Wow! What a rush! In my first post I promised to tell you more about my book, 101 Ways I Have Tried to Make Money, and share with you the process of getting the book published and promoted. I failed to do the weekly posts I planned because everything is moving much faster than I expected. On the one hand, that’s a good thing – it means my book will soon be in print and available on Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, BookLocker and through your local bookstore. On the other hand, I’ve been running as fast as I can to keep up, not only with the process but to master the learning curve as I embark on this exciting new adventure. That said, in a series of posts I will summarize the last month’s activities and set aside a regular time to write so the posts don’t get lost in the shuffle.
But first let me tell you how my book came to be. In the 80s I was a high-roller living in Austin Texas. (Yes, Austin is as wonderful as you’ve been told. I considered it to be Camelot so the story of my book begins with my expulsion from paradise.) As a Real Estate Broker/Developer I made my self very rich. I thought I was set for life, that is, until 1985 when the crash came. The real estate market in Texas collapsed and property lost 45% to 60% of its value. It took me three years to loose everything I’d worked for and transform from a wealthy socialite to a bag lady with a mink coat; then another three years to get back on a career ladder as a computer programmer. (You can read more about this in my book.)
This brings the story to 1990 when I moved from Austin to Washington, D.C. to begin a new chapter of my like as a computer programmer trainee for the federal government. As a 40- something-year-old I found myself riding a bus to work with all the 20-something-year-olds starting their first career. As I wondered how I ended up here I decided to make a list of all the ways I had tried to make money. That list made me laugh and became the index to 101 Ways I Tried To Make Money or Things I Learned After It Was Too Late.