Migrant Success - HERE is the answer

...and here's why:

Coincidentally, I've actually been living this way(debt free - sorta) as I grow older. I've been doing the opposite of what most people do - accumulating things. I literally picked a place to live where the cost of living was low, but still had a kinda' cool lifestyle - IN the CITY.

That last part is quite important - let me explain: I've done the whole "bigger, better car" thing for years and years... then I realized that I really enjoyed my old classic 1968 Mercury Cougar much more than anything I'd been paying for monthly - so I kept that and sold everything else. But I still had the same problem... a need for transportation(due to living in the burbs) ...the car was still old, no matter how much I loved it... it was still prone to breaking down... and still required insurance.

So what to do? While I enjoyed the vehicle, it was not going to hold me back... I decided to have it detagged (and stored) and move into the center of the city where I'd have access to rapid transit (subway's and lightrails - sorry I won't do the bus) ...and all the culture the city could give me (not to mention the high-class broads that frequent the jazz clubs and coffee establishments)...moved into an apt. in an old pre-civil war building, in a fairly (though not totally) safe neighborhood with lotsa' history.

...next, get rid of non-essential stuff. If it's not something like a family heirloom, sell it on eBay, give it to a friend or toss it out.

...next - I told all close to me if or when they decided to give me anything for holidays, birthdays etc.etc. - "give me something I can remember, rather than hold" ... this way you don't accumulate things that are difficult to throw away due to sentiment (btw, something to remember is stuff like tickets to the ball game or the opera.. or dinner, etc.etc. - you get what I mean)

...next - work within environments where you are forced to utilize good communication skills (or build them through osmosis) - and find this type of path within walking distance so your commute to work is no more than 10 minutes by foot. (btw, this applies to the "day job" until one learns enough through groups like these to become self supporting. The point though is - if a day job is required, do something that helps to build skills portable and or transferable to what you really want to do)

These rules have given me a wonderful foundation to build upon - save for one...

... dealing with women. It's a sad but unfortunate fact of life that women - those that are highly desirable, anyway, are simply not going to be interested in you unless you have things or a high position of status. This simply harkens back to the darwinism that rules us all... women in caveman times were attracted to physical displays of prowess - thus insuring survival of the species. That simply translates today to display of prowess via possessions - which trigger the "survival" button in a womans "cavewoman" nerve center.

Sure, sure, if you become more, these things will come to you, but when you're on the road to building that dream it's a dreaded time period that one must bite the bullet and endure.

Furthermore, the reason why men "discover" that it's not about "things" later in life, is because they've either realized that life isn't worth throwing away on women - or further, they simply have gotten old to the point that the desire to chase skirts is no longer as desirable as it used to be... or a combination of these things.

(as a side note, can you imagine how the economy of the world would turn upside down if suddenly a virus - like some kinda' SARS epidemic or who knows what - hit men and made them simply lose interest in trying to impress women? Yes - rather impossible, I agree - as this is deeply engrained in our "caveman nerve center"... but it's an amusing thought... perhaps someone in Hollywood should throw together a good screenplay on such).

So anyway, my whole point is, I accidently - or perhaps through just plain dumb-luck happened onto this lifestyle some time ago... and I've never really looked back.

Just fyi.

-Anon

P.S.- I'm lucky that i can do this because I'm single with no children and no alimony - thank God... so I suppose I'm kinda' a best case scenario).

Hi,

You mean you designed your life instead of just drifting into it?

(That's what my wife and I did, also.)

You wrote:
> P.S.- I'm lucky that i can do this because
> I'm single with no children and no alimony -

My advice, for what it's worth, (btw this is a case of do as I say, not as I did since my ex-wife and I had twin daughters) my advice is always make your life-changing decisions with the head on top of your neck or your children and alimony situation could change drastically.

Best,

- Boyd

Boyd -

I'm flattered you might think I actually designed my life - and I guess from the post I wrote (which is 100% true - though slightly embellished) ...that's the way it appears... but I can't claim credit for taking that "leap" when, in fact, I was rather pushed out the window...

...to put it simply, I'm a dot-com refugee (this is how I "accidently - or perhaps through just plain dumb-luck" came upon my new lifestyle... yeah I know... hey - I'm being honest). I didn't set out to design things the way I wrote - but once I was in free-fall, I realized "Jesus! Oh Jesus!! From 6-figures per year to 6 dollars per hour!! Where's my parachute?! I don't have one!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"

(when you're in freefall it's not like you're thinking clearly)

...but seriously, after the panic attack faded I took a deep breath and thought "hmm... how can I turn this around and enjoy whatever it is I do - even though I'll be paid relatively little?" ...and thus you have the outline/new rules I mentioned (there's a bit more to it than that also, but you get the idea).

So my utmost respect lies with you for actually having the guts to design things without being pushed out the door, unlike myself (and perhaps others)... Thanks for the advice ... it's always welcome from you.

- Anon

p.s. - Boyd, have ya' got an email address? (yeah - quite a lotta' nerve I got when I don't reveal my own - ey?)

> Hi,

> You mean you designed your life instead of
> just drifting into it?

> (That's what my wife and I did, also.)

> You wrote:

> My advice, for what it's worth, (btw this is
> a case of do as I say, not as I did since my
> ex-wife and I had twin daughters) my advice
> is always make your life-changing decisions
> with the head on top of your neck or your
> children and alimony situation could change
> drastically.

> Best,

> - Boyd

> appears... but I can't claim credit for
> taking that "leap" when, in fact,
> I was rather pushed out the window...

That's the thing. We can't control every circumstance in our lives, but we can choose how we react to them.

Regards,
Steve MacLellan


homebusiness-websites.com

Hi Steve,

Joe Ross used to say "I refuse to lose." It's like that Gene Hackman movie "Heist" if you saw it: Hackman's character always had a "Plan B," a "Plan C," and a "Plan D." At the end of the movie he wins because he had that "Plan D."

You wrote:
> That's the thing. We can't control every
> circumstance in our lives, but we can choose
> how we react to them.

Agreed, it's like if you're in a sailboat you can't control the waves or the direction of the wind but you can move your controls so you still get to your destination.

Best,

- Boyd

> Joe Ross used to say "I refuse to
> lose." It's like that Gene Hackman
> movie "Heist" if you saw it:
> Hackman's character always had a "Plan
> B," a "Plan C," and a
> "Plan D." At the end of the movie
> he wins because he had that "Plan
> D."

Hi Boyd,

Anon said:

I'm flattered you might think I actually designed my life - and I guess from the post I wrote (which is 100% true - though slightly embellished) ...that's the way it appears... but I can't claim credit for taking that "leap" when, in fact, I was rather pushed out the window...

Your post about "refusing to lose" is something many of us can relate to. I think our "mind-set" is the key ingredient to our success. I am a very stubborn man. And I have refused to give up, even when faced with insurmountable odds.

My stubbornness runs very deeply. It could be likened to forging fine steel over an open fire. I've been hammered. I've been bent out of shape. I've even been cut very deeply... but I haven't been broken.

As Michael says:

An immigrant comes to this country with nothing (and usually not having had all these extras) and worries about the basics. He then invests in himself.

Allegorically speaking, creating a business and moving it into a profitable position is similar to immigrants moving into an unfamiliar land to eventually create successful lives.

Having "faith" in ourselves is a wise investment.

Best Regards,
Steve MacLellan




homebusiness-websites.com

dno
> Hi Boyd,

> Anon said:

> I'm flattered you might think I actually
> designed my life - and I guess from the post
> I wrote (which is 100% true - though
> slightly embellished) ...that's the way it
> appears... but I can't claim credit for
> taking that "leap" when, in fact,
> I was rather pushed out the window... Your
> post about "refusing to lose" is
> something many of us can relate to. I think
> our "mind-set" is the key
> ingredient to our success. I am a very
> stubborn man. And I have refused to give up,
> even when faced with insurmountable odds.

> My stubbornness runs very deeply. It could
> be likened to forging fine steel over an
> open fire. I've been hammered. I've been
> bent out of shape. I've even been cut very
> deeply... but I haven't been broken.

> As Michael says:

> An immigrant comes to this country with
> nothing (and usually not having had all
> these extras) and worries about the basics.
> He then invests in himself. Allegorically
> speaking, creating a business and moving it
> into a profitable position is similar to
> immigrants moving into an unfamiliar land to
> eventually create successful lives.

> Having "faith" in ourselves is a
> wise investment.

> Best Regards,
> Steve MacLellan

> It's like that Gene Hackman
> movie "Heist" if you saw it:
> Hackman's character always had a "Plan
> B," a "Plan C," and a
> "Plan D." At the end of the movie
> he wins because he had that "Plan
> D."

I liked that movie, Boyd. Thought it would be a bit crummy due to cheesy box at rental place and generic name. But boy, when he came back with that Plan D. You know, the final one.... just BAM! I didn't see it coming.

So many times I was convinced he was done for, in contrast to poorly orchestrated attempts in many, many other down on his luck hero movies.

-Erik

P.S. Sorry for the intrusion on an otherwise thought stimulating thread.

Gene Hackman is in it.

Can't say I've seen all his movies. But I am yet to see a movie with him in it that I did not enjoy.

Michael Ross

Hi,

You wrote:
> ...but seriously, after the panic attack
> faded I took a deep breath and thought
> "hmm... how can I turn this around and
> enjoy whatever it is I do - even though I'll
> be paid relatively little?" ...and thus
> you have the outline/new rules I mentioned
> (there's a bit more to it than that also,
> but you get the idea).

A couple of weeks ago while drinking beer I suddenly lurched to my feet and orated:

"It'shh true wha' they say, it's not th' deshtination that's important--i'ss th' journey!!!" (My wife is sick of my speechmaking; she says I should have been a preacher.)

You wrote:
> p.s. - Boyd, have ya' got an email address?

Despite the sleazy sound of: [email protected] it'll work. (Thanks for asking, btw.)

Best,

- Boyd