The Search

I had just moved to Houston, Texas from LA, I had just discovered spiritual things, and was looking to switch from an ambitions "I have to be a success" path to more of a spiritual path, but I had no idea how to do that. I was still very much practical and was trying to find a way to live a spiritual life and pay the bills at the same time. Anyway this struggle or search if you will went on for about two years. In the mean time I did computer programming contracts, I am a programmer by trade (C++, JAVA), and these contracts were a convenient way to earn some money in a flexible manner while I pursued a more spiritual life.

At this point in time I still had no idea what my purpose was, what my real interest or inspirations were either. One of the problems with this life was the fact that I would only do the contract work when we needed money and then I would stop. So we kept having these boom and bust periods, which was getting kind of tiresome. The thing that made it hard to deal with was the fact that if I wanted to I could have gotten a high paying job that would have taken care of all of our money problems. But seeing how Houston Texas is an oil and gas town I was really dreading the idea of having to wear a suit and tie to a 9 to 5 computer programming job every day. I just felt that it would be really hard to get in touch with my spirituality and/or interests and live a balanced life doing that. I knew how some jobs could easily take 10 to 12 hours out of your day leaving you no time for anything else except sleeping and eating. Plus, most of my working life has been spent doing my own thing. I have had more businesses than jobs and am an entrepreneur by heart; it is just not in me to do the 9 to 5 thing.

But things were getting desperate. And after a failed attempt to take my computer contracts and start a larger consulting firm I threw in the towel and decided to "oh no" - get a job! I remember it was a pretty clear decision. I decided that I wanted a job with a computer consulting firm figuring that at least there I would only work 8 hours a day versus the 10 hour days and weekends many software companies insist you work if you are a programmer. I also wanted something that I would not bring home with me. Programming work is mental work and lots of times you get stuck on problems and it stays in your head and permeates your being, even when you go home. I did not want that. I also decided that I wanted to earn a lot of money figuring that a lot of money would make it worth the hassle. A the time “A lot of money” to me was $75,000. So as you can see I set a clear intention and was really clear about what I wanted, a significant point. It would be much later that I would realize the power of intention and knowing exactly what you want. As soon as I decided that I wanted a job, I sent my resume out to every computer ad in the Sunday paper, and by the next week there was one company that was very interested in me. I met with them and without hardly any effort I got the exact job and the exact pay I had intended on Jan 18th 1999. I had no idea that getting that job would be the catalyst for the most pivotal change in my life.