Is that so wrong? Too much to ask? It’s the age old battle, I would assume pretty much since the beginning of time. How can I spend my days (or nights) doing what I love, following my passions as opposed to spending an entire lifetime following the rest of the sheep, herded along the freeways, taking the safe road to nowhere and needless to say not too happy about it?

After all, isn’t working at what you enjoy more or less like not working at all? Wouldn’t you much rather spend your days with a big smile on your face as opposed to a permanent frown? I know I would, that’s for sure.

And when you do something you’re passionate about, you end up with a much nicer end result. Such a wonderful feeling of accomplishment from a job well done. Can you just imagine the feeling of never wanting your day to end because you’re having so much fun? Only to be surpassed by the relentless amount of sleepless nights, laying there, so amped up thinking about all the things you want to accomplish the next day.

Heck, who needs an alarm clock when you never actually fall asleep anyway. Hard to imagine lack of sleep being a good thing but I guess in this case it would be.

No doubt that’s the life I wanna live. Knowing that tomorrow is going to be even better than today was. Wouldn’t that be the greatest life ever? I’d have to think so.

OK then, now that we know HOW we want our life to be, how do we go about creating the life of our dreams? In essence, how do we cash in on our passion?

First off, we need to identify what it is we are actually passionate about. Basically it comes down to a matter of deciding what it is you’d look forward to waking up and doing every day, rain or shine, regardless of whether or not you were getting paid to do it.

I can name a few things right off the bat. I’ve always had a passion for Antiques & Collectibles. The thrill of the hunt, the rush of the discovery, the interaction with the current custodian as it relates to purchasing the object, overcoming my overwhelming desire to own every rare antiquity on earth & finding a new caretaker and lastly, the warm ‘n’ fuzzies I get from knowing that my find is on it’s way to a new home, increasing the enjoyment of all others that get to view it. And then the process begins again. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose but it never seems to diminish the thrill of the hunt.

Another dream of mine, ever since I wrote my first short story back in Elementary School has been to be an Author. Most likely fiction but as much as I enjoy writing from my heart, it’s entirely possible that I would also dabble in the non fiction genre a bit.

As I’m sure you can tell I’ve never actually taken any writing classes or pursued writing in any aspect so perhaps it’s the fact that Stephen King and I share the same birthday (NO, not the same year!) that might have something to do with my passion for writing, I’m not exactly sure. One thing’s for certain though, I really love Blogging and would truly enjoy taking it to another level.

I’d have to say that the third thing on my Passion List would be painting Murals. My goal would be to learn how to paint Trompe L’ O’eil, “Trick Of The Eye” Murals for both indoor and outdoor applications. For those unfamiliar with this style of art, in essence it’s creating the realistic feeling of something that although you know darn well it’s not really there, it appears so realistic that you have to question yourself as to what you’re actually looking at.

This can be as simple as a Faux plaster finish on an interior wall, maybe a window with a view of the vineyard in the distance all the way up to a giant hole in the outside wall of a building, thereby allowing a peek inside.

Of course, all of these scenarios are only limited by ones imagination. Unfortunately, this painting technique would require years of training to master and as such will have to remain a ways down on my list of wannados.

Right next to scowering the oceans of the world in search of sunken Spanish Gallions and Pirate Ships. I’m so enthralled by the thought of uncovering undiscovered treasures, one of a kind artifacts, things that mere money can’t buy. I get tingles just thinking about it. I guess I have some sort of an Indiana Jones complex.

So with the last two passions on my list being a bit out of reach (for now) it’s still entirely possible that I could make a go of the other two. I’m enamored with history and to be able to travel the globe in search of the rarest of the rare, only one in existence type items, with unlimited funding from a long list of interested buyers eagerly anticipating my next find would truly be a dream come true.

To peruse thousand year old buildings throughout Europe in search of who knows what and learning everything I can about the countries and their cultures would just be icing on the cake. And then to top it off, if I could write about my adventures along the way, then my life truly would be a dream come true.

So with all that being said, now comes the difficult part. How do I go about creating this so called dream life? How do I bridge the gap between following my passions, in hopes of making money rather than merely trying to find something that will keep me afloat for now. Not just another quick fix, regardless of whether or not I enjoy it. No doubt it’s gonna take a huge leap of faith on my part to even remain focused long enough to give it a shot.

Especially in todays turbulent world, it can be very difficult to risk everything (or in my case what little I have left) to take a chance on living a life full of fun & pleasure. Not that there are any guarantees of making money these days by following a safer, seemingly risk free path yet it can still be much more dangerous to climb out on the ledge and take a serious leap of faith, hoping for a smooth landing.

If you’re anything like me, I grew up thinking that work was a necessary evil we were all forced to endure in order to survive. Definitely not something to look forward to, that’s for sure. Anything you wanted to do or for that matter enjoyed doing would have to be squeezed in after work hours.

Getting over that guilt trip is a challenge in itself. Let alone coming up with a way to monetize my passions. It’s no wonder I never attempted this transition to fun and freedom prior to this, it appears to be a road filled with land mines, all of them just waiting to explode.

Should I even allow myself to dream of such a fantasy life, a life of traveling around the world in search of the unknown? An endless list of anxious buyers, eagerly awaiting my latest Blog Post direct from a beautiful white sand beach in Bora Bora, boasting of all my newly found treasures.

I guess what it truly comes down to is the fact that it’s entirely up to me to change my life. To create the life of my dreams. No one else is gonna do it for me, that’s for sure. In fact I’ve come to realize that mentioning to others about how you plan on changing your life for the better only brings out feelings of animosity and then the negativity begins to flow. “How dare you try to enjoy your life when I’m stuck here at my 9 to 5 job, kids, mortgage, car payments, living paycheck to paycheck and no way out.” At least from those that still have a regular job, not exactly a gimme in todays economy.

I’ve always known that I’m not a 9 to 5er, yet I lived that life for many years. It was a miserable existence and one I’m not the least bit eager to go back to. I enjoyed Real Estate (at least the way it USED to be) but until the R.E. Market comes back, not much guaranteed income there either.

Hmmmmmm, what is it then that I’m really risking here? No wife, no kids, no mortgage (thank you Banks), maybe there really is no better time than now to give this thing a shot. Why not? Why not cash in on my passion? After all, the only thing stopping me….is me.

If you can relate to pursuing your passions, chasing your dreams and living the life you always wanted, I’d enjoy hearing your comments in the box below and if you know of someone struggling with getting out of the rut known as living someone elses idea of how their life should be, I’d appreciate it if you would share this post with them. Thank you.

WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON HERE? I just can’t figure this out! Seems like every time I turn on the TV, another Bank has been robbed. Or at least another attempted robbery. Seems like most of them don’t get away with it and those that do make it out the door end up with a bag full of blue dye.

Now, I realize that times are tough and people have to do what they have to do to survive. Please don’t take this the wrong way, I’m in NO WAY condoning ANY type of illegal activity. Not whatsoever. In fact, I couldn’t be more against it.

I’m old school in my thinking and I believe we all have to work for what we get in life. And the harder we work, the more money we make. Or at least that’s how it should be anyway.

Our Country was founded on this principal and I believe that’s what has helped to create the Superpower that we are today. Well, that we were at one time. Not too sure where we stand in the global scheme of things these days but I’m sure you understand what I’m attempting to say.

But hard work seems to have been replaced by taking the easy way out. How can I get the most for doing the least. The world owes me, now gimme mine! And no doubt that type of mentality is going to be our demise.

Which brings me back to all these Bank robberies. There probably aren’t as many attempts as it appears, due to the vast amount of Banks that are out there in relation to the amount of attempts, yet they always seem to make headlines. Whether it be in print or online, there’s no shortage of bad guys lookin’ for a free ride.

This got me to thinkin’. I know, uh oh, there he goes thinkin’ again. This COULD be dangerous! No really, this is starting to bug me. Recession or no recession, there’s just no excuse for stupidity. If you’re going to do anything in life, do it right the FIRST time.

I don’t know about you but I can’t EVER recall walking in to a Bank, completely avoiding the mini~maze that guides you to the Teller windows (yeah, the one with the huge sign that says ENTER HERE!), proceeding to walk straight up to one of the Tellers that is just waiting for you with open arms and saying “Gimme ALL Your Money, NOW!”

First off, seems to me like just as soon as you walk in the Branch, someone, whether it’s a Guard or somebody in New Accounts will make eye contact and smile. I always like to smile back, it makes for a better day.

Next obstacle is the Maze, a series of twists and turns, designed to create some semblance of uniformity and to guide you to where you REALLY wanna go. Which of course is the Teller window.

Not that it hasn’t happened but it’s very rare, like one out of every forty times, that this maze is empty. As I mentioned, extremely rare. Yet even on those special occasions, I STILL do as the sign tells me and I begin my journey at the entrance to the maze.

Don’t get me started on those rule breakers that, once they’ve taken care of their banking, INSIST on walking backwards through the maze. What are they thinking, don’t they KNOW they are breaking the rules? Apparently not or they wouldn’t do it in the first place, right? Actually I’m not too sure but it definitely makes no sense to me. Perhaps they like to live life on the edge.

So chances are, once you get to the line up, there will be at the very least one or two people in front of you. More than likely there will be many more than that but let’s just assume that you won’t be the only person waiting for a Teller.

Some people filling out Deposit slips, others scratching out their info on a Withdrawl slip, HOPING that they will have sufficient funds to complete the transaction. Some even on their Cell Phones, trying to look important, all in an effort to make the Tellers hurry up. Good luck with THAT one.

Of those making withdrawls, most of these people need a different amount of money than what the ATM has to offer. And if you’re at all like me, you’ve had those times where you needed cash but your account balance showed less than $20. Yep, I said it. LESS than the $20 minimum and NO, I’m not proud of that statement.

Unfortunately that’s when you HAVE to take the walk of shame, going inside the Branch, coming face to face with a Teller and asking for your $18.69. Out of nowhere it suddenly dawns on you that you need a balance of at least $10 just to keep your account open. Then it’s decision time.

With about forty eyes staring at you from the lineup in the maze, burning holes in the back of your head, PRESSURING you to HURRY UP and make up your mind so they can complete their transactions and get back to their day, you HAVE to make a split second decision. On the fly no less because you surely weren’t prepared to make such a life altering decision when you walked in the door.

Hmmm, should I take out $8.69 and keep my account open or just say screw it, take the entire $18.69 out and close it down? But if you close your account, won’t that mean you’ll have to fill out a bunch of extra paperwork? Oh, the anxiety.

That in itself could take even longer than YOU planned. But what the hell is $8 gonna buy you? One trip to the Jack in the Box Dollar Menu and that pretty much blows you’re wad. YIKES, What SHOULD I Do? Just thinkin’ about this is stressing me out, I gotta move on.

OK, so you’re finally at the front of the line. So close you can almost read the names on the little signs next to each Teller window. Out of the thirty eight teller windows available, only three are open. Why is that?

Where the hell is Denise, Becky, Sherrie, Lisa, Tanya, Robin, Shaniqua, Melissa, Terri, Carla, Justine, Ricki, Charlene, Dustin, Christy, Yolanda, Shana, Missy, Barbara, Deborah, Mary, Joshua, Katherine, Brandi and all the other missing peeps. Why aren’t they at work? Don’t they realize I’m in a hurry? I’ve got places to go, things to do, people to meet! I’ve got to get on with my day. Jeez, if you’re not gonna show up for work at least have the courtesy to take your sign down the night before. It just looks tacky, you and your time off, rubbin’ it in our faces. Why must you mock us?

That’s about the time that I see IT! The giant HD Big Screen TV monitor, seemingly staring at me. Actually, it’s difficult to avoid looking at it since it’s right in front of you, staring back at you.

Hmmm, that guy looks kinda familiar. I’m not the least bit into guys but he’s kinda handsome, a bit rugged lookin’. Perhaps he’s a GQ Model? He looks a bit like me but 20lbs. heavier. Wait a minute, that IS me! That’s ME staring at me! But from a completely different angle. How can that be?

Then it dawns on me that I’m being filmed by some kinda Nanny Cam, probably in the ceiling or something. That answers the question about the weird angle. Jeez, I feel like I’m at the local Indian Casino, about to lose my last dollar on some rigged game of Blackjack.

Wow, until now I never thought about the similarities between the two establishments, the Bank and the Casino. Taking out my last dollar, about to throw it away. ON CAMERA! Not good.

And I sure hope I wasn’t cussing out loud about all the truant employees, they’d have it on file. I’d sure hate to have them treat me differently after viewing the footage, that would truly be a shame.

“Ummm, I Can Help You Over Here!” A bit startled, I’m faintly aware of a voice coming from somewhere far off in the distance. I look around and then I see IT. Scanning the entire counter, spanning just about the same distance as the front straightaway at the Indy 500, down near the end I can barely make out a slight movement above the counter top. Is that a Hummingbird? Nope, it’s the Tellers hand waving to me, signaling me to head in her direction.

Can’t really see any more than her hand, especially from this distance. The Teller wall is kinda tall so it makes it difficult to actually see anybody until you’re directly in line with the window. So I begin the long walk, kinda like in the movie Nine Mile and I start to hear the crowd in the maze chanting Dead Man Walkin’ and… ooops, gettin’ a bit side tracked.

Finally, face to face with the Teller. Such a beautiful smile, perfect for a Teller. Looking at her sign, I break the ice with a “Hi Brittney, how are you today?” Of course, as I’m saying this I’m just hoping that she’s working at her own station and not somebody elses. That would really be embarassing if I called her by the wrong name.

“Please swipe your card.” Well, I guess that’s about it for the idle chit chat. She’s got a job to do and she wants to get it done. No BS’n around today. Which is more than fine with me. After being in line for what seems like forever, I’m about ready to get this whole thing over with because by now it’s just about lunch time and there’s bound to be a huge lineup in the Drive Thru at Jack in the Box!

With the transaction completed, I begin heading for the front door. Why is it that they have everything so blocked off that you’re forced to walk by all of the angry people still waiting in the maze, dying to get to the cheese? Cruel I tell ya’, just down right cruel.

Getting back in my car, I can’t help but reflect a bit on this mornings experience. This whole banking thing seems rather ridiculous at this point. Isn’t it MY money? Last time I checked it was anyway. If so, then why the hell is it so hard to get it back in my pocket? I could go on and on about this but I won’t. That’s an entirely different story, one I’ll save for later.

Finally, made it to Jack in the Box. Jeez, I’m starving, can’t wait to get me some food. What the heck is this, another lineup? You gotta be kidding me! It’s not even lunch time yet. Good thing I got out of the Bank so quickly, any later and this line could have really been bad.

As I stared at the “If you can read this, YOU’RE TOO CLOSE!” bumper sticker on the minivan in front of me, I began to think about all the people waiting in the Drive Thru in front of me. Then I noticed the Mi Familia stickers on the back window. You know which ones I’m talking about, the little cut outs that show the entire family, right down to the dog.

Yikes, there’s Papi, Mami and about fourteen kids. Oh, and their dog Pepe’. I sure hope they aren’t ordering for the entire family AND the dog, that could take forever. Oh well, I guess I should be grateful that I made it this far. I mean, there could have been some friggin’ idiot tryin’ to rob the bank at the same time I was in there so in essence, I’m pretty lucky.

Which got me to thinkin’ about the Bank again. And the fools that try to pull off these heists. I guess what intrigues me the most is how on earth are these so called Bank Robbers getting through the maze and up to the Teller windows without being spotted? I mean c’mon, they don’t seem to posess a whole lot of creativity, not to mention zero individuality.

It’s as if they all bought BANK ROBBERY FOR DUMMIES, quickly glanced over Chapter One on *How to dress properly for the occasion*, then got so excited that they didn’t read any further before they ran to the Bank to test out all of their newly discovered knowledge. All of them seem to exude such a high degree of stupidity, it amazes me that so many of them make it as far along in the process as they do.

It’s hard enough for us regular folks to get to the Teller window, how in the heck are THEY making it with such apparent ease? Especially when they are wearing some of the most ridiculous disguises ever conceived.

Just a quick heads up to all the Bank Managers and Tellers out there. When you see a guy (or gal) walk in the front door wearing a Baseball Hat and Sunglasses, there’s a pretty good chance that they’re up to no good and you might want to think about keeping an eye on ‘em. Perhaps even put your hand on the secret button, just in case. I don’t know, it’s just a thought.

And is it just me or is this THE most popular Bank Robber outfit out there? Running a close second has to be the Hoodie with the bandana around the neck. After that, you’re pretty much in the Ex Presidents Mask Category and at that point, it’s pretty obvious that you’re not there to make a Deposit. No doubt it’s going to be an Illegal Withdrawl and things are gonna get ugly real quick!

A bit startled, I hear “My name is Felicia, would you like to try our new Jackalicious Jackburger Combo Meal Supremo for only $14.99?” blurbling through the loud speaker. My first thought is jeez, for that price it better come with a Lobster Tail. And melted butter.

Somewhat stunned, I mutter “Uh, no thank you, I can’t really afford that. Can I just get two Chicken Sandwiches, small Fries and a small Diet Coke?” To which she replies, “OK, so that’s two Chicken Neckwiches, Le Mini Fries and a Dixie Cup Size Diet Coke? That’ll be $17.88 at the first window. Please pull forward!”

Dang, that seems expensive! Maybe I SHOULD have gotten the Jackalicious Jackburger Combo after all. Too late now, I’ve already ordered and I sure as heck ain’t gonna try and back up. Too many people in line behind me. Man, if these prices keep goin’ up, I’m gonna have to rob a Bank!

If you can relate to all of the random craziness at the Banks, I’d appreciate hearing your perspective on things and if you know of anyone else that might enjoy reading this post, please feel free to share it with them. Thank you.

What the heck was that? As it approached, I had no idea what it was. And since I’m such a car buff, I was personally offended that I even had to ask myself that question in the first place. Yet there it was, driving by right in front of my eyes and I seriously had to ask myself what I was seeing.

We have all noticed that as gas prices and insurance costs continue to skyrocket, as “GREEN” becomes the ‘in thing’ and so many changes have taken place around the globe regarding transportation in general, cars are getting smaller, safer and more fuel efficient.

While I try to stay semi up on the latest hybrids, deisels, electric powered, even hydrogen powered offerings from all over the world, somehow this still hit me as an extremely odd vehicle. The overall lines, let alone the size seemed familiar but yet as I looked closer, something just wasn’t right. What on earth could this be?

I thought to myself, “Has something completely new hit the market? A car that I was totally unaware of? How did it get past my ‘Bradar’?” Not that I am in any way an expert on the latest auto offerings but since I do love cars, mostly high end European sports cars and Woodies, I scower many various online sites and so I’m exposed to lots of new vehicles along the way. Yet this little machine still had me doing a double take. I take great pride in being as prepared as possible in many situations and nothing worse than being unprepeared for the latest trend, even though I’m more of a trendsetter than a follower. And even if I’m not that ‘into it’, I still want to be able to interact with others that are passionate about all the different niche vehicles available today.

Luckily ‘it’ stopped at the signal up ahead. As I did my best to decipher exactly what it was that I was viewing, that’s when it struck me. I finally figured out what the heck it was under all that ‘bolt on’ drama. I recognized that emblem. I think most anybody, car afficianado or not, would recognize that little ‘circle of heaven’. Of course, those that aren’t true car lovers might think this was another ‘add on’, just another attempt to fool the masses but if you are up on your ‘carknowledge’ then you already know that the manufacturer of these vehicles is indeed Mercedes Benz.

Like everyone else on earth, the first thing you think is “How on earth could MB be involved with a car like this?” As it turns out, these little babies have passed every test needed, Safety, Mileage, etc. to allow them to be sold in this country. The US has the most stringent requirements on earth and if you can market and sell your car here, you can more or less sell it anywhere in the world. Except of course for the Communist countries, that’s an entirely different animal. Who knows what the heck is going on in those countries. You can buy a brand new car there for $2000.00, how can you compete with that? I think it even comes with a ‘Thirty Minute or Thirty Foot Warranty’, whichever comes first, so it has that going for it. But regardless of my thoughts, if Mercedes Benz is going to build and market these cars, they deserve a bit of respect in the auto world.

So that was it, I finally figured it out. It was a Smart Four Two. I still question myself every time I see one of these as to just how smart the owners are for buying them but I have to do my best to keep an open mind about it. Who on earth would want to look in their rearview mirror and continually see the license plate of the car behind them, towering high above their head? Personally, I sure wouldn’t but that’s just me. And therefore I really need to work hard to keep an open mind.

Just as I need to keep an open mind as it relates to my favorite marque, Porsche, building that uglier than ugly Panamera. The Cayenne SUV was hard enough to swallow but I can easily see how it relates in its attempt to get a piece of the huge world wide SUV market. But a giant luxury four door sedan, with the worst rear three quarter view on the market today, still not feelin’ it. Especially when the luxury four door ‘saloon’ market is flooded with all kinds of high end heaven, not too sure how big of a piece Porsche could even hope to garner. Yet I’m sure they did their research long before they ever began production so it’s just a matter of time to see how all that pans out.

As I stared at this ‘thing’ in front of me a bit more, I realized why I had so much trouble guessing what it was. The endless amount of bolt on ‘bling’ had rendered it more or less unrecognizable. Perhaps this was exactly what the owner had hoped to achieve, some way to ‘disguise’ it and if so, well done. The original vehicle was more or less nowhere to be found. Although the basic platform was there, it seemed as if this was almost more of a trailer full of aftermarket parts as opposed to an improvement over the original factory offering. Yet there was no tow vehicle in sight. To each his own, I reckon, but one would have to wonder just exactly what the heck this guy was thinking. I truly wonder if he isn’t asking himself that question as well but after spending all that money on all those ‘extras’, he’s left with no other option than to leave everything on there ‘as is’ and just act as if it’s his dream come true. Whether it is or not.

Tires and Wheels, Body Kit, Paint Wrap, Tinted Windows, Suspension Kit, Exhaust System, Trick Lights and these were just things that I noticed while sitting at the signal. Who knows how much other ‘stuff’ was inside and under the hood. I have a good feeling there was more than likely an upgraded Stereo, GPS, maybe more interior ‘doo dads’ and who even knows what’s going on under the hood. That list alone is so overwhelming I hate to even begin adding more to it. Yet this guy (girl?) felt that too much could never be enough. What’s even more amazing is the fact that all this aftermarket ‘crap’ is even available for these cars. I had to remember than even tough this particular car has only been available in this country for a relatively short time, it has been marketed around the world much longer. To be honest there really isn’t a car built these days that doesn’t have a ton of available aftermarket goodies built just for it.

Light turns green and there it goes. Wwwaaaaaaaaaa, wwwwaaaaaaaahhhhhh, wwwwwaaaaaaa…… the ‘new’ exhaust resonating as it bounced down the street. Yes, I said bounced. It appeared that the new lowered suspension had in some way compromised the original ride, making it appear even more like a toy than an actual car and a bad riding toy at that. To each his own, I guess. Yet I had to wonder when too much was too much. It was more than obvious that common sense was indeed sacrificed in the chase for individuality and while I am a huge advocate of those that blaze their own trail, I was still left having to ask the question, “When is enough too much?”

To all of you out there that prefer to fly your own “Freedom Flag”, I commend you as that’s what makes the world what it is today. Without those that choose to create their own way in this world, those ‘free thinkers’ that aren’t afraid to do what they want in life despite what others may think and feel, we might still be riding in horsedrawn wagons and buggies, being pulled along by “Rusty” and dodging the numerous ‘road apples’ along the way. It’s diffcult to say for sure but it is something to consider. So to all of you out there that choose to pave their own path, my hat is truly off to you. But I still have to ask that common sense be taken into consideration when searching for ways to show your individuality.

Which brings us back to my original thought, which is how do you know when too much really is too much? If you have endless time on your hands and plenty of extra money? Then who cares, I guess you can think way outside your box, whatever that box may consist of. But when you are spending more money, time and effort in an attempt to individualize and enhance your SMART(?) car to the point that you have spent so much more than it would have cost you to get a new BMW 335i Convertible and the credibility that comes along with owning a truly desirable vehicle, that’s when you really have to ask yourself, “Are you TOO SMART for your own good?”

Hmmm, can’t figure it out. Somehow I lost my MOJO and I have no idea where it went. I have a pretty good idea how I lost it. That’s relatively easy to figure out. Heck, I’m sure there are plenty of people out there that have lost theirs recently. You don’t even need to watch TV, read the newspaper or go online to know that the economy is hurting these days and it has more than likely affected someone you know. Family, friends, coworkers, perhaps even you yourself have been affected in one way or another. Recession has become another household word.

Unemployment is hovering around 10% but here in So. Cal. it seems more like 25%. For the most part, ‘basic’ jobs are non existent. The days of walking in to your local auto parts store, grocery store, even a pizza delivery place, plunking down your paper application and at the very least landing a part time job are over and done. Nowadays you pretty much need a PHD to bag groceries. Well, at the very minimum an MBA. There are so many over qualified people out of work these days that it has created a major bottleneck at the door to HR.

Add to that the fact that if companies aren’t outsourcing all their job openings, then they are eliminating the jobs all together. When I think about the hourly wage required to survive in this country, it’s no wonder businesses are looking overseas for labor. Add to that the taxes, insurance, etc. and it’s just off the charts. We just can’t afford to hire our own. Not sure how or even if we will ever get back to ‘normal’, whatever normal is. Been so long since we’ve seen anything normal around here, if it does show up more than likely we won’t even recognize it.

With the general consensus being that the entire country is pretty much in the crapper, no wonder I along with quite a few others have lost our Mojo. Now I define “MOJO” as motivation, drive, desire, pretty much any reason to get out of bed in the morning. A reason to get out there and battle another day, to struggle against all odds, continuing to hope for a better outcome. A better life. When the odds continue to be stacked against us, with no signs of clearing up anytime soon, it’s tough to continue forward knowing that it will indeed get better. Difficult to even find a reason to keep trying let alone stay focused on it.

Then I got to thinking about the world and the economy in general. After all I’m sure most would agree that the entire world economy has been affected, not just in the US. With the media continuing to create this feeling that the sky is indeed falling, on everyone, it’s no wonder this ‘viewpoint’ is so wide spread. And being a Realtor, watching the housing market drop off the cliff and into the ocean, a big chunk of the world as I knew it has left the building and more than likely won’t return anytime soon.

But let’s take a look at this from the other side. So Real Estate, New Constuction, both Residential and Commercial Real Estate in general have gone south right along with the Stock Market. Everybodys 401Ks are worthless, most peoples Portfolios have lost at least half of their previous ‘perceived’ value. I stress the word perceived here because just as in Real Estate, it’s only money once you sell the home or cash in the stock. Until that point it’s all play money. So in essence you never really had the money anyway. You were just banking on the rest of the world order following suit which would cause your ‘paper’ to go up in value. Well, as we all know that didn’t happen.

So lets take an overall view of this situation. Even if Real Estate, the Stock Market, Auto Makers and basic Unemployment were all taken into account along with the general slowdown of the economy itself, that still leaves plenty of people out there working. Continuing to bring home a paycheck, paying bills and buying goods and services. The whole world hasn’t gone under, just a very large portion of it but it seems much larger than that as the media continues to focus on the bad news, as they always do because as we know all too well, bad news sells better than good news. And if you tell people that things are bad enough times, they will begin to believe it and they will also tell the people around them so that they have someone to commiserate with, someone to feel their pain. Next thing you know, the world is waiting in a big line at the edge of the cliff, ready to jump off.

But hold on here. Just because a very large portion of our population is hurting doesn’t mean they all are. I was reminded of this over the last few days as a friend of mine has been going through lots of struggles lately. He’s in the constuction trade, a very hard hit segment of our economy. Work for him has been pretty much non existent over the last couple years. When he does find work, he’s working for half of what he used to make and begging to get those jobs at that. Competition is very fierce as so many big companies are drastically cutting their labor rates, making it difficult to say the least for the ‘little guys’ to survive.

Which brings me around to my point. His father bought an old ’32 Ford Coupe sometime to prior to my buddy being born. He had hopes of restoring it someday but like many before him, life and his family had to come first and so the project was put on hold.

The car sat covered up in the back yard, just a dream that never came to fruition. His father passed away I believe approx. eight or nine years ago and his mother passed a couple years after that. My buddy ‘G’ had loved that car since he was a kid and after his mother passed, he was the most likely of the family to ever get it running and so after jumping over a series of family hurdles, it became his. Not having the resources to do it justice, it remained in pieces yet all the while the dream was still there to resurrect it as his father had always hoped to. Imagine the sorrow he recently felt when he finally had to give in and realize that after 50 years, he was going to have to let go of the family dream and sell it. The guilt was overwhelming but money problems and his own dire situation have forced him to have to face a harsh reality, one where survival meant having to let go of a family ‘jewel’.

Long story short, the ‘new’ owner came by with the money last monday, the car and all its parts were loaded up and off they went. Lots of tears were shed as reality sunk in that the dream of restoring it was never going to come true.

He held on as long as he could but yet he couldn’t fight the inevitable. All he could hope was that the new owner would do the car justice, restore it the way both ‘G’ and his father had hoped to. And I have to admit that I truly felt bad for him. I have been involved with antique and classic cars from as far back as I can remember. My father was also a car buff and so I couldn’t help but feel his pain as the life long dream of the family was on its way down the street, hopefully to fulfill the dreams of another family elsewhere.

That’s when it really triggered me, forced me to realize the guy that just bought this car had just plunked down $20,000.00 without really thinking much about it, with plans of putting another $50K in it! Yes, he plans on having a minimum of $70K in the car. That’s alot of mortgage payments, monthly bills and pork ‘n’ beans. Obviously he’s not hurting for money. Come to find out there was another interested buyer in Washington that was ready and willing to purchase the car also, if the ‘family friend’ decided to back out of the deal. More proof that not everyone in the US is broke.

We continually hear so much about the demise of the economy, how the recession has a grip on the whole country so that the thought of another person having any money just seems purely absurd. And yet, here are two gentlemen that have obscene amounts of money, money that they have no problem spending on ‘toys’ or whatever else they decide they want. And so it got me to thinking, “I wanna be like them!” I want to be in a position to be able to do what I want, when I want and not have to be able to worry about not having a dollar to do it. Now, I myself have never stopped thinking about money since over the last couple years I have more or less lost everything but more recently what I had lost was the desire to fight, to go out and get mine! Sure, that’s a lofty dream and I realize that everyone more or less has that same dream but I also know that many of us have gotten so wrapped up in the demise of the world that we have lost all hope, any sort of faith that there truly is a way out of this mess. A way of living a much better life, for our families and for ourselves.

So with this little scenario playing out more or less right in front of me, it surely opened my eyes to the fact that there is still hope out there. I’m a firm believer in the ol’ saying, “If one man can do it, so can another” and so I am going to do my best to stay focused on that, to keep my eyes on the prize because one thing’s for sure, I’m in it to win it and if I don’t keep trying, I’ll never get there. I have a feeling that more than likely I’m gonna find my Mojo again as well. Matter of fact, I’ll bet it’s right around the corner.