by Rick London
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.
Being a Cancer (that remains my excuse), I naturally am less organized and more clumsy than my former Aries better-half (Gerald Ford was a Cancer…get the picture?). Her claim to fame is a monumental law firm on the most expensive property in the U.S. (possibly the world). My claim to fame is digital funny pictures on some expensive Internet property that may or may not make a lot of money, depending if I sell it or not. We both started small, she on a park bench after escaping her mother country and me in a metal rural Mississippi warehouse where 44 year old cartoonists, I guess, were considered “possessed” and nobody much wanted us for neighbors. I am also an inventor, writer, and student, but that is a whole other story.
Our lifestyles are a bit different. She drives a new Mercedes which she trades in every year. I have a 2000 Saturn which drives very well. You should see how it takes corners. Her Mercedes talks to her from the dashboard. My Saturn has not evolved to that level.
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”.
We differ in our opinions of “New Age”. I have lived in Southern California so I realize all that is a way of life. But I also, hopefully, am savvy enough to realize that the majority of it is ancient biblical history, reworded ever so carefully, and packaged beautifully to make the new guru rich. And it works. And hopefully Oprah will endorse it, and the guru will live happily ever after.
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”.
Some of these new age gurus telling me to “live the dream” and “just imagine it” frankly makes me want to hurl (can I say that in print?), just speaking my mind. I live my reality. When I start living “my dream”, I am out of focus and act in a manic way, as do most people who do their best to escape reality. I believe the secret is to live in one’s reality, and keep your “eyes on the prize”, that is, taking a glimpse of what that dream will be at the end a very hard work day. Hard work. That is what creates the dream. I wish it was not true. It is. Sorry.
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 make less money now working at home than I did in the big city corporate world. That is just fine with me. I love working in my jogging suit. I love being able to stretch, make coffee, and take a long walk when I feel like it. I love that the Internet allows me to make an income based on past work, my products sell by others who are affiliates. They make good money and so do I. I can sit back now, and create work for others and myself. I had to work hard every day for a decade to allow that to happen. You may be a faster learner, but it took me awhile to figure it out.
Prepare to fail (and succeed). The world of business is full of success stories (household names) who failed many times before they ever succeeded. Read their autobiographies. You might be very surprised.
I have many wealthy friends, many middle class, many upper class, many lower class; I really don’t find any of that important as a requisite for friendship. I love being around people who are doing things to try to improve themselves and others. If someone is out there just trying to make a lot of money, so be it. They bore me. If they are out there trying to provide the best service, product, or creative endeavor out there, and whether they make a pot of gold, or not, I will hang with them.
Each of us have different dreams.
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.
Paupers and kings are both happy if they are true to themselves. Both are miserable if not.