Where have you been Michael?

     December 2009 - Yep, that was my last post on this blog and I think it is has been more than long enough to be away. Last December I made one of those life decisions and I allowed the result to draw me away from all of the friends I had made here ... for this I apologize, and I thank all of you for your kind notes of concern and the, "Where the heck have you been?" inquiries.

     So here's what happened ... like many of you the challenges of our economy more than got my attention. In January of 2009, I thought it would be best for me to leave the world of self-employment and, as some were recommending, "get a real job!"  The last real job I held was as manager of an Art supply store when I was a Freshman in College ... (not the kind of thing that impresses some hiring managers). I have always worked for myself and make a good living but when my 401K lost 80% of its value and I needed the rest to support the downtrend in my business ... it seems that mental health care became something many people had to eliminate as non-essential, discretionary spending. I really thought it was time to put the resumes out there.

     In composing my resume, I recalled that I had owned my own travel agencies for 15 years, managed the Men Are From Mars project and became a Public Speaker  for another 15 years ... returned to school for a Masters in Psychology and opened a counseling practice while I did my radio show for the 5 years before my move from Arizona to Washington State. That will get their attention! (I thought).

     And yes, the resume did attract responses as well as a few challenges. In future entries here, I will share parts of my journey with you ... like, does age, (I'm 58), affect the job hunt. How much does education and experience mean when applying for work?  I trust my job hunting experiences will help some of you avoid a few of the obstacles I encountered in later entries here but for today, here's the end of the story....

     Some very attractive work opportunities did come up but virtually all of them would have required relocation of 2,000 miles or more.  I would, most likely,  move away for a year to make sure all was well and then move the family. I never did get to the place of discussing this with the children as we moved here so I could spend more time with my family and the children would have good schools and a safe place to call home. Yes, I know ... many families move many times ... my hope remained, however, that my children could remain in their schools, in the community they now recognize as home. For the most part, however, I just did not want to leave for months at a time and parent by web cam???

     My decision was to renew my self-employment efforts. My wife and I own and operate, Personal Growth Productions and we agreed to remain here and focus on building the company. The plan: 1) renew the strength of my counseling practice, 2) look for one or maybe two good clients that would benefit from my experience and retain me as a consultant and 3) work together on my wife's dream to create a successful business as an artist. We have made significant progress on all three fronts ... our fundamental philosophy has been to immerse ourselves - mind, body and soul in the spirit of the Power of Attraction coupled with good old fashioned perspiration.

     It has been an amazing nine months ... I have missed you and want to catch you up with all that has happened by sharing what I learned, (perhaps I should say, learned once again!). I know that many of you have been working through some of the same or similar challenges and my hope is that we can all learn here together. I look forward to hearing from you ....what have you been doing?  How can I help by passing on your creativity?  I look forward to your questions, comments and words of wisdom. If you like what you see in coming weeks, please tell your friends ... they say it takes a Village to raise a family so I want to build our own Virtual Village right here ... a place where we can collectively work for common good. Are you with me?