When we have those moments in life when something clicks and we have that awakening or idea or BFO (Blinding Flash of the Obvious), mostly it is examined briefly then tossed over our shoulder as we rush on down life's highway.

Well, not me any more. When I glimpse one of life's billboards I stop. And then roll on slowly, because of another thing you need to know reading this blog: I am a devout atheist, a rationalist, a capital "s" Skeptic (married to a superstitious Roman Catholic - go figure). So I am in no hurry to get to the end of that road.

A year ago I made a conscious decision to slow down, down-shift as they say. I dropped my six-figure corporate selling job and set up an office at home with my wonderful wife and my delightful then-six-year-old son who had seen far too little of me.

Now I make about a third what I did, but I enjoy life fifty times more.

Late 2005	April 2006

Besides, I have set myself five years to make two million bucks. The rules are I have to do it legally and within my own ethics; I have to do it without going back to that pressure cooker lifestyle; and without hurting the family or home. So about half my working time I chase entrepreneural ideas based on the internet (no spam, no porn). About quarter of my time I do consulting work to pay the bills, never more than a week or two at once, and more often a few hours here and there. And about a quarter of my time I "work" on hobbies. That accounts for about 200 days a year. The rest of the time I spend with Vee and Jack.

I took most of January 2007 off to go camping with Jack while Vee was away overseas. Half of February I spent building my model railroad. The rest of February and most of March I worked long hours at my desk building a new software system for one of my ideas, and doing about 15 hours of consulting a month, and writing internet articles. As I write this in early April 2007 I'm pretty tired so I may kick back this month. Jack and I are going into the mountains for a week... You get the idea.

Why tell you all this? Because I can :-D And because this is my philosophy: getting priorities right, personal responsibility amd freedom, common sense, an appreciation of quality. A philosophy that drives what billboards catch my attention, and what conclusions I draw from them.

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