Week one is almost in the books.

Heading into Friday, I am feeling very good about my 1st full week off of work. I have managed to exercise 3 days, keep the house clean, cook dinner and brownies, and make a lot of progress on Riley's playland for the backyard. I have started to lose track of days, which means it is time to start moving forward.

I have come to the understanding that a career, not just a job, in the financial advising industry comes with several things. One of those things however, is not a salary. This is a pill that I am starting to get more comfortable with. I am reminded of what Zig Ziglar said; "Money isn't the most important thing in life, but it's reasonably close to oxygen on the "gotta have it" scale. "

So, the plan is to spend the next few days in evaluation and reflection. I wish the water was a little warmer, so that I could paddle out. Since that will not be an option, I guess the next best thing will be a good bike ride. The funny part, is that my gut is already telling me what to do, I just have to get on board with it.

Tuesday is gone with the wind.

Who doesn't like a good Skynard song? So far I have kept busy during the day. It is amazing how many things that needed to be done that kept being pushed out because there was not enough time. My legs are a little sore tonight after the weight training this morning and the 12 mile bike ride this afternoon. If only Mitzi was not a teacher, I might add House Husband to my resume.

This being said, I am still quite focused. I know that I am not going back into the mortgage game. That chapter of my life is over. I do not regret the experience at all. However, I feel that I took that road as far as I could. So where am I going. As many people know, my interest is in financial advising. There are several options to look at closely. The two broad categories are working for myself or working for a company. There are positives and negatives for both.

So what to do? Well, based on the title of this post, let's see what Skynard has to say;

" Forget your lust for the rich man's gold
All that you need is in your soul,
And you can do this if you try.
All that I want for you my son,
Is to be satisfied.

Boy, don't you worry.
You'll find yourself.
Follow you heart,
and nothing else.
You can do this,
if you try."

Its Casual Monday!

Monday morning. The weather today has me a little less motivated than I was on Friday. 43 degrees and raining, Ugh. I still got up this morning and swam, went to the grocery store, cleaned a little, and have touched up the resume.

The plan for this afternoon is an exercise in creativity. When was the last time that you answered the question; "What do you want to be when you grow up?". For most of us, it has probably been awhile. The real interesting question would be, what percentage of people are in the career that they selected? But regardless, this is a great question. The reason is, this question does not factor in money, experience, economics, etc. This is a pure question based on one factor. Happiness. That is my kind of question. Too often we find ourselves bogged down in the "what ifs", that we never take a risk.

Once this question has been answered and a direction is established, it is time to set some goals, and begin this new journey.

The first day of the rest of your life

I have heard this saying many times. People taking a positive outlook on the future after a setback of sizable magnitude. To me, this was a just a saying. That is, until Wednesday. I had the day off, when I received a phone call that the office that I worked in was being shut down. Less than 24 hours following that call, I was driving home from the office with my box of personal items, my "package" (ironically enough it had a pink sticker on the front), and my thoughts.

This is a very humbling experience. Since college, I have also been employed. I started working less than 10 days after receiving my degree. I have not missed more than 7 days (for the Christmas holiday) straight in 9 years. There are quite a few emotions that this experience draws up. I have chosen to focus on the positive.

In the 2nd post on this blog dated January 31, 2010, I said the following:

"The corporate culture today is that the company will do what is best for the stockholders, not its hard working foot solders. Is this wrong? No. The company is in business to make money. However, we as employees, still have this generation old concept that the company cares about us as individuals. This is simply not true.

I call on all cubicle slaves to free yourselves of the chains that you have allowed the company and society to place on you. At the end of the day, the only one who can comfort you at night is you!
"

I still believe this. Was it wrong for the company to close the office and let 250 employees go? No. The company has to make these tough decisions.

For the foreseeable future, I will be using this blog to give you an inside look of life after a corporate layoff. I hope that this will be motivating and encouraging to those of you that may be facing these same challenges.


So, what do you do on the first day out of the office? Easy! You get moving. Motion creates emotion. I woke up at 6:20am, took the baby girl to daycare, swam 1200 yards, and began checking off the rest of the tasks on my self-created list for today. Just because you are not at an office, doesn't mean you don't have a job. Hey, life is calling, it is time to answer!

Director's cut

So. This is my first try at a movie. Enjoy.