Changing things up...I don't want the Fake American Dream

Today I realized that this blog is not about anyone else but myself.   That means that I don't need to nor will I ever again place ads anywhere within this blog in hopes of making money from sharing my truth.  What this blog is really about is expressing my thoughts and feelings about the world.  Using what's available to me as a medium for expression is what is important, be it through writing, photography, videography, or anything else that I can get my hands on. The harsh truth of the matter is that the world has been commercialized over and over again, it infiltrates every part of our world.  Every page on the Internet is now at risk of becoming one big commercial for multi-national corporations to sell their wares.  Don't get me wrong I too sipped the cool-aid.  But the truth is that we all slip on the goggles of repression everyday when we reach for the "fake American Dream" of one day becoming one of those billionaires on the Forbes list of richest people.  Even as the reality of what this capitalist nation has done to its own people is ever more evident the so called "American Dream" is drowning American households in a murky pit of debt all in the hopes of living the lifestyles we see on network television and big production movies.  2010 could be known as the year of "Meaning over Money", maybe because we as a people finally reevaluated our lifestyles, and grasped for something more meaningful, but as we had a chance to look around ourselves and really take inventory all we could see was our over-mortgaged homes and a stack of credit card bills.  Maybe 2011 for me is going to be the year of "Truth over Fear".  Too many people myself included are afraid to do what makes them truly happy.  Instead we settle for being safe and comfortable.  And although those emotions have their place they should not take the place of other emotions either.  At some point in time we all need to feel the power of the unknown, we all need to finally look behind the curtain and see that the commercialized American dream is really just a facade.  That we create our own happiness not by becoming part of of the multi-nation industrial corporate complex nor by feeding it, but by self expression and participating in the world community through whatever means we choose.  In 2011 we all need to take a moral inventory and realize that the free market is really not free.  That abroad and within our own borders we are constantly fed destructive ingredients that create nothing more than extreme material wealth for a few and leave the majority with the yearning for something that we can't quite explain.  We think we know what it is as we are bombarded with brainwashing messages of success, but look behind the curtain and you will see only a few people reeping the rewards of the so called American Dream, while the majority struggles to repay the cost of trying to aspire to this dream, find adequate healthcare, and feed themselves in a healthy way.

Start a business be creative and stay in the box...use SCORE to help!

Learn Online | SCORE

What a morning, just came back from a meeting at SCORE an organization that helps beginning entrepreneurs develop solid business plans in order to analyze the cost and feasibility of their particular business model and segues into working with the SBA for assistance on financing.

So that brings me to why I'm writing to day. This morning I met with two mentors at SCORE that provided me with decent advice and ideas, but also made me realize that I have much more homework to do. Keep you posted!

Wait a second, homework on what you may ask? Well, that bring me to the purpose of this blog: which is to create a forum where I can share my ideas and experience as I embark on a path to change the way people work. My idea is to create cheap office space in areas in between major cities, now when I say cheap office space I don't mean sitting in a cafeteria type space with hundreds of other people talking, shouting and working on their computers, but a private office just for you, and maybe a few others, somewhere you can close the door and get some work done in silence! And when I say cheap I mean much less than it would costs to lease your own office in some business park, and get this your own personal assistant! The name of the business which by the way I am still working on is tentatively called "In2daBox" its objective as I mentioned is to provide low cost private office space for individuals who day in and day out commute long distances from suburban areas to major cities in order to show up sit in a cubicle and do work that probably could have been done at home through their personal computer but for Corporate office politics regarding working from home have to show up so that managers can have meetings, or come by your cubicle and say to themselves "yes" this guy showed up and looks like he is working...

I was that person driving to and from work every week needlessly sitting in an hour and half of traffic just to get to work or go home from work. After which I would arrive home exhausted. I tried to live my life with the few hours I had left after dinner and before bed, but really I knew it was futile as long as 2-3 hours of my precious time ever day Monday through Friday were spent sitting in my car accomplishing nothing but burning fossil fuels into the atmosphere. Anxiously waiting for the next work holiday, or 2 week vacation once a year.

The 21st Century has changed all that for us, but for some reason work is still operating like it has over the past 50-60 years, even as costs go down to purchase a personal computer. Not just that but, advancements in cloud computing, computer storage space, processing power and internet connections are more affordable than ever before. I really want to change that and maybe even help the environment along the way.

Am I the only one who feels this way? I think not! Join the work revolution!

Eco-friendly christmas gifts for all!

Thinking of giving something more out of the ordinary as a Christmas gifts?
Why not look for a eco-friendly gift, who knows could be more than just a gift to the recipient, but a way into a lifestyle change that benefits us all in the end.

Here are a few ideas:

1) Give the gift of life - For a $25 dollar donations "Friends of the Urban Forest" will plant a tree in honor of your gift recipient. FUF will email a digital greeting card informing the recipient that a tree was planted in their honor.
http://www.fuf.net/donate/tributes.html


2) Give the gift of dance - ODC a non-profit organization that hosts tons of talented dance instructors from all over the world and locally, maybe someone you know has wanted to take a class but hasn't had the nerve to do it yet, give them a reason here:

http://www.odcdance.org/school.php

3) Give the gift of music - Yoshi's promotes an eclectic line up of arts from all over the world a gift card from the long established venue gives the recipient a wide array of events to attend, and maybe get some of their wonderful sushi while there at it. 
https://wsdvps2.wsdsecure.com/~yoshis.com/sanfrancisco/gifts/card

Just a few ideas let me know what you think and add a few if you like!

thinking inside of the box...

Many of us have heard of this cliche "thinking outside of the box". It has become the hallmark of those that want to give the impression that they are creative thinkers savvy at coming up with solutions to problems that no one has thought of before.

In reality do those who want solutions to problems really want someone to think "outside" of the box? Isn't what we are really looking for is someone who can take the resources and infrastructure we already have and make something of it? In other words, isn't it more ingenious to have to think "inside the box"?

Take for instance origami, the art of taking a square piece of paper of any size and without cutting, adding, or modifying the essential structure of the piece of paper, just by folding, a person can create something so different and unusual that it almost seems that they can breathe life into a simple, basic ordinary piece of paper.