moderndaypeasants.com

Something Is Amiss

As a child growing up in the suburbs, outside the city of St. Louis in the 70′s, I played heavily and worried little.

During High School in the mid to late 80′s, I began working at a job, partied heartily and found love for the first time. However, something is amiss. I can’t figure out what it is.

After High School, I spent 3 years in the US Army and learned about fear. I also worked very hard and partied even harder. During this time, I experimented with love a bit more and shared a quick insignificant 1 year marriage mistake.

In 92 I got married for the second time and a few years later my beautiful baby girl was born. My daughter became the love of my life but something was still amiss.

A few years later, the honeymoon was over and so was the marriage. Divorce was quick and swift.

I spent the next 4 years in a blur of hard work struggling to help support my daughter but remaining sure to be her dad and spending as much time as possible with her.

In 1999 one of my best friends and I discovered we were ideal soul mates. She had two great kids from a previous marriage and they along with my daughter all got a long as loving siblings. Later we married and my son was born shortly after. We have the perfect family unit but something is still badly amiss.

The next eight or so years are spent raising children, working in good careers and living well rounded social lives but I still wasn’t satisfied and it was beginning to eat away at me.

I have to figure out what it is. I have a great wife, great kids, everybody is healthy, we both have really good jobs, we make decent money and have good friends.

What could be wrong? What is it that is so amiss?

In 2008 at the age of 37, I finally figured out the problem.

I needed more! I needed my life to count for something more than just family, love, good friends and stable careers.

What I truly needed was the freedom to grow personally. I wanted to create and help others with my creation. I wanted to work for myself but also wanted to be paid for it. The question was how to do it? I mean… my whole life I have been taught to get a good job and try to make as much money as possible.

I didn’t know much about working for myself. I had always worked for other people or businesses.

I immediately began personally building this website and I continue to build it. Not long after, I quit my job and also started an eBay business and continue to grow it. I created other websites and continue the fight to make them flourish. I learn as often as I can and as much as I can.

Now days, the family is stronger, my wife and I are happier and our friends are still our friends. The money is not yet where it was when I left my former employer but it is certainly marching in that direction. Sometimes the work is challenging. Other times it is very rewarding and satisfying.

The biggest difference is that nothing is amiss.

I guess the moral for this story, if one can be taken, would be to listen to your inner voice and act on it. Set your goals and make your dreams a reality. Don’t ignore or procrastinate for if you do you will never be truly happy.

Don’t let anything be amiss.

Best Wishes!

50 Hopes For The Coming New Year

Ever so often I want to write about something other than business. Tonight I want to talk about hope and my personal hopes for the coming new year of 2010. Hope is a very powerful human emotion. I believe that hope creates goals and goals are how we get things done. In about 24 days we all roll into a new decade.

The following is my list of 50 hopes for this coming year. They are in no particular order.

1. I hope less people get divorced.
2. I hope less children are born with deadly or lifelong diseases.
3. I hope more divorced people get to spend extra time with their kids.
4. I hope the world finds a way to defeat cancer.
5. I hope more married parents get to spend extra time with their young ones.
6. I hope more legitimate home businesses start to flourish.
7. I hope the year goes by slow.
8. I hope I see no more death in my family.
9. I hope we have less “real life” television shows.
10. I hope Gilligan’s Island returns to TV again.
11. I hope my daughter and I can get to know each other better.
12. I hope my business earns enough money so my wife can stay home with us.
13. I hope the world endures less natural disasters.
14. I hope less people go hungry.
15. I hope my wife endures less pain from the loss of her little brother.
16. I hope Plankton finally gets the Krabby Patty formula.
17. I hope more people buy homes.
18. I hope everybody who loss somebody this year begins to heal.
19. I hope taxes go down.
20. I hope there are less violent crimes.
21. I hope we get some life changing new music.
22. I hope I finish my downstairs bathroom.
23. I hope my neighbor’s dog stops doing its business on my yard.
24. I hope people find my marketing class extremely useful.
25. I hope to see my parents and brothers more often.
26. I hope “Drive In” Movie theaters make a comeback.
27. I hope more people read this blog.
28. I hope it is a prosperous year for most.
29. I hope we see less war.
30. I hope technology improves drastically.
31. I hope less people drink and drive.
32. I hope my wife’s van makes it through another year.
33. I hope I lose a few pounds.
34. I hope most of you enjoy this list.
35. I hope they send me the money for all these email lotteries I have been winning.
36. I hope the amount of homeless in the world drops considerably.
37. I hope somebody markets the hover craft and it becomes secondary transportation.
38. I hope McDonald’s starts getting my order right.
39. I hope the FDA gets serious about regulating the safety and effectiveness of prescription medicine.
40. I hope more musicians get their shot.
41. I hope my wife returns safely from her trip to Egypt in January.
42. I hope the Rams play better football.
43. I hope I can say hello to more perfect strangers.
44. I hope it doesn’t snow a ton in January and February.
45. I hope I become wiser.
46. I hope I don’t have to fly on a plane until June.
47. I hope I can cut back on drinking soda.
48. I hope Aerosmith works out their differences and remains a band.
49. I hope we all find some more time.
50. I hope this list gets tweeted, shared and re-tweeted.

That’s pretty much all I have right now. What are your hopes for the new year?

Where Did You Hang Your Thinking Cap

This will probably show my age but I remember back in the day when somebody said “put on your thinking cap” they really meant “use your mind or your brain”. Think and be creative was the general consensus.

Thinking about what you’re doing before you do it can be tough for some of us because we can’t remember where we last hung our thinking cap. In other words, it’s difficult sometimes to get the creative juices flowing.

I struggle with this problem more than I care to talk about. The thing you have to do when you’ve lost your thinking cap is find something to relax your mind enough to remember where it’s at.

For me it’s cooking. I like to cook. I mean the physical act of standing over the stove and making a meal for me or my family is something that I enjoy. It relaxes my mind and allows me to think. There have been numerous times when I have been cooking a meal and have thought of ideas for song versus, articles, ideas for the website and much more. I know it’s weird but it works for me. It helps the creative side of my mind to show itself.

When I cook I am able to remember where my thinking cap is and use it. There are other things that work for me also but none as well.

The human mind is a wonderful tool not to be underestimated. The problem for most of us is that it only works extremely well some of the time. It’s difficult to harness the power.

Try to find your thinking cap. Put it on and remember where you hang it when you’re finished so you can easily go back and wear it again the next time you need it.

Best Wishes!

Daring You To Grow

Do you know the difference between successful and unsuccessful people?

Successful people aren’t scared to grow. They set goals in their lives and then they start on the road to obtain them. Once they have obtained those goals they set new ones and start the procedure all over again. They don’t worry if they fail along the way because they knew from the beginning there could be some challenges to get the end result. People like this are certain of their outcome and they remain sure.

Successful people have fears like any other human being except they dare themselves to grow on a daily basis. They encourage personal growth to everyone they come in contact with.

Unsuccessful people have goals too. The only difference is that they’re scared to grow. They allow the fear of failure and rejection to hold them back. Unsuccessful people make excuses to themselves and others as to why they haven’t achieved their goals.

An unsuccessful person will typically start on the path to personal growth and positive goals but become easily distracted by hurdles and challenges. They lose their sense of focus and become lazy and eventually give up.

Personal growth is a necessary component of success. Anybody can succeed at any life goal with determination, focus and a little elbow grease. Try to anticipate your obstacles and challenges in advance. If a few more pop up unexpectedly don’t give up. Get stronger and overcome them.

Grow!

Best Wishes

The Glory of Home Computers And The Internet

by: Dan Waggoner

Remember when the home computer and all it’s glory was brought to us? I guess I was about 11 or 12 years old when I had my first encounter with one. My cousin got a Commodore 64 for Christmas or a birthday or something that year. The Commodore was the first computer that was affordable enough for the average working family. I guess that would have been roughly 26 years ago. My how the time passes by!

I was so inundated with that little machine much like the rest of the world who were fortunate enough to be able to afford one. My family wasn’t able to use money to buy a computer at the time. There were many more important things to buy like food, shelter and clothes. Luckily my cousin’s family was able to purchase one.

It seemed like we stayed on that thing all day long at times. The crazy thing is 26 years later I’m still on the computer all the time. Guess what? I’m still fascinated with it too! When the Internet was introduced to us that was pretty much all it took to push me over the edge and hook me for life.

Never before were so many people able to connect in such a way at one time. The people that invented the home computer as well as the Internet are true heroes in my book. Very wealthy heroes no doubt but heroes none the less.

The home computer and the Internet was a gift to mankind. Unfortunately there are still those who are not fortunate enough to be able to experience this gift or prosper with it. If you are one of the ones fortunate enough to be connected I hope you are taking full advantage of it. The possibilities are still endless as far as what you can do with your home computer and a connection to the Internet. I believe we’ve barely scraped the surface.

These are good times! Don’t let the news media tell you otherwise. People are beginning to contract with their companies to work from home. I mean people are walking around the streets connected to the Internet with their Blackberries and iPhones for goodness sake. I’ve never seen anything like it!

More and more entrepreneurs are setting up their websites and running their businesses from home. I truly hope everybody is watching and paying attention. Children are getting smarter… people are learning…..Some are getting rich!

The glory of our home computers and the Internet have only begun.

Best Wishes!

Write It Down Anonymously

by: Dan Waggoner

Today is your chance to write your completely anonymous thoughts on my blog. There is no way for me to know who is writing what as you do not have to enter your email address. I thought it would be cool to do something a bit different on this post.

So here it is…..Today it’s your turn to write! It doesn’t matter what you write as I am the only one reading it. I can not reply to you because I won’t know you from anybody else. Anything you write will be sourced from this site and go directly to my email. Be cautious about writing your name because I just may post some of these anonymous thoughts on the site……muuuuhhhhaaaa…..lol

If you want to gripe about your job then do it.

Got a beef with Modern Day Peasants? Write it down!

Wife or husband really getting on your nerves today? Say it like you mean it!

Can’t get your guitar to stay in tune?…..Curse about it!

You can ask questions if you like but again, keep in mind, there is no way for me to respond.

Ticked because your neighbor’s dog keeps leaving his piles in your yard? SCREAM IT!

Love God? Don’t believe in a God? Think you are God? Tell me all about it anonymously.

You have something you really want to learn from Modern Day Peasants but I just can’t get it through my thick head to tell you about it on the blog? Write it down!

Nothing going right for you today? Cry all over me!

Everything going right for you today? Spit it out….You know you can’t keep it all to yourself!

Be all anonymous and stuff.

What’s With All The Moaning About eBay?

Please stop all the moaning about eBay! I probably run the risk of alienating some of you and I sincerely hope that doesn’t end up being the case but I really don’t understand it. I’ve been listening to sellers griping about the company for a couple years now. I mean I get that you guys are upset because you were making more money and the company is getting in your pocket or got too deep in your pockets but I don’t believe they are forcing you to stay with them.

As far as I can see, bottom line, unless you were part of the original team who designed and invested in the site and ran with the first Beta Version, eBay owes you exactly nothing. They gave you the platform to sell. They gave you the very inexpensive and cheap advertisement and you all made a ton of money. Sure, some made more than others but that’s the way it goes. Some work harder than others. I don’t want to get political on this blog but I’m really sick of hearing about it. This country was founded on capitalism and it works. It can work very well if you want to work your butt off and have the ability to jump back up when you get knocked down. Rest assured that eBay nor anybody else owes you anything. In my opinion, if you feel like you are entitled to better treatment from them then you are in the wrong business!

I also realize it’s a tough world out there. I mean I’ve sold somewhere in the neighborhood of maybe 1,200 inexpensive items on eBay and I’m thankful I’ve been able to sell that. They give me a percentage of fees back every month based on decent DSR’S. I kinda feel like I try to take care of my buyers so I usually get good scores anyway. Even though the product is very inexpensive, my customers are still spending their hard earned money with me and with eBay and I appreciate that. I know some of you have sold 100′s of thousands of items and I understand you feel like the company owes you and your families something but they don’t. Not unless you have a written contract specifically stating what they owe you. I also get that the company is currently only worth half of what it was previously but you know what? Nobody’s perfect! Not even the big dogs up there in eBay Headquarters. Big companies make mistakes too just like small companies do. When you make those mistakes you have to work your way through them and bounce back. eBay shouldn’t be the only egg you have in your basket anyway. You should be marketing your product on Amazon, Bidz, PriceDrip.com, your own websites and blogs and everywhere else you can think of. It is weak minded to sit around and whine about it.

Dig in deeper… Get what you want and don’t make excuses for any of your actions. Stop the moaning! You control your destiny not eBay.

Best Wishes

Average Joe Wins The Big Prize!

I like hearing stories about the average hometown every day Joe getting the big prize. I’m not talking about winning the lottery. I’m talking more in the lines of when one of us regular peasants who have been struggling through this everyday thing we call life finally ends up making the big time. Somebody who nobody has ever heard of like American Idol Season 5′s Chris Daughtry for example. His story is a little older but the example will do.

Here’s a down to earth guy who was a Service advisor for a local car dealership in North Carolina who also happened to love singing. He aspired to be a musician since he was 16 years old. Chris worked at the dealer to support his wife and 2 kids like any good Husband and Dad would do but he also sang with his rock band at local clubs during the night and on weekends. He was very passionate about his love for music and still is. While Mr. Daughtry may have been able to support his family at the car dealership, he became very much more successful at what he truly loved doing. The guy didn’t even win American Idol in that season but still managed to become a mega successful rock star. Don’t get me wrong. I happen to like his music very much and there is no doubt about his talent but we can’t only use talent as an argument. People could also argue that Chris Daughtry had the venue of American Idol that made him famous. I think we would do good to remember that it was he who took the initiative to try out for Idol to begin with.

Let’s look at somebody much less in the spotlight now days but who still won the big prize. Kurt Warner of the Arizona Cardinals was just a second string quarterback for the St Louis Rams when he got his big shot and went on to win MVP of Super bowl XXXIV and also took the Arizona Cardinals to their first big game in Superbowl XLIII. Before that he played Arena football for the Iowa Barnstormers and also stocked shelves for a local grocery store in Cedar Falls, Iowa to support his family. Some would say that he got his big chance when Trent Green, the Rams starting quarterback, got hurt early in in the pre-season of 1999 and that if Trent didn’t get hurt Kurt Warner wouldn’t have become the legend he is today. There is no doubt with this similar situation that the available opportunity helped Kurt rise to fame and he is most certainly a talented individual as well, however, we can’t take his persistence out of the equation. The man played football for years before becoming a star.

So what is it that made these two average Joe’s finally win the big prize? Was their talent the overbearing reason? Could it be that their opportunities just came to them like somebody who wins the lottery or was it their persistence and love for what they did that ultimately made them so successful? I suspect it was a combination of all of the above. Either way, it is these kind of stories that give me the will to drive on. Stories like this give us hope that if we want something bad enough it is always within our reach to get it.

I believe that in order to be super successful in life, no matter what your niche is, you have to love that something very much. You have to own such a passion for it that nothing will ever stop you from chasing it! When you enjoy what you do, it becomes very easy to excel and learn more. Your will and hard work alone will give you the steam to finally get what you want and deserve. The moral of this post is that being an average Joe with a passionate hobby and the ability to keep your eye on the ball can yield much prosperity!

Best Wishes