Dream Careers and Unreal Jobs

Here is the content from a short letter that I received today from a woman in France who read the French edition of my book The Joy of Not Working:

Dear Ernie,

I read with great interest your book l'art de ne pas travailler and I love your life philosopy.

However, it's not really easy to think that I will be able to realize this kind of dream because of the mortgage on the house, car, etc.

But thanks to your books it allows me to make a point with my future wishes:

* create an association for pets
* learn to draw
* English studies
* cooking
* write the memories of people

That's why I would like to have all the advice possible to be able to start writing this book.

Indeed, today I am fed up with working for a big company as an administrative assitant. My job is only for the resources but not for satisfaction. I am only 39 years old!

Thanks a lot for all you advice.

Looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Regards

Christelle

(Sorry for my English level but I hope you will understand what I try to say.)

For the record, I am sending Christelle a copy of my latest book Career Success Without a Real Job which is for people who want to create their Dream Careers and Unreal Jobs.

Job Loss Is a Golden Opportunity

Here is an e-mail that I recently received from a reader of one of my books. I have changed the person's name in case the information is sensitive:

----- Original Message -----
From: Sharon P.
To: ernie @ telus dot net
Sent: Monday, July 27, 2009 4:58 PM
Subject: one response to The Joy of Not Working

Hello, Ernie!

Another co-worker and I had the great good fortune of being laid off at the end of June. We decided that we were the lucky ones. Only after we were out of the negative work environment did we realize how much stress we had been carrying and how exhausted we were. It took a couple of weeks of rest, good nutrition, and tender loving care from friends before I felt human again and didn't ache all over. Plus it took a while to file for unemployment benefits and to get back to the job-hunting game.

Once I was done with all the paperwork hassle, I picked up a few books to read in between doing housework and sending out resumes. I started with Michael Shuman's books, The Small-Mart Revolution and Going Local (I was curious about how to sustain local economies), then proceeded with Robert Fritz's The Path of Least Resistance (how to apply creative techniques that artists use to living my own life). After that, I picked up your book, The Joy of Not Working.

I am about halfway through the book and yesterday I finished my first leisure tree. Wanting more bang for my buck, I made a game out of trying to combine as many things as I could from the tree into a single day, and I made a game plan over morning coffee. I am interested in horses, I want to learn to ride dressage, I enjoy reading and writing and walking/hiking, and I need to exercise (both for health and to be a better rider). So I combined those things and created "dressage Monday" -- which of course I won't just be doing on Mondays, but I had to start somewhere, right? Here's how it went:

breakfast

Read: articles on riding in Dressage Today magazine
Exercise: yoga - full set, for at least 20 minutes
drink a full glass of water
Exercise: leg stretches, using a step in the kitchen

break for lunch

Reading: three chapters of the book Balance in Movement (applying physiotherapy to achieve a proper seat on the horse)
Exercise: walking my elderly dog to the local post box, to post greeting cards (I decided to send the cards so that I would have to walk to the post box today!)
Watching: video of dressage training by Reiner Klimke
Watching: gold medal performance by Reiner Klimke in 1984 Los Angeles olympic games (on YouTube)
Exercise: 15 minutes on rebounder (mini trampouline)

break for a drink and a snack

reading: more articles in Dressage Today magazine
writing: sending a long email to Ernie J. Zelinski

It's a little after 6 pm now (I'm in Ohio, on Eastern time), and I still have plenty of time to do other things, like more reading and some weight training in the evening.

Exercise had been a problem for me in the past. I had so much tension in my body that it hurt even to do yoga! But now that I am not in a negative job situation, I find that exercise is very easy. Not only does it not hurt, but it is more meaningful because I have a specific goal in mind: strengthening my body to be able to balance better when I am riding and to ride for longer periods of time. I think that having a goal for exercise is a huge thing. For me, lack of exercise wasn't because of taking the easy way out, it was because I was in pain and also because I didn't have a specific purpose or goal for it.

Now that I am coordinating my activities for a common purpose, everything is incredibly easy to start and easy to continue through to the end (reading three chapters of a book, doing 15 minutes of rebounding, etc.). My day has been joyful and effortless and full of activity!

It all started when I decided to start training and studying like an olympian, since I no longer have that pesky full-time job.

Living in the USA, however, I am concerned about the fact that I will only be able to keep my health insurance for nine months. I will try to find a paying gig with benefits before then, but in the meantime I will be making huge progress in my riding, and the exercise and learning will be building my confidence for whatever I will choose to do down the road. In order to keep my horse, my husband and I have been cleaning stalls and helping to care for horses in exchange for my horse's board. Plus, my riding coach wants a website, and he will give me some free lessons in exchange for website development and writing, which we will be glad to do for him. You cannot imagine what a relief it is for me to be able to keep my horse, I've had him for nearly six years, and he's a member of the family. It's also a big relief to still have lessons from a great coach; my friend and I just found out about him last winter, and I'd hate to lose him, too!

I am very grateful for your book, to show me how to give my life a specific direction and to re-frame my job loss as a golden opportunity.

One thing that I have to thank you for specifically is for mentioning reading as an activity that is active. I had been kicking myself for sitting around and reading -- even though I was learning a lot through my reading and the Fritz book was about a technique that would help me through life and help me find meaningful work -- because I saw it as passive. I was incredibly relieved when I saw reading on your leisure tree! I put it on mine as well, and now I can actually feel good about the reading I am doing, and that is another huge weight off my shoulders.

My time between jobs will not be a worrisome time for me, because I am now a woman on a mission and I am test-driving the life I will live the next time I am between jobs. It is and will be a joyful life full of self-directed learning and exploring.

Even when I am once again working at a job, I'll have a better idea of how to manage my time in the future. I will continue to be an olympian-in-training even while working 40 hours a week and planning how I can create my own business, so I will eventually be able to rid myself of the next pesky full-time job that I happen to acquire.

All the best,
Sharon P.

Here are some resources to deal with job loss, unemployment, and involuntary retirement:

Jobs for Retirement at the Retirement Cafe

Benefits from a Recession

Dream Jobs and UnReal Jobs

25 Reaons Why Retirement Rocks (and Work Sucks!)

Cool Reasons to Quit Your Job

Retirement Jobs at the Real Success Resource Center

6 Traits of the Person Likely to Fall for a Ponzi Scheme

My Retirement Plan Was in Place But Bernie Madoff with My Money!

So what are the 6 traits of the typical person likely to fall for a Ponzi scheme?

The answer may surprise you:

Here's a snapshot of a typical financial fraud victim:

• Age 55-65.
• University/College-educated.
• Higher-than-average income.
• Risk-taking personality.
• Recent change in health or finances.
• More financially literate than average.

Here are some quotes about money from The 777 Best Things Ever Said about Money to keep money in proper perspective:

• Your wealth can only grow to the extent you do.
  — T. Harv Eker
• Always leave enough time in your life to do something that makes you happy, satisfied, even joyous. That has more of an effect on economic well-being than any other single factor.
  — Paul Hawken
• It's better to be out of money than out of new creative ideas on how to make money.
  — Unknown wise person
• Empty pockets never held anyone back. Only empty heads and empty hearts can do that.
  — Norman Vincent Peale

Check out;

Paper Losses Are Real Losses, Stupid

How to Become a Millionaire

Never Lend Money to a Friend - You Will Likely Lose Both!

Being Average Is for Losers - That's Why You Should Quit Your Job Now

One of my my favorite books, which I read this year is The Dip by Seth Godin:

One of the more important principles that the book emphasizes is: Being Average Is for Losers - That's Why You Should Quit Your Job Now

Here are some more important principles of success from the book.

• Winners quit all the time. They quit the right stuff at the right time.
• Winners win big time because the marketplace loves a winner.
• Most people quit. They just don't quit successfully.
• You need to quit. Not soon, but right now.
• The biggest obstacle to life is our inability to quit soon enough.
• In a competitive world, adversity is your ally.
• Being better than 98 percent of the competition used to be fine. In the world of Google, though, it's useless.
• If you are not going to get to #1, you might as well quit right now.
• You're Astonishing - How Dare You Waste It

Check out:

Cool Reasons to Quit Your Job

How to Become a Millionaire

Retirement Jobs on the Retirement Cafe

Funny Friendship Quotes and Sayings

Inspirational Quotes and Sayings

The Joy of Not Working in Japan

This is an e-mail that I received from Japan about my book The Joy of Not Working

From: ioicrying24 ( at) jcom.home.ne.jp
Subject: Acknowledgment　from Tokyo
To: "success101coach (at ) yahoo (dot) com
Received: Wednesday, October 7, 2009, 2:07 AM

Dear Mr. Zelinski,

My name is Sohei, I am mailing you because your book The Joy of Not Working encouraged my life style so much.

I am a practitioner of "work less, spend less" life style in Tokyo. I have ideas of novel, so I need time for writing development.

In this metropolis, the myth which says money brings glory of the "WINNER" is still dominant. I think happiness is not buyable but which we can make by ourselves. Everytime when I lose self-confidence I open your book The Joy of Not Working. Although I have already read through nearly 10 times there are new discoveries. I have accustomed myself to be ossified for loneliness but I am desire to overcome this and carve a new life eagerly.

I'd like to continue to believe in fellowship of job-free happiness rather than major rule of economic animals. I'm going to make time for reading your other books before too long.

I wish your good health and success.
Sincerely
Sohei Tonouchi

This was my reply:

Hello Sohei:

Thank you for your e-mail and kind words about The Joy of Not Working.

If you send me your address, I will send you an autographed copy of the English edition of my small gift book The Lazy Person's Guide to Happiness (also published in Japanese).

So long for now,

Ernie Zelinski
Author, Innovator, Corporate Escape Artist, and Unconventional Career Expert
Author of the Bestseller How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free
(Over 110,000 copies sold and published in 7 foreign languages)
and the International Bestseller The Joy of Not Working
(Over 225,000 copies sold and published in 17 languages)


http://twitter.com/CareerSuccess

See:

Business Giveaways by VIP BOOKS

Fun Things to Do in Retirement

Benefits from a Recession