I was reading an intriguing book the other day. It gave me an idea and made me reflect on my life to date.

Ive always been a good worker. Responsible, loyal, dedicated. Well, a short while ago I noticed a shift in my attitude. Here I was working for a corporation, a good corporation by most standards, but I was going nuts. I could never do enough for them. When I reached or exceeded my goals they just moved the carrot out a little further. And always, a bit out of reach. Sure, I was making a decent enough salary, but I wasnt successful in the terms I had set for myself.

And then I got the news. They had just laid off 2500 employees, which represented about 4% of the workforce. And yeah, I survived this time, but the writing was on the wall. It wasnt about the employees, it was about the shareholders. And this was a corporation that put forth a family image in its advertising and did so in a clever and humorous way. Their campaign really struck a chord in the everyman. And I was one of them and I went to work for them. But now, I was seeing the company I was working for as a dysfunctional family. And I was becoming the rebellious teenager (figuratively speaking).

So, I knew it was a matter of time before Id get the ax. Though normally I would consider myself an optimist, I noticed I was experiencing some pretty heavy mood swings. I could be very depressed to feeling in another moment that the sky was the limit.

Well, Ive heard it said before that God provides and even though I dont consider myself the religious type, it was about that time I read an article that basically said that anger and depression were useful emotions.

Now, that was a different spin on the subject and I was intrigued. In fact I kept that little article and just found it on my computer. Here is a direct quote from it:

Depression, for example, can motivate a deep examination of goals and strategies. When an employee is fired, it may be time for a re-evaluation of career options-- a period of withdrawal and re-examination is appropriate. Studies of depressed people show they assess aspects of their lives more accurately than cheerful people. Based on facts presented in: American Health 12-92

So, Ive been on a quest. And Ive got to say, I believe Ive found what Im looking for.

The idea from the book I mentioned previously generated a mental picture.

Hang in with me for a moment while we discuss a few numbers.

We know that on average we work about 2,080 hours in a year (52 weeks x 40 hours per week). If you make $22 per hour, you would gross $45,760.00 per year. That number, by the way, is a few thousand dollars more than the median income in the United States. Depending on if you made more or less you can adjust this analogy to fit your circumstance. The point being, that if we want to earn more, we can certainly achieve this by increasing the number of hours we work or command a higher salary. Good luck.

Well, imagine that your luck has changed and you have received special invitations from all over this great big planet, from people just like you and me, to come into their homes so that they can spend some time with you, get to know you and what youve been thinking about.

But of course theres only one of you and youve only got about 2000 hours per year give or take a thousand hours. But hundreds of people want your time and your attention every evening after they get home from work.

Imagine further, that you can simply will it and suddenly you have an army of volunteers that go to work for you. All model employees and all perfect representations of who you are and what your ideas are about. Around the clock. 24/7. And no, Im not talking about multi-level marketing. (Not that theres anything wrong with that. J) Well, that IS the power of internet marketing.

Now imagine one more thing. Imagine it and it will come into being. The medium is the internet and your audience is the world. Too far fetched? Not at all and its not like you have to reach them all at once. Just get started.

And if you read this far, you know what its like to be real. Like atracts like.

So, thanks for listening and the best to you in all of your ventures, you can do it.