Robert Pruneda's Blog, page 13
March 31, 2012
The Lucky 7 Meme…And Pudding Wrestling!
Over the past week two beautiful women in my circle of writerly friends, Nikki McCormack and Miranda Gammella, tagged me with The Lucky 7 Meme game.
The rules of the game are:
1. Go to page 77 of your current MS/WIP (If you don't yet have 77 pages of your current work in progress completed, just choose the first seven sentences.)
2. Go to line 7
3. Copy down the next 7 lines, sentences, or paragraphs, and post them as they're written.
4. Tag 7 authors, and let them know.
Since two of my fellow authors decided to tag me within the same week, I decided to have a little fun with this and break the rules a little bit. I'm going to use both my current work-in-progress AND post from my book that is already published. That way both of these lovely ladies don't have to fight over who gets credit for the post…not that I'm complaining about them fighting over me. I'm thinking mud wrestling match to declare the winner. No wait…CHOCOLATE PUDDING! I love chocolate pudding!
May the best pudding wrestler win!
For some reason that I simply cannot understand Nikki and Miranda declined the invitation to settle this in the pudding ring and decided to play nice. Now what am I going to do with all of this chocolate?
Back to the game…
The first Lucky 7 Meme excerpt comes from my debut novel Pursuit of a Dream (Book One of Victory Lane: The Chronicles). This is the book that I've been promoting and donating royalties to Indies Unite for Joshua. Sticking with the whole "7″ theme, I'm going to shake it up a bit. I'm going to start with seven random snippets that include the word "dream" since the book is titled Pursuit of a Dream. Okay, it's corny, but it's the best I could come up with at one o'clock in the morning. So, here they are:
1. I would also like to thank my sister Linda for her encouraging words and belief in me as a writer as I pursued my own dream of publishing my first novel. (Oh, wait, that's from the acknowledgments. Next search…)
2. Stephanie asked, "Have you ever seriously considered Caleb's dreams?"
3. John frowned, "I know. It's… I just think it's way too dangerous. I'm not sure if I could handle him pursuing that type of a dream, knowing that there would be even a remote possibility of him getting hurt or even killed in an auto racing accident. I don't think I could live with myself if—"
4. Dr. Williams clicked the top of his pen and placed it in his shirt pocket, "I think that's a great dream for a kid to have. Who knows? He may wind up being the next Dale Earnhardt or Richard Petty."
5. "And if that's really your dream, then I'll support you a hundred percent. You just keep on pursuing that dream and never give up… no matter what."
6. The closest he had actually come to pursuing any of his childhood dreams was when he drag raced his car down Congress Avenue. He had nearly wrecked the car in the process. John smiled as he remembered that he had also won that race.
7. John looked at his older son. Now there was a kid who did not have a complicated goal. John knew what he needed to do to help satisfy Jared's athletic dream. First he needed to sign him up for Little League, then Jared could play on his high school baseball team, go to college on a baseball scholarship and play college ball for the Longhorns. If everything turned out in Jared's favor, he would then play AAA ball and then work his way up to the major leagues. That was a chain of succession that John understood, but he was completely lost when it came to Caleb's dream.
And now for the main event…
The following excerpt is from The Devil's Nightmare, a novel in the horror genre that I hope to publish in October. I will be using the first paragraph, which just so happens to be exactly seven lines. I have 155 pages complete, but Line 7 of Page 77 currently has a scene that I would rather not reveal. Well, I could, but then I'd have to send the forces of darkness after you and…oh, never mind!
(This post is a bit longer than I had anticipated…)
If you're still with me here is the Lucky 7 Meme except from The Devil's Nightmare…
Cody Sumner ran frantically past row and rows of tombstones in the dark cemetery. His lungs burned with each frenetic breath. Several times the boy lost his footing, whimpering in fear as he picked himself up. He then heard a bloodcurdling scream in the distance behind him. A loud explosion of thunder and lightning startled him as he looked backwards and then lost his footing, collapsing onto the wet, muddy ground. He pushed himself backward, his hands splashing in puddles of water and mud as he noticed a large dark shadow approaching from fifty yards away. In the darkness of the cemetery, the shadow concealed its true identity, but the boy knew exactly what the evil was that stalked him.
And now for the ceremonial tagging of seven fellow authors…
Christina Esdon
Carolyn Arnold
Eden Baylee
Dannie C. Hill
Cara Michaels vV""Vv
Rebecca M. Senese
Karen DeLabar
You all shall be properly informed of your esteemed Lucky 7 Meme invitation via Twitter or carrier pigeon, depending on what my mood is and whether or not I've had any caffeine when this publishes.
Cheers!
March 29, 2012
Royalties Donated to Help Author’s Son Fight Leukemia
Many of you may know that I’ve been actively participating in an Indie GoGo campaign via Twitter called #IndiesUnite4Joshua that my friend and fellow author Eden Baylee started in January and I’m currently trying to help raise money by donating all royalties from my book sales to help Maxwell Cynn’s 21-year-old son Joshua battle Leukemia. Every penny generated from royalties will help us reach our goal of $10,000 to help pay for the high cost of treatment.
I invite you to read Max’s blog post for more information about Joshua’s diagnosis with Acute T-cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia, and then if you feel you would like to contribute, there is absolutely no gift too small.
If you would like to donate directly you can visit Joshua’s IndieGoGo campaign site where there are some great perks for all donations. If you would prefer to spend a buck and buy my book Pursuit of a Dream I’ll gladly donate to the campaign on your behalf through royalties generated from book sales. No amount is too small and every penny will help.
If you have any questions or if you would like to contribute to the campaign in another way, please feel free to contact me and I’ll be happy to pass the information to the campaign’s “chief agitator” Eden Baylee.
Thank you very much for your consideration in supporting #IndiesUnite4Joshua and God bless!
Download a copy of Pursuit of a Dream to your e-Reader by clicking on one of the following links below and 100% of royalties generated go to help Joshua fight Leukemia:
Image credit: Maxwell Cynn, posted on Indies Unite for Joshua campaign announcements page.
Royalties Donated to Help Author's Son Fight Leukemia
Many of you may know that I've been actively participating in an Indie GoGo campaign via Twitter called #IndiesUnite4Joshua that my friend and fellow author Eden Baylee started in January and I'm currently trying to help raise money by donating all royalties from my book sales to help Maxwell Cynn's 21-year-old son Joshua battle Leukemia. Every penny generated from royalties will help us reach our goal of $10,000 to help pay for the high cost of treatment. I've recently dropped the price of my book Pursuit of a Dream from $2.99 to 99¢ in an effort to help generate quick sales.
I invite you to read Max's blog post for more information about Joshua's diagnosis with Acute T-cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia, and then if you feel you would like to contribute, there is absolutely no gift too small.
If you would like to donate directly you can visit Joshua's IndieGoGo campaign site where there are some great perks for all donations. If you would prefer to spend a buck and buy my book Pursuit of a Dream I'll gladly donate to the campaign on your behalf through royalties generated from book sales. No amount is too small and every penny will help.
If you have any questions or if you would like to contribute to the campaign in another way, please feel free to contact me and I'll be happy to pass the information to the campaign's "chief agitator" Eden Baylee.
Thank you very much for your consideration in supporting #IndiesUnite4Joshua and God bless!
Download a copy of Pursuit of a Dream to your e-Reader by clicking on one of the following links below and 100% of royalties generated go to help Joshua fight Leukemia:
Image credit: Maxwell Cynn, posted on Indies Unite for Joshua campaign announcements page.
March 23, 2012
Book Review: Eleven by Carolyn Arnold
Carolyn Arnold dares to "break the rules" in Eleven. A thrilling ride!
Eleven is an FBI thriller that has great character development, a unique writing style that dares to "break the rules", and an excellent overall story.
Character Development
I think this is where I enjoyed Eleven the most. The characters in Eleven were very well-written. They each had their own unique personalities and it is evident that Carolyn Arnold put a lot of time and care into developing them. They were created in a way that didn't overwhelm you with a lengthy back story or flashbacks, but instead you get to know a little more about them as the story progresses. It's kind of like in real life. The longer you spend with someone, the more you get to know them. Arnold did a very good job in executing this.
When I read a book it's also important for me to get to know the characters enough to where I really care about the fate of each character for me to really enjoy the story. If I don't care about the characters, you've lost me in the story. In Eleven I really cared about the characters. In fact I found myself feeling sorry for one of them and there was even one character that I really disliked; but after getting to know him better, I found I understood why he acted the way he did. Again, this is attributed to Carolyn Arnold's excellent character development.
The Writing Style
Carolyn Arnold "breaks the rules" when it comes to her writing style in Eleven. It starts off with the reader following the story from the main character's perspective. Later, however, as the story begins to unfold and we begin to reach the climax of the story, Arnold suddenly shifts perspectives to tell the story in a different way, but also continues to use the first-person perspective of the main character.
I enjoyed following the FBI team's investigation from the main character's perspective and seeing how he reacted to certain situations. When the writing started switching perspectives from first to third and back to first, it was initially slightly distracting. I wasn't certain if this was going to work well at first, because I had never read a novel that switched perspectives. I am pleased to say that it did indeed work very well. This was a very unique writing style that I thoroughly enjoyed.
The Overall Story
I love thrillers and therefore can be very picky with the end result of the roller-coaster ride that is expected from them. Arnold did a very good job of keeping me guessing during the investigation in Eleven. Just when you think the team is on the right track, something throws them off. I had my suspicions of who the killer was (I was wrong of course!), but I was pleasantly surprised when the killer was finally revealed.
If you like thrillers, you'll enjoy Carolyn Arnold's Eleven.
Excellent story! I look forward to reading the Madison Knight series.
Carolyn Arnold is the author of several novels in the mystery, thriller and suspense genres. TIES THAT BIND, the first in a police procedural mystery series surrounding Detective Madison Knight, was her debut novel and published May 2011.
Carolyn was born in 1976 in the rural town of Picton, Ontario. While her passion for writing dates back to her teen years, it wasn't until 2008 that she completed her first novel. She lives with her husband and her two beagles in Southwestern Ontario
Where to connect with Carolyn online:
Amazon Author Page
Website
Blog
Twitter
Facebook
Goodreads
Email
Carolyn Arnold's Books:
A note to my guests: You can read my interview with Carolyn Arnold by CLICKING HERE. Be sure to visit Carolyn's web site by clicking here, and if you haven't done so already, you can get your copy of Eleven here.
March 7, 2012
Military Dogs Considered “Equipment”?
Today I read a blog post written by author and U.S. Army soldier Kevin Hanrahan that was so inspirational to me (and a bit troubling) that I immediately took action. Kevin Hanrahan is author of Paws on the Ground (pending publication) about U.S. soldiers and the faithful dogs that protect them in Afghanistan. These dogs find Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) and have saved countless lives.
As a proud Guardian member of the ASPCA I have a soft spot for all animals, particularly dogs (I have three of them in my family), and with Kevin Hanrahan’s permission I am sharing a snippet of his story (and a couple of great photos) here at Sharkbait Writes.
Image credit: Kevin Hanrahan, used by permission. Source - Soldier Writer: Balancing the Sword and the Pen
It has come to my attention through Mr. Hanrahan’s recent blog post that these brave and heroic dogs are officially classified as “equipment” by the U.S. Department of Defense.
Hanrahan states the following three startling facts about retired military working dogs:
Retired Military Working Dogs are stranded at their final duty station.
Military Working Dogs receive no medical benefits after retirement.
Military Working Dogs receive no recognition for their faithful service.
I found this unbelievable that military working dogs were treated so rashly after retirement. Many of these dogs have died protecting our soldiers. The first thing I thought about was the contrast between dogs serving in our local police departments and those serving in the military. From what I understand police dogs are considered members of the police force and are treated as officers. Why would federal law classify these heroic dogs as mere pieces of military equipment?
I encourage you to please visit Kevin Hanrahan’s complete story on his blog by clicking on the link below. In it will be a call to action, which I have already taken part of. Let your voice be heard.
Click Here: Support the Bill that Recognizes Military Working Dogs as Members of the Armed Forces!
Thank you for taking the time to read Kevin’s post… this hard-working pooch will thank you! 
Image credit: Kevin Hanrahan, used by permission. Source - Soldier Writer: Balancing the Sword and the Pen
Military Dogs Considered "Equipment"?
Today I read a blog post written by author and U.S. Army soldier Kevin Hanrahan that was so inspirational to me (and a bit troubling) that I immediately took action. Kevin Hanrahan is author of Paws on the Ground (pending publication) about U.S. soldiers and the faithful dogs that protect them in Afghanistan. These dogs find Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) and have saved countless lives.
As a proud Guardian member of the ASPCA I have a soft spot for all animals, particularly dogs (I have three of them in my family), and with Kevin Hanrahan's permission I am sharing a snippet of his story (and a couple of great photos) here at Sharkbait Writes.
Image credit: Kevin Hanrahan, used by permission. Source - Soldier Writer: Balancing the Sword and the Pen
It has come to my attention through Mr. Hanrahan's recent blog post that these brave and heroic dogs are officially classified as "equipment" by the U.S. Department of Defense.
Hanrahan states the following three startling facts about retired military working dogs:
Retired Military Working Dogs are stranded at their final duty station.
Military Working Dogs receive no medical benefits after retirement.
Military Working Dogs receive no recognition for their faithful service.
I found this unbelievable that military working dogs were treated so rashly after retirement. Many of these dogs have died protecting our soldiers. The first thing I thought about was the contrast between dogs serving in our local police departments and those serving in the military. From what I understand police dogs are considered members of the police force and are treated as officers. Why would federal law classify these heroic dogs as mere pieces of military equipment?
I encourage you to please visit Kevin Hanrahan's complete story on his blog by clicking on the link below. In it will be a call to action, which I have already taken part of. Let your voice be heard.
Click Here: Support the Bill that Recognizes Military Working Dogs as Members of the Armed Forces!
Thank you for taking the time to read Kevin's post… this hard-working pooch will thank you!
Image credit: Kevin Hanrahan, used by permission. Source - Soldier Writer: Balancing the Sword and the Pen
March 6, 2012
Adventures in Self-Employment: Part 2
First off… you'll notice that I changed the title of this post. It went from "Balancing Hats of the Self-Employed" to "Self-Employment & Balancing Many Hats" to "Adventures in Self-Employment" which I find fits this story best overall.
Anyway, in Part 1 of this blog post I wrote about my adventures in self-employment at an early age and my rise and fall as Godfather of an underground candy redistribution enterprise. I went from a kid selling stationary door-to-door in my neighborhood to pushing candy like a crack dealer in high school (and getting shut down by "The Man" in the process) only to find myself flipping burgers in the fast-food industry and eventually getting assimilated into an office drone.
I've always wanted to be independently employed, 
and while I've enjoyed most of the traditional jobs that I've had, there's just something about self-employment that has always picked at my soul. The entrepreneurial bug bit me again in 1997 while I was living in Austin, Texas and working as a tour operations assistant at a privately owned international bird-watching tour and travel agency. My best friend called me one day to tell me about an exciting business opportunity that a friend of his introduced him to. He told me that it was a legitimate business that has been around since 1959 and the potential to make big money was staggering. He sounded like an infomercial, but I listened to him give me the basic formula of how this business worked where you owned your own product distribution business with access to a huge catalog of household products, electronics, jewelry, food, etc., etc. It sounded like door-to-door sales to me. I wasn't interested.
My friend further explained that the cool thing about this business is that if you got enough people in your network, you would earn commissions off the people in your network. The more people in your network, the more passive income you would make. The whole idea was that every independent business owner in the network would buy their basic household products from their own business. If you needed laundry detergent, paper towels, vitamins, batteries, etc., instead of going to the local Wal-Mart, you'd just order direct from "your" company. Plus, there was an extensive catalog of affiliate big name brand partners that you had access to for radios, CD players, telephones, even TVs… all at a discounted rate because you were buying direct, cutting out the middleman. All you had to do was convince your friends and family to start their own product distribution business, buy from themselves and get others to join up under them and so forth. If you had enough people in your network, you eventually wouldn't have to work because you would be living off of the commissions of your network.
The whole thing sounded interesting, but it also sounded a bit complicated and too good to be true. However, I figured I would give my friend the benefit of the doubt and at least meet with him and his "business sponsors" for a demonstration of the parent company's products and more details on how exactly this business worked. So, that weekend I drove two hours with no intention of actually agreeing to anything. It was more out of courtesy to my friend than anything. After all, we went to high school together and had been friends for several years.
I have to admit that I was impressed with the product demonstration, which mainly consisted of household cleaners and detergents. After selling me on the core line of products, Mr. and Mrs. Business Sponsor explained the ins and outs of the business network with a nice little drawing of circles and legs linking to other circles with their own legs linking to other circles. My name was in the top circle. Mrs. Business Sponsor asked me 
if I knew three people that I thought would be interested in starting their own business on a part-time basis and making some extra money. The theory would be that each of them would then get three other people to participate, and those three people would get three people, and so forth. Mr. and Mrs. Business Sponsor then explained how commissions from product sales were distributed. I don't remember exactly what those percentages were but it all made sense and looked good on paper. The parent company also paid every independent business owner directly, which apparently was a problem back in the day when the business sponsors were responsible for distributing commission checks.
So, with all of this explained, there was only one main question that I had. What was the name of this company? When they told me it was Amway, I was ready to walk out the door. This was the same company that had people selling soap door-to-door, right? Yep, it was the same company. I had heard of Amway before and it didn't have a great reputation, but the company had been around since 1959, was still going strong, and apparently had gone through a lot of changes including incorporating technological improvements. They now had a website where business owners could process orders, track commissions, etc. After taking a few days to think about it, I signed up and paid my set up fee and also purchased a product start up kit at a discount. This kit also had several samples to use for demonstrations.
After getting an assumed name license for Jireh Distribution and opening a small business checking account, I began my training. My friend and his sponsors helped me get started. I attended business meetings, met some other Amway business owners higher up in our network, and started demonstrating Amway's core products to my family, friends and coworkers. They particularly loved the detergent and would even reorder from me when they ran out of product. I made a few bucks from commissions, but nowhere near enough to quit my job (kind of sounds like my book royalties ). My friend said that I needed to get some people to start their own Amway distribution business and get them to do the same thing before the money started rolling in. My best friend's, sponsor's, sponsor's, sponsor (no I didn't stutter) had recently quit his high paying job at DuPont because his network was so big that he didn't have to work a traditional job anymore. That was encouraging I guess, but the three people that I thought would be on board weren't interested.
I ended up attending an Amway convention in Kansas City that summer with my friend and his sponsors who I quickly became friends with. I think some of the sponsor's sponsor's sponsor's sponsor's sponsors were there too. We spent the weekend in Kansas City attending seminars and listening to testimonials from notable Amway business owners that had succeed in the business. We heard a lot of rags to riches stories. Each of these "Diamond Level Business Owners" had arrived in their million dollar luxury coaches and had them parked where everyone could easily see them. We arrived in an old minivan.
The convention was a lot of fun and it was even a bit inspirational too. As Christians we enjoyed some of the biblical principles that were incorporated in operating the business, so it almost felt like a retreat at times. We came back home to Texas energized with new strategies to build our businesses and I even managed to convince another friend of mine to start his own business. Awesome! However, he was the only person that I could convince. My other family and friends just started to get annoyed and wouldn't answer my phone calls and would even avoid me because they thought I was either going to try to sell them something they didn't want or need or try to convince them to join the business. My friend's sponsor suggested that I try some cold contacting techniques that we learned. This basically involved approaching total strangers. Seriously? They wanted me to approach total strangers? While I was filling my car with gas one day, I decided what the heck. I approached a total stranger pumping gas on the other side of the gas pump, which resulted in the lady looking at me like I was completely nuts. She nonchalantly took my business card anyway. That was the one and only time I tried selling Amway to a total stranger.
Now some of my friends and family were still buying stuff from me because they liked the products, but I wasn't very good with the whole multi-level marketing thing. After several months of work my multi-level network commissions totaled about $75 and my direct sales weren't worth the time and effort either. When family and friends stopped reordering their products from me, I stopped caring and eventually quit the business. I told my best friend that it was nothing personal, and I did enjoy owning an Amway distribution business at first, but I kind of liked having friends outside of the business too. I was getting tired of having to talk about Amway all the time. I could only imagine what my friends and family thought. The one thing I learned very quickly is that the Amway business is a very high pressure sales business which I did not want to have anything to do with anymore. I'm not knocking Amway in general because their system works for the right people and their products are actually pretty good… It just wasn't for me.
So, after taking off my small business hat, it was time to switch hats again and get back to working as an office drone. The following year while living in Austin, my friend told me about another business opportunity that he had started. This time it was a sure deal and he had already made $2,500 the first month! He said it was an independent business type of deal, and if I was interested he could guarantee me a spot on the team if I wanted it. He had already talked to the franchise business owner. I would have to move back to my hometown though.
After a lot of thought and prayer, I decided to put in my two-week notice at my current job and left the Texas capital city to move back to my hometown in the south Texas crossroads. Three days after I started this "awesome" business venture that my friend convinced me to quit my job in Austin for I realized that I had made a huge mistake… and my job in Austin had already been filled!
So, what was this new business opportunity of doom? Tune in next week for the next installment of "Adventures in Self-Employment" right here at Sharkbait Writes.
Cheers!
February 29, 2012
This is what irony looks like...
A good friend suggested I blog about a funny thing that happened to me and she was right.
Those that know me know that my birthday was on the 19th and the only thing on my list was a laptop. As love would have it, my wife okayed me to get one. It's a great little laptop, a Dell Inspiron 1525, and in the almost three weeks I've had it, I've grown to love it to death.
This is the first time I've reblogged anything before. After reading my friend Jason McKinney's post, I just had to share with my readers. I couldn't stop laughing. Enjoy (at Jason's expense) :-)!
This is what irony looks like…
A good friend suggested I blog about a funny thing that happened to me and she was right. Those that know me know that my birthday was on the 19th and the only thing on my list was a laptop. As love would have it, my wife okayed me to get one. It's a great little laptop, a Dell Inspiron 1525, and in the almost three weeks I've had it, I've grown to love it to death. It's great! Except for one thing. See below. And this is what my wallpaper looks like. My choices on Craigslist were limited as I had …
This is the first time I've reblogged anything before. After reading my friend Jason McKinney's post, I just had to share with my readers. I couldn't stop laughing. Enjoy (at Jason's expense)
!
February 23, 2012
Adventures in Self-Employment: Part 1
One of my goals as a working professional had always been to eventually leave the traditional workforce and operate my own business. I did just that in September of last year, and let me tell you as enjoyable as it has been, I've worn many hats up until that day that has completely transformed my vision in life. It's been like an ongoing balancing hat trick while travelling down the different avenues of tradition employment, attempting one self-employment opportunity after another, maintain some sort of social life, finding time to write, trying to nurture myself spiritually, leisure time, paying the bills, and finding a way to balance it all out without going completely insane.
Building a business requires you to wear many hats to produce that all important stream of cash flow to pay the bills and save for the future. It requires a ton of hard work and a lot of trial and error. Working through those challenges has been part of the fun I've had working for myself, and I don't regret my decision to leave my traditional full-time job in the rear view mirror. Living as an entrepreneur is something that has been a part of my DNA ever since I was a kid. However, daydreaming about what it would be like to be my own boss is one thing; making it happen and being successful at it is another. There is a lot of planning, research, and patience that goes with the territory. You also have to consider the fact that being self-employed often means working 12- to 16-hour days without depositing a dime in the bank account. A positive attitude and a strong vision is what makes a difference between keeping the momentum and pushing forward and feeling sorry for yourself and giving up. I've learned very quickly that you have to persevere, have faith and take it one day at a time in order to start seeing the fruits of your labor. And before you know it, those 12- to 16-hour penniless days will start to produce that all important revenue stream.
The Birth of an Entrepreneur
I was born to be an entrepreneur. I don't expect to be the next Bill Gates or Steve Jobs, but I've always had that entrepreneurial itch. Just ask anyone I've worked with over the years. Ever since I was a kid selling lemonade in front of my home in the suburbs up until my recent career in the newspaper industry, I've always wanted to be my own boss. And I have made quite a few attempts in my life, some more promising than others, but they all eventually failed. The important fact is that I have never given up on that professional goal.
My first business venture involved a program developed for kids to learn business skills and personal responsibility. I can't remember exactly what the name of this program was, but I do remember there was some sort of Captain America type motif in the marketing material. Anyway, my job was to sell stationary door-to-door to my neighbors. It was basically very similar to a school fundraiser, but instead of trying to raise money for a school function, my sales pitch involved the fact that I was learning how to run my own business and trying to sell enough to earn prizes. My "profits" were the prizes offered by this company, just like a fundraiser. I had a lot of fun doing it and sold a lot of overpriced stationary. I did that for about a year before I felt the prizes just weren't worth the work; I wanted cold hard cash!
Make Me an Offer I Can't Refuse
When I was a freshman in high school I started a "candy redistribution business" that was very successful while it lasted. My high school in Austin was located on the corner of a busy intersection in the middle of a business district. There was a grocery store across the street, so during my lunch breaks and after school I would go to the grocery store and stock up on multi-packs of Jolly Ranchers, bubble gum, and other candy that was available in bulk. I would then resell my merchandise as individual pieces of candy and made a big profit! Then a "friend" of mine took notice of my growing enterprise and decided to start up a "candy redistribution business" of his own, but he sold his merchandise a nickel less than me, thus stealing my customers. I now had competition that resulted in a nasty little price war, which cut into my profits and my relationship with this so-called friend. My solution? We formed a partnership, brought prices back up, covered more school territory and split the profits… that is until the school authorities found out about our little "illegal" operation. They shut us down and even seized our candy! Damn bureaucrats! So much for playing video games at the arcade across the street after school! That didn't stop us, though. We just got stealthier in our sales and distribution techniques. That's right folks! I was a rebellious candy-selling little mobster nerd! I wasn't going to let "The Man" cut into my video game budget!
I probably would have had a whole underground network of candy-pushing mobsters with a couple of teachers on my payroll (maybe bribes with a chocolate bar or two would do the trick). But alas! At the end of my first semester as a freshman, my parents decided to open up a restaurant in my home town two hours away. Imagine the possibilities if I could have stayed in that school in Austin to continue my underground candy resell business! I could have had a global network by now with the Sharky Bar™ in every supermarket (that's candy, not booze… although).
The Traditional Employment Bandwagon
Moving to the South Texas Crossroads away from my candy toting mob in Austin was just a bump in the road to small business ownership. It was only a matter of time before I put on another hat in search of the American dream. I was determined to never give up and keep trying until I found something that would keep me out of the status quo. I hadn't even started my first "real" job yet and 
already knew that I didn't want to be a worker drone, but I eventually got on the traditional employment bandwagon and did just what many of you reading probably did… I took a part-time job working at a fast-food restaurant. That lasted six months until money mysteriously disappeared out of my register and I was terminated. I later found out that the owner's granddaughter and one of the crew leaders was stealing money, but I and a few others were fired for it. That was my first impression of the traditional workplace which took a bit of a toll on my self-esteem. The franchise closed later that year. That put a huge smile on my face. Justice!
During my junior year in high school I signed up for a business co-op program in high school, landed my first office job as an office clerk (gopher) at a chemical plant and was quickly transformed into an office drone. I worked in various industries and eventually made my way back to Austin to work for a birding tour company and travel agency. It was while living in Austin that the entrepreneurial bug bit me again. My best friend back home encouraged me to check into this awesome small business opportunity that was a surefire way to make good money working for ourselves. After explaining a little bit about how this business worked, he invited me to a meeting with his business sponsor. I did a little bit of research and discovered it was a legitimate business opportunity and I took the bait.
Next stop… Amway!
