Financial Freedom With a Dash of Spirituality

I've finally done it!

2006-06-18T22:04:00.000-07:00

Well, as promised, I got my new website up and running. I'll continue my blogging on the new site. Thank you to those of you who followed me on here. You know who you are:)
The new URL is
Thanks a million!

Network Marketing: What is it?

2006-06-01T00:26:00.000-07:00

This is the first in a series of articles dealing with Network Marketing. Here, I will be going over what Network Marketing IS and what it is NOT. Network Marketing is a marketing system and business model in which a company uses a sales force of personnel who are called associates, distributors and a host of other monikers.

There is a general amount of confusion in the public as to whether or not Network Marketing is the same as a Pyramid. The widely accepted definition of a Pyramid is an organization where all the people at the TOP of the pyramid make all of the money while the ones at the BOTTOM of the Pyramid do all the work. I submit that many of the world’s companies that user a corporate structure are Pyramids in structure.

So, to find a better definition of a Pyramid, we’ll ask the Folks at GreekShares. According to our friends there, a Pyramid is defined as follows:
In pyramids, commissions are based on the number of distributors recruited.
Most of the product sales are made to these distributors - not to consumers in
general. (1)

The notable difference between a Network Marketing/Multilevel Marketing company and a Pyramid is the fact that legitimate NM/MLM companies will not pay you a commission for recruiting someone. The only commissions that are paid are based on actual sales made. If you are looking at joining a company that claims to be a NM/MLM company, and promises to pay you exorbitant sums of money for recruiting someone, think very hard about joining that particular company. Check out all you can about the company. At the end of this article, I will put a few links you can use to research companies.

Part of the promise of building an organization in a legitimate NM/MLM company is that you CAN recruit people into your sales team, depending on a particular company’s compensation plan. I will get very in depth into recruiting and compensation plans in future articles for this series.

In the next article, entitled “Network Marketing: Selling your Products and Services”, I’ll get into the nuts and bolts of the most important thing you can do for yourself if you are building a network marketing organization: Learning Your Presentation.

Take Care of Yourself and Others!

Business Research Resources:
New York Stock Exchange
American Stock Exchange
Hoover’s

Reading References
(1) Pyramids and Multilevel Marketing Plans

The Rat Race and Why It Sucks!

2006-05-27T01:17:00.000-07:00

“Profits are Better than Wages”
-- Jim Rohn, “Building Your Network Marketing Business”

Well, I finished my first night tonight as a delivery driver for Pizza Hut. I took on this job to provide insurance in the form of being able to cover my month-to-month expenses. I had been looking for a job I could do at night. I did that to help keep my daytimes free for spending more of my kids’ summer hours with them. I also wanted to use the daytime for doing more Group Marketing. Better yet, I will be able to listen to motivational and training stuff by the greats. People like Jim Rohn, Tony Robbins, Jeff Olson. Even better than that, I’ll be on the clock 

As far as how my first night went, at first I felt like I was selling out. Selling out on myself and my family. Here I am, trying to set the entrepreneurial example for my kids. I came to realize about halfway through my shift that it’s not that bad. There are aspects of working for other people in a “job” that I will NEVER enjoy, such as work schedules.
Overall, however, I remembered that every single experience we have in life is a potential nugget of learning. I remember when my good friend Mark Livingston told me that the definition of success is “being happy where you are, on the way to where you are going”.

I know you may be reading this and wondering if there is something better out there. Something better than the drudgery of the 9-5 rat race. Well, I am here to tell you that there IS a better way. And the better way I’ll tell you about isn’t found in any one specific method or technique. The better way is found in learning to think less like an employee, and more like a business owner. Over the next several articles I plan to tell you about the myriad ways there are to escape the financial rat race.

Due to the amount of information to be learned and known in the arena of financial freedom, I don’t currently believe that it’s possible for any one person to have mastery over it.

To remedy that situation, I am in the process of building a website that will be loaded with articles which will be submitted by different folks who are experts in their respective fields.

In the meantime, however, I will be posting a few articles about what I am currently mastering: Network Marketing.

I look forward to helping you out of the rat race!

Take Care of Yourself and Others!

Why Charity is Essential in the Pursuit of Prosperity

2006-05-17T17:28:00.000-07:00

Why Charity is Essential in the Pursuit of Prosperity

By
Bill Perry
http://Bill-Perry.blogspot.com

“There is more than enough” -- Anonymous

In this article, I will explain why I believe Charity is absolutely and totally essential if we ever want to be truly prosperous. Please bear in mind that Charity is more about the ACT and PROCESS of giving, not the thing given. Charity can also be the giving of your Time, the giving of a Compliment, and so on. However, since my blog is centrally focused on Spirituality as applied to Financial Freedom, I will be focusing on charity the giving of Money.

The spiritual law I think of most when thinking about Charity is the “Law of Circulation”. Dr. Ernest Holmes writes that "When the law of circulation is retarded, stagnation results. It is only when we allow the Divine current to flow through us, in and out, we really express life. The law of giving and receiving is definite."(1)

The Clearest example I can offer to explain what Dr. Holmes means is that of water in the ocean. Water in the ocean is in constant flowing in the form of the multitude of oceanic currents. If a pocket of the ocean suddenly decided not to flow any longer, it’s source current would continue trying to flow into that pocket. Since the pocket won’t flow anymore, the currents will no longer be able to enter that space, and will alter their flow AROUND that pocket. Such is the same with money.

The reason this is so, goes back to the Law of Attraction. The most often cited reason for not giving of Money to a worthwhile charity is “I need money for my family. Money doesn’t grow on trees, ya know.” This line of thinking, in keeping with the Law of Attraction, ensures that there will be a limited supply of money, as the currents of the flow of money will flow AROUND that pocket of stagnated money, and stagnated thought.

Since I am on the subject of money flow, I’ll tell a little bit now on the practical reason of Why Charity is Essential in the Pursuit of Prosperity. There is a belief in New Thought that “There is more than enough”. This means that there is such think as lack when it comes to Supply. It is a known fact that there is a certain amount of actual printed money in the entire world. What a lot of beginners fail to realize though, is that if we keep the money in circulation, then there will always be more than enough for everyone to have what they want and need in life.

As an example, a person receives their paycheck of $1000. If they tithe from their paycheck, then $100 is given to a charity/church of their choosing. This is circulating their money.

As another example, a person receives their paycheck of $1000, and puts 10% into an interest-bearing savings account, which is also $100. This money is ALSO circulated, because the banks use this money as their lending capital, which allows this money to be put to use in someone else’s life.

A third and final example. A person receives a sum of money, $1000 for uniformity across the examples. This person puts the $1000 into a safe and locks it away for “a rainy day”. This money is NOT circulated, because while it is sitting there, no use can come of it right then.

If we have a community of 1,000 people, and the total sum of money in this entire town is $10,000, there will still be enough money for everyone in the entire town IF, and only IF, the money is kept in proper circulation, and the thoughts behind that circulation are of Giving, and not of Lacking.

This is the end of this article.

(1)Holmes, Ernest S., “The Science of Mind” , Tarcher/Penguin, 1997, p. 140

Why savings is important

2006-05-12T16:42:00.000-07:00

In this article, I will be touching on why it is important to pay yourself first, and set up a savings plan.

Why is savings important? A few people might tell us that it is so we’ll have money to “retire” when that time comes. Even more people tell us that it’s because In case an emergency comes up. What I would like to expound on here is something that not a lot of people may think about. Savings is important because of a little-known but ever-present concept known as the The Law of Attraction

Savings is important because, as you save more and more, you are able to look at your bank savings balance and it causes a definite shift in emotion. As you save more and more money a little at a time, you will shift to a position of thinking in terms of abundance, rather than lack and wanting.

The best way to describe this concept as it relates to the The Law of Attraction is a quote that came to me while I was thinking about this:

“The more you HAVE, the more you GET”

Well, that about covers it. I touched on the power of saving to actually bring more money into your life.

Take care of yourself and others.

How to bring about any change you want in life

2006-05-12T16:30:00.000-07:00

This article is about the Law of Attraction
Simply put, the Law of Attraction can be summed up in 3 words: “Like Attracts Like”.
An awesome example to describe this is a cartoon that a friend brought to church for us to see.
It was of a girl going about
her morning routine saying “Please don’t let there be a test today.” Over and over and over. She arrived at school and on the chalkboard was written “Test today!!!” The girl, distraught, asked, “Does God listen to teenagers?”
By focusing on the idea of not wanting a test today, her mind had to first bring up the mental image of a test, to negate.
In short, you get what you think about, no matter if it is in a positive light or a negative one.
So, let’s assume a person wishes to lose weight. Do they affirm and think, “I want to lose weight”?
At first glance, it may appear to be a good thought to have. But on closer introspection and analysis, by saying “I want to lose weight”, you are coming from a self-image of not being skinny enough. A better thought to hold might be, “I am at a perfect weight”.
This will cause the mind to accept it as truth if affirmed enough, and the mind will go about making it be reality.
It’s been said that for anything to be created, it first has to start out as an idea. I believe that even the ultimate act of Creation itself was a single thought in the Mind of God. The entire gist of the Law of Attraction is that the same power that guides creation and manifestation is always working, whether we consciously realize it or not.

Now, as you are reading this, ask yourself, “How cool would it be to realize that I am able to create the life I want, just by focusing on moving to what I DO in life, rather than focusing on trying to get away from what I DO NOT want?”

Remember, you have within you a definite power for co-creating the conditions in your life.

Take care of yourself and others.

A method I used to rid myself of a negative thought pattern

2006-05-08T21:14:00.000-07:00

Well, as you know from previous posts, I'm involved with a network marketing company. Our primary method of building a leveraged income base is to go out and meet and talk with people, show them our business overview, and find people interested in building their own home-based business. I've noticed that I still have a major problem walking up to some people and talking to them. I can be in a store, office, or whatever, and be walking up to a person to introduce myself, etc..., and

just freeze. My "total" motivation evaporates and I'm left with all these doubts, worries, fears and stuff. So what do i do? I keep on walking past them, looking for someone else. Mostly the doubts, worries and fears are thoughts like "this person doesn't look like business material", "This person is too old", "This person won't be interested" and "This person won't be any good in the business".
Well, a couple weeks ago, as i was reading "Unlimited Power" by Mr. Robbins, I came across what is called the "Swish Pattern" in NLP. Basically, the Swish Pattern is the mental process of conjuring up a negative mental image, to represent some undesirable state you find yourself in, and in mind to totally and quickly shatter the image with a positive image of the state you would rather be in. It's a form of anchoring, just like the Pavlovian Dog experiments.
The negative image acts as the anchor to fire off the mental pattern of the positive image. Eventually, you know the work is done, when you go to do the swish pattern, and the positive image instantly jumps up as soon as you think of the negative image, before you even have a chance to consciously pull up the positive image. That means the anchor is "set".
Well, today, I did something similiar. I used Cool Edit Pro 2000, and recorded myself saying in a very Eeyore-like tone the 4 negative statements listed above. Then, immediately after each negative statement, I recorded myself saying immediately and with more of an upbeat manner, "I am talking to this person RIGHT now, because at worst, this person is not interested, but at best, this person is the next top earner in the company, and I don't want to miss the opportunity to help this person achieve that."
I tell you what, it WORKS! I talked to 3 people already just today. Not bad for coming out of a slump in under 3 minutes, right?
The reason I am posting about this is I want someone to try it out, use the same basic technique. Take something you are experiencing that you don't want to experience any longer, and think of what it is you DO want to experience in it's stead. Let me know how it goes!
Email me at WilliamRPerry@yahoo.com or IM me at cottontayle@yahoo.com

How to have a Lucid Dream

2006-05-08T17:33:00.000-07:00

This goes a little with the last post., this article is a quick primer on how to have lucid dreams. It has very useful tips for beginners wanting to have their first lucid dream, and for advanced lucid dreamers who want to deepen their understanding and build their mastery. I highly recommend checking it out. The article can be found at the eCauldron.

Lucid Dreams are a key to better sleep

2006-05-08T17:15:00.000-07:00

I was doing a search for stuff relating to Lucid Dreaming, since I love Lucid Dreams:) and I came across an awesome article about how Lucid Dreams (LD's) may actually lead to better sleep. For anyone who doesn't know, LD's are dreams in which you consciously realize it's a dream, and sometimes can learn to control the dreams. The article on sleep and LD's is at Mind Power News

Final Frontier?

2006-05-07T19:45:00.000-07:00

My friend Steve had a recent experience that had me rolling on the floor when i first read his post about it. Just imagine the funniest thing that ever happened to you and doubling it. The post can be found here

Job Interview!

2006-05-04T17:56:00.000-07:00

I got a call from a company in Albuquerque. You know the message, "I found your resume on Monster, and I would like interview you for our "Outside Sales Representative" position." I called the company back, to see who they were. And due to some weird stroke of fate/luck, or perhaps the Universe's Cosmic Gag Reel, the company is none other than the the 3rd party Payroll company that handles payroll checks for the Sears store that I was working at. I seemed to have a certain amount of rapport with the lady on the phone. So, I have an interview tomorrow morning to see if the company and I are a match for each other. Isn't it awesome how stuff just shows up in life when you are least expecting it? The really awesome thing is, when the call came, and she left the message, I was at the bank working on shuffling some finances around to make sure i can pay all my bills. Outside the bank, a lady was sitting there selling fresh baked bread with dried banana and other assorted dried fruit chunks in it, as well as some little paintings she had painted. She could tell something was on my mind, and asked if she could pray for me.
I told her, "Any form of prayer is always welcome."
She offered up a little prayer for me. Then I went home, and that message was there.
The Universe is Awesome!!!

My Articles

2006-05-04T06:29:00.000-07:00

My friend has an awesome website that has a collection of his musings, ideas, projects, and generaly cool stuff. The website can be found at YoungPRer.com
The section called "Hagbard's Head" is stuff that I've written that YoungPRer puts up for me. I'm Hagbard :)
Later!

insanity

2006-05-03T15:46:00.000-07:00

Here's a funny little joke/quote I heard from a friend on Yahoo! Messenger last night. "1 out of every 4 people is labelled as being clinically insane. This means that if you talk to 3 of your friends, and they appearn to be normal, you're probably the 1!
:)

Today in the park...

2006-05-02T11:59:00.000-07:00

Today, I decided I need to recharge my batteries a bit. So I went to the locak park that is just about 3 or 4 blocks away. had 3 books with me. They were "Unlimited Power" by Tony Robbins, "The One Minute Millionaire" by Mark Victor Hansen and Robert Allen, and "Multiple Streams of Income", also by Robert Allen. Once I got there, I noticed there was a class of kids, presumably a high school physics or math class. They were doing experiments with the swings on the effects of changing the mass of a pendulum. I was sittin on a park bench that just happened to be under a tree. I noticed that the sunlight passing through the branches was being flickered by the wind blowing. So I decided to lie down on the bench and take a nap. One thing I've read about is the use of campfires by old tribal cultures as a form of crude meditation. The flickering of the campfire is a mild form of brainwave entrainment. I have read that the same effect can be gotten from trees and sunlight. So I tried it out.
It works!!! I got a bunch of disconnected imagery, none of which i recall now. After about an hour or two of napping, I woke up completely refreshed and rejuvenated. Awesome stuff!!!

Is it bad.....?

2006-05-01T22:09:00.000-07:00

Is it bad if a person has so many credit cards, that they stop referring to them as "Visa" or "Mastercard", and start calling them by the balance owed? "Here is my $2,000 card, Here's the $4,000 card, etc...."?

2006-05-01T09:14:00.000-07:00

The other day, my wife was musing...She asked me, "If it came down to it and you had to pick between making the payment on the minivan, or paying the rent, which would you pick? I thought about my answer for about 2-tenths of a second. I told her, "I think I'd make the van payment because at least if you had to, you could live and sleep in a minivan. But I don't recall anyone ever driving their house around!!!"
How about you guys, what would you choose?

More about the thrift store

2006-04-30T14:54:00.000-07:00

When I was in the thrift store, I got the Mackay book and 4 others. 5 books in all. I went to the checkout counter, Discover Card in hand. Had no cash on hand at the time. The pre-sales-tax total, as figured in my head, should have been $1.50 or so for all five books.
The lady didn't feel like ringing up my stuff, so she told me, in bare minimum English, "10 cents each."
So, I was like "ok, cool thanks!"
I gave her my Discover Card. Never before in my life have I seen as sudden a shift in moods!
She yells at me "Don't you have 50 cents in your pocket!?!?"
and politely I said, "No, if I did, I would use that."
So she yells back at me (still in miniscule English) , "It costs us $1.30 just to swipe a Visa Card!!!"...
To which I not-so-wisely-and-without-thinkng-before-I-reacted said back to her, "That's ok. It's not a Visa Card, it's Discover, it pays CASH BACK"...I am still smiling at this point, if even just because it's forced.
And she yells back at me, "Just take the damn things! Pay when you're here next time!"
At this point, I told her, "Ok, thank you very much."
I walked out feeling both sheepish and triumphant at the same time. Very strange combination.
As I was exiting the building, I held the door for an elderly gentleman who was strolling in for some last-minute stuff before the store shut down for the day.
He said "thank you, son!"
and I said, "You're very welcome. By the way, this may be of benefit to you. But I just found out they take Discover cards in here!"
and I was laughing as I drove off...

Thrift Store

2006-04-30T14:46:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I was at the local library and borrowed a copy of both "How to Swim With the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive", by Harvey Mackay, founder/chairman of Mackay Envelope, and "Low Profile Selling" by Tom Hopkins, world-famous sales trainer extraordinaire.
Reluctantly, I took those books back to the library when it came time. I told myself "I WANT these books for my collection", then let it go into the Universe to manifest in it's own good time.
Yesterday, I took a bunch of stuff to the local thrift store, which is basically like a Goodwill store. Now, I'm a HUGE fan of those places, because of their BOOK sections. Usually, you'll find at least one good deal. And most of the places like that that I go to, it's between $0.50 and $1 for hardback books, and half that for paperbacks.
2 weeks ago I was in this store, and actually FOUND A HARDBACK EDITION of the book by Tom Hopkins.
When I was in there yesterday, I found a hardback of the Mackay book. :-)
Being a regular attendee of the Rio Abajo Center for Religious Science, I've learned my fair share about manifestation.
It goes along with that saying "When the student is ready, the teacher will appear".
In "Ask and It Is Given", Abraham calls it "The Art of Deliberate Creation".
I love this stuff!!!

Credit Cards

2006-04-27T11:48:00.000-07:00

Let's talk about those little plastic keys to financial ruin. Let's talk about Credit Cards. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate credit cards so much that I don't USE them. In fact, I have more than my fair share of credit cards and the "balances due" that go with them. All I'll say is I have learned some valuable lessons. Such as, if you find yourself asking "Why do I have so many credit cards?", it may be in your best interest to find a SMART (ask a financial planner) way to get those debts into as few monthly payments as possible.
Over the past few years, I have bought into the credit trap. Buy Now, Pay Later. Put it on your card. whatever you want to call it. It's the trap that credit card companies have set and sprung. I don't fault these companies, because it's a viable business model. I've had very few bad experiences with credit card companies, simply because my wife and I make all our payments on time. This is the first time I've ever had doubts or worry about my ability to pay my payments.
So, as it goes, credit cards are like electricity. Very useful, if used properly. If not, they can kill you.
Anyone wanting to vent/talk about credit problems, email me, because I feel very strongly about the need to treat credit cards with caution and control, and if I can help someone, I will.
Speaking of which, there are some people (ahem) out there that may have a mountain of credit card debt that they can currently see no way of climbing. If that's you, I'd like to recommend reading the book The Automatic Milionaire, by David Bach.

Once again, it's been a pleasure. Comments are always welcome!

Personal Development

2006-04-22T16:44:00.000-07:00

I've added another link in the links section>>>
It's Steve Pavlina's Site.
He is the ultimate in personal development and time management that my aforementioned friend Steve and I have found.

Peace Out for Now!!!

Another book...

2006-04-21T16:00:00.000-07:00

As I figured, there is another book I didn't mention in the last post.
"The Science of Getting Rich" by Wallace Wattles.
This is one of those books written a long time ago, that is now in the public domain as far as copyright goes.
The website I found it on has the fully downloadable/printable text, as well as low-quality audio files of the "book on tape" version.
This book is one of many that has helped change my thinking about adundance and prosperity. It has shown me the proof that I needed to know that we are all masters of our own destinies.
Anyway, peeps, the link for it is in my sidebar :)
Click away...
Read and Grow Rich!

Fish in a bucket

2006-04-21T07:50:00.000-07:00

Well, hello.
How's everyone doing? Another great day in the making for me.
A few people have asked me how I'm "holding up" after losing my job. Well, frankly, I feel as if it's probably the best thing that's ever happened to me, motivation-wise.
Whereas before I was "in" the home-based business I'm working to build, now I'm pretty much doing it full-time whether I like it or not.
Whereas before I was "trying" to make money with it, now I'm REALLY doing my best to make this thing work for me.
I've come to find out from my mentors like Jeff Olson and John Addison that pretty much anything in life is doable if you approach it with the proper philosophies and beliefs.
I've been on a non-stop program of Personal Development and Personal Growth since getting involved in this business. In a bit, I'll list some of the materials I've read in the Personal Development arena.
For anyone who's reading this, and wondering, "what's this guy talking about?", Personal Development is simply the process of learning to expand your awareness to include finer distinctions regarding not only the field of study you're in, but of yourself.
The more distinctions you are able to derive and put into use about yourself, the more likely you will be to succeed in whatever task you are currently engaged.
Anyhow, without further ado, here is a short list of a few books I recommend grabbing up whenever and wherever you can:
Books:
1) Think and Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill (took Mr. Hill 20 years to research and interview the 500 most successful people at that time, in the entire world)
2) The Slight Edge, by Jeff Olson (This is an absolute must for anyone looking to improve their lives. It is a must-read to accompany ANY sort of self-help program, diet, etc...)
3) Unlimited Power, by Anthony (Tony) Robbins (This books draws on the field of Neuro-Linguistic Programming, NLP, to teach you how to quickly and effectively replace negative destructive patterns of thought with better ones.)
4) The Power of Positive Thinking, by Norman Vincent Peale (This is an awesome book dealing with the creative power of thought. For you non-Christians out there, it tends to lean a bit toward that end of the spectrum, but it is worth reading to glean useful knowledge and techniques from.)
5) The Science of Mind, by Ernest Holmes (This is one of my personal favorite reads, as evidenced by the fact that I'm reading it all over again. Very insightful regarding the effect our thinking has on our lives)
6) Ask and It Is Given, by Jerry and Esther Hicks, (Very useful book full of processes/techniques that can be used to keep ourselves from being 'stuck' in any one emotional state.)
7) The One Minute Millionaire, by Mark Victor Hansen and Robert Allen, (This is basically a very good primer on the basics of making a fortune in the "Enlightened Millionaire" way)
8) The Power of Your Subsonscious Mind, by Dr. Joseph Murphy (This is the first book that got me onto the path of personal and spiritual development. DR. Murphy, at one time, studied with Ernest Holmes, see book#5 on this list.)
9) How to Win Friends and Influence People, by Dale Carnegie

That's all I can remember off the top of my head for now. If I remember any doozies, I'll pass them on to you here.
Peace for now

Cell

2006-04-20T09:18:00.000-07:00

Well, today the wife and I are going to my kids' school to see them get awards for "perfect attendance", as well as my son's Honor Roll award. One thing I LOVE about not being at a "real" job right now is being able to take the time to go see these things. So happy to be able to make these sorts of memories with my kids.

Freedom in Numbers...

2006-04-19T23:57:00.000-07:00

Well, well...
Here I am again...Today's been cool.
Today's been awesome. Got my son's report card, and he made honor roll again. One of his grades went from an "E" to an "E-". He's in 1st grade, so an "E" is like an "A" I think.
Some of you may think I'm bragging on my son. Well, you would be correct :)
He was actually devastated today, when we were reviewing his report card. "Reviewing" it is something I do with my kids. I don't ask stuff like "What the heck happened here?". Instead, I ask "Do you know why you got that grade this time?"
I read somewhere that it keeps them more involved with the process of achieving goals.
Anyway, I assured him that there while it's perfectly acceptable and reasonable to want to do the best you can on an ongoing basis, he has nothing to be ashamed of.
He's my little man!
Well, while that was the best thing that happened to me today, there's more.
The company I mentioned in the last post has a division that markets the services to employee groups. Puts me in the position of an Employee Benefits consultant. I've been focusing my primary efforts doing that. Ultimately, it can allow me to help more people at once with our services.
More on how I'm doing with that as I keep with it for a few weeks.
On another note, I'm still learning as I go with this blogging stuff. My friend Steve, has been walking me through it as patiently as he can. He's got his own blog, for those of you who haven't seen it yet. It's definitely worth a read. Ultimately, I hope to get to the point where my writing here is on par with his.
That's it for now. Have a nice day/night, depending on where and when you are reading this from.

My first entry

2006-04-18T15:54:00.000-07:00

Well, my name is Bill Perry. I decided to do this thing because a lot of people are doing it and I wanted to experience it for myself. It's really ironic, I suppose, that I'm somewhat more of an introvert than an extrovert. So this should be an interesting experience either way.
A little about who I am and Where I've been.
I'm 30 years old as of this writing. In 1994, after (and I mean RIGHT after) graduating High School, I went into the Navy and into the life of a submariner. I did the Navy thing for a little over 11 years. Over that 11 years, I came to realize it wasn't for me. I guess the best way to say it is that I'm just not a "company man". My official end of duty date for the navy was September 2005.
For about a year as that date drew near, I was at a crossroads...
Do I reenlist and keep pushing forth in a job I could no longer tolerate, or do I follow my heart/intuition and look for something that's more in alignment with my philosophies and interests?
Well, this kinda leads into another backstory. In January of 2004, a friend of mine had just gotten involved with a company that markets a very valuable service that made sense to me now. He asked me to take a look at the business opportunity with him, so I watched a DVD. I liked the concept of what the services are that the company was selling. It took me a year or so, but I signed up as a member and associate/distributor.
Then...I never really did anything with it due to my hectic sea schedule for the first few months of 2005.
So, anyway, back to my question of whether or not to reenlist...
I didn't. I decided that I want to set the best example possible for my kids. I felt that if I tried to stick out the navy for another 9 years, I'd send them the message that it's best to give up on your dreams.
So, keeping that in mind, I got out when the time came, so hopefully I could instill a sense of entrepreneurial/independent spirit for my kids.
I worked for about 3 months in a local appliance store to help cover those month-to-month self-inflicted migraines called bills and expenses. I was fired from that job, because the owners felt as if I was putting my interest in the other company I'm working with ahead of my "main job".
Now, while I slowly try to come out of my shell and start making the business work, I am wondering what I'll do if it doesn't work out for me fast enough...
So, that's where I am now. More later on.

2001-01-01T16:02:00.000-08:00

This is a test
This is just a test to see if it works as promised!!!