not the wealthiest. They can be here today, gone tomorrow in today's economy. Look at Enron, MCI, even Gateway to a certain degree (just bought out by a much smaller company). Go with your heart, like-minded people. And you'll have a much better time, and probably make a much larger income.
No two people are alike. One person's dream may be to travel the world while another might be to build a wildlife refugee.
But that is okay. We are in the 21st century where live and let live is the name of the game.
Even though I am living my reality, I am also living my dream, not somebody else's. I have my own hours and I work at my own pace, which is twice as hard as any boss ever asked out of me. The difference is I love what I do. So my reality is a dream in many ways.
Thinking big can be a good thing, but measure your waist size first. Be sure it is not too big for your britches, and carry on, never misleading anyone. Do what you love to do. The money will follow so "they" say, and they have proven themselves right. Live someone else's "dream" and you may or may not make money, but its a moot point. One then has to ask him/herself, "Am I happy rich or not, living someone else's dream? The choice is yours. It really is.
You will be happy, rich, or not.
Rick London.
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