Dude… I was rocking hard 06,07,08,09. Learned how to clean windows on National Window Cleaning Directory.net forums… Met Chris and some other OG WCR peeps… migrated over as soon as Chris launched the new forum. Back then I was fresh out of ‘somewhere’ and couldn’t get a job. I had a shaved head, a missing tooth… (a common theme in my life, really need to learn how to fight one day) and a sketchy history.
That was when I was reborn into a new life… I was willing to do ANYTHING to make it. I had lost a HUGE amount of money and was completely broke. I mean bankrupt on so many levels… Emotionally being one of them but the corporate one is what got me down. Previously I was the CEO and Founder of the Re-cell Technologies Corporation. We were “recycling” used cell phones. I had a sales office, warehouse, and outbound call center setting fundraisers for schools and non profits where they collected cell phones and I bought all of them good bad or indifferent for $1 each handset. I sold them for anywhere form $10 to $120 wholesale to Pre-Paid Vendors all over the globe. My first deal in that industry was 150,000 nextel i700 bricks to Vietnam. I made $37,500 commission brokering a $150,000 deal. After that I managed to maintain a volume of at least 10,000 pieces per month. The average was 20,000 used handsets a month. The ebay store alone did more than twice the annual median income for the nation.
All I had to start that company was a cell phone and a laptop. No money. Until I brokered that deal, which I found on the web… and through some mentors I had at the time.
@JfromtheD That was before the bubble popped but I believed in myself, I was doing positive things. I stayed in the positive always. Thanking God daily for the positive results I didn’t even have yet. But I acted like I had them. I even pictured myself with a new truck and nice place. Every time I would do a house I would picture myself living like my clients and thank God for letting that happen to a bum like me.
(Don’t let your butt pucker, God could mean Good Orderly Direction for you… I don’t know. Maybe replace with Good Old Dude. I did still call God Dude all the time. There is more than one way to get to Dennys, I’m not preaching either. I said spiritual; not religious.)
Basically I believed in myself and what I was doing enough to keep pushing despite what people around me were saying.
I started my first window cleaning company during the bubble. Everyone said I would fail. I proved them wrong. Tell me I can’t do something… I will tell you to watch me.
In 2006 I borrowed $50 from a guy to get a squeegee and a bucket because I was living the spiritual path and didn’t want to do anything suspect at all. I still live that way… glad that stuck. Well… we all fall short of our chosen ideals from time to time. We are human. It happens. Don’t beat yourself up. Just do better on the next one.
I learned the Biz… Here. I darn near doubled in size every year in Edmond OK. For a while though… I would average $1500 weekly all year round by myself because I had all my resi on a quarterly or semi annual route. I worked about 20-25 hours a week and just focused on my spiritual growth the rest of the time. So I can see how one might wanna get complacent. I did it. But now I know what not to do.
Back then… I wasn’t as jaded as I am now. I believed what people said on the internet was true. But I am a big believer in my own investigation of the truth. I don’t blindly follow what people tell me. I ask my self… “Self, why are they telling me this? Maybe I should consider the source on this one before making a decision.” Just in case you are interested. Here are the four decision making principles that guide my thoughts and actions throughout the day.
**The Four Absolutes: **
Honesty
Purity
Unselfishness
Love
So I live by practicing honesty at core levels with all my interactions. You guys have seen that here on the forum. Sometimes I amaze myself with my overshares. The real questions to ask when faced with decisions in life…
-
Is it Honest or Dishonest?
Am i honest with myself about my motivations for wanting or doing this? Am I being completely honest with all those involved? -
Is it pure or is it not?
Would it be the “right thing” to do for all involved? -
Is it selfish or unselfish?
What are my real motivations? Is it a win win? Am I being kind with ulterior motives? Is that not dishonesty? -
Can I honestly say if I do this it is being done with God Centered Love?
If I can answer the right answers to all four questions. I know I am making moves in the right direction.
Even during a recession.