Success Warrior: Alan B. Rowley II - Beachbody.com, P90X, Voluntaryism, Voluntarism

Part of Today's Reading: Edgar Lee Masters

Carl Hamblin

by Edgar Lee Masters

The press of the Spoon River Clarion was wrecked,

And I was tarred and feathered,

For publishing this on the day the Anarchists were hanged in Chicago:

"I saw a beautiful woman with bandaged eyes

Standing on the steps of a marble temple.

Great multitudes passed in front of her,

Lifting their faces to her imploringly.

In her left hand she held a sword.

She was brandishing the sword,

Sometimes striking a child, again a laborer,

Again a slinking woman, again a lunatic.

In her right hand she held a scale;

Into the scale pieces of gold were tossed

By those who dodged the strokes of the sword.

A man in a black gown read from a manuscript:

'She is no respecter of persons.'

Then a youth wearing a red cap

Leaped to her side and snatched away the bandage.

And lo, the lashes had been eaten away

From the oozy eye-lids;

The eye-balls were seared with a milky mucus;

The madness of a dying soul

Was written on her face —

But the multitude saw why she wore the bandage."

 

What's your critique of this work?

 

***

Remember, I'm going to be funding my return to college by being an affiliate of BeachBody.com products so please visit the site and make a purchase, no matter how small.  Insanity has been released so go check it out.

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Reading Meme

 
Since I'm low on brainwaves for anything other than school work, I've borrowed a meme from Mrs. Chili so that I can at least get back in the habit of posting *something* on a daily basis, with the mandatory pic for Mark.

Do you snack while you read?  If so, favorite reading snack?

I don't snack while I read.  I find that it's distracting.

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?

If it's a book that I intend on keeping, I don't mind highlighting passages and dog-earing pages for quick reference.  Most of my books are not kept though and so I try to keep them nice.  I return college books for a kickback to help fund the books of the next semester.  My personal books, I usually send on to friends that I think will enjoy them.

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears?

Bookmark or 3 X 5 card.  Every book order from the college comes with a bookmark so I have a bunch of them.  Not enough for this semester though so some of books end up with a brightly colored 3 X 5 card in them.  Sometimes I'll fold a piece of paper that has the assignment on it and use that and also use it to make notes on for the assignment.

Laying the book flat open?

Yes.  This is usually how I read.  I set the book on the table or floor and read.

Fiction, Non-fiction, or both?

Mostly non-fiction although now that I'm taking English classes, I've been reading a fair amount of poetry this semester. 

Hard copy or audio books?

Hard copy.  My 3 mile commute doesn't allow much listening time and I'm so busy with school that I don't run, which is when I used to listen to audio programs.

Are you a person who tends to read to the end of chapters, or are you able to put a book down at any point?

Any point.  When you have a 5 year old running around setting the house on fire, you learn to put the book down whenever necessary.

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop to look it up right away?

Yes.  I'm usually at my desk so it's easy enough to pull up dictionary.com.

What are you currently reading?

Yikes!

American Literature Volume 1, The Annotated Mona Lisa, Design Essentials, Foundations of American Education, Spoon River Anthology, and Integrating Technology and Digital Media in the Classroom.  Dewey and Frankenstein are on deck for this week as soon as I can finish the Spoon River Anthology assignment.

What is the last book you bought?

Market Anarchy Explained.  Still on its way from Amazon.com and I'm trying to figure out when that one will get read.

Are you the type that only reads one book at a time or can you read more than one at a time?

Thankfully, I can read more than one at a time.  Not only *can* I, but I can't seem to read just one book at a time even when I don't have to.  I'm usually in the middle of 3 or 4 so that I can pick up the one that I'm in the mood for.

Do you have a favorite time of day and/or place to read?

I like to read after Trey goes to bed or while he's at school so that there are fewer interruptions.  In the day, I tend to read on the couch.  At night, I tend to read in my office.

Do you prefer series books or stand alone books?

Stand alone books.  My attention span isn't long enough for a series.  =)

Is there a specific book or author that you find yourself recommending over and over?

No.  Some books remind me of certain people and instead of recommending them, I just send that person the book.  If the book reminds me of more than one person, I buy extra copies and have them sent.

How do you organize your books? (By genre, title, author's last name, etc.?)

Piles on my desk.

 

Welcome to my desk.

Piles with assignments printed out and stuck in the piles, to be more specific.  

My bookcase is kind of sorted by genre, kind of.

Favorite genre?

What makes the human mind tick?

***

Remember, I'm going to be funding my return to college by being an affiliate of BeachBody.com products so please visit the site and make a purchase, no matter how small.  Insanity has been released so go check it out.

Feel free to "friend" me on Facebook 

Wealth Without A Job Review Journal: Prep Day XVI - XIX

Disclaimer: Just like P90X, this is *my* experiment with a 90 day system.  Wealth Without a Job by Andy Fuehl might work for me and it might not.  If it does work, that doesn't necessarily mean that it will work exactly the same for you.  My hope though is that if it does work, what I did and went through might help others.

August 26, 2007: I didn't work directly on Wealth Without a Job.  I spent most of the day working on my idea for organizing my time. 

To accomplish what I want to accomplish in the next 3 months, I needed to be more organized.  I think I have come up with a system that is going to work for me.  It's interesting (that's a nice way of saying "completely nuts") and I'll explain it more when I have it like I want.  It's still pretty rough.

It's funny to have all the technology out there and here I am playing around with 3X5 cards but this makes so much sense to me.

I didn't get anything done at all on the 27th and 28th.  Time is running out on the prep exercises.  I am going to start on September 1st so I better get things rolling. 

Wealth Without A Job Review Journal: Prep Day XIII - XV

Disclaimer: Just like P90X, this is *my* experiment with a 90 day system.  Wealth Without a Job by Andy Fuehl might work for me and it might not.  If it does work, that doesn't necessarily mean that it will work exactly the same for you.  My hope though is that if it does work, what I did and went through might help others.

August 23, 2007: I finished that 5 year vision exercise.  I have done something similar a couple of times before but I was much more specific and detailed this time. 

I finished listening to the 3rd bonus CD and listened to another exercise just to see what it was.  It wasn't a comfortable chair exercise.  You actually have to walk around for this exercise.  It's still played out in the mind but uses physical space as a trigger.  At least, that's my guess.

August 24, 2007: My day job took up lots of time today and left me with no time for working on my WWAJ experiment.

That's the catch 22, isn't it?

Have you ever felt like you have gotten yourself trapped into doing something for money even though it's not what you're supposed to be doing and definitely not what you *want* to be doing?  The problem of course is that to break free in the most secure manner takes longer than necessary because you're using up time at the joooob.

Wealth Without A Job Review Journal: Prep Day IX - XII

Disclaimer: Just like P90X, this is *my* experiment with a 90 day system.  Wealth Without a Job by Andy Fuehl might work for me and it might not.  If it does work, that doesn't necessarily mean that it will work exactly the same for you.  My hope though is that if it does work, what I did and went through might help others.

August 19, 2007: I started back into the program as I said I would.  I went back to do the exercise that wasn't in the book.  It's a simple exercise but it plays into the one that follows (the one that I already did and will have to re-do).  It's a simple break from the everyday restrictions that we have put on ourselves.

By the way, as I explain these things, I'm giving my viewpoint and not necessarily saying what Andy Fuehl says about the exercises.  This is going to be a very much "from my viewpoint" kind of review.

You get a blank piece of paper and a timer.  You set the timer for 10 minutes and then you start writing everything that you would do or have if money was not an issue.  If you could do or have anything, what would you do or have?  You have to keep your pen moving for the whole 10 minutes.  If you run out of things to run, you need to dig deeper.

Andy doesn't say it but I think this is a great way to get back to the dreams that you used to have if you've let them be buried with your "reality". 

Life gets in the way of those dreams, doesn't it?

Or does it?

I know a lot of people that had dreams when they were younger but they tell you about kids and house payments and the job they really have and all that.  The dreams were nice but real life isn't like that.

I wonder if that's true or if we take our eyes off our dreams and follow the path of least resistance as we make our way forward in life.

I finished CD 6 too which has a lot to do with marketing.  It sparked some ideas and I'm hoping that there is more information somewhere in the program.  I'll go in more depth on the CDs over the course of this review.  With 90+ days, I'm going to have plenty of time to give you the scoop.

Wealth Without A Job Review Journal: Prep Day VI - VIII

Disclaimer: Just like P90X, this is *my* experiment with a 90 day system.  Wealth Without a Job by Andy Fuehl might work for me and it might not.  If it does work, that doesn't necessarily mean that it will work exactly the same for you.  My hope though is that if it does work, what I did and went through might help others.

August 16 - August 18, 2007: I didn't keep daily notes so I'm going to have to lump all the days together for this post.  My schedule, which is already tight, was thrown off kilter because I was watching an extra kid for 3 days.  The daycare center here hadn't opened yet and some teachers that my wife works with needed someone to watch their son.  Daycare opens up on Monday so the Success Warrior Daycare Center is closed after only 3 days.  Trey enjoyed having the friend over and we may have Trey go to the daycare center a couple of times a week so that he can interact with kids.

On with the review.

You will want to listen to the first 4 CDs before you get into the workbook.  I have listened to 5 1/2 CDs so far and they are getting a little more interesting and have sparked some ideas for me.  I need to be working in the workbook at the same time but these past few days haven't allowed that.

Listen to the first 4 CDs and start into the workbook is my advice.

Wealth Without A Job Review Journal: Prep Day II - V

Disclaimer: Just like P90X, this is *my* experiment with a 90 day system.  Wealth Without a Job by Andy Fuehl might work for me and it might not.  If it does work, that doesn't necessarily mean that it will work exactly the same for you.  My hope though is that if it does work, what I did and went through might help others.

August 12, 2007:  I listened to the first CD.  It was a refresher on a lot of information that I already knew but one was phrased in a way that it stuck with me and I shared it with my wife.

One of the rules for this program is that you have to stop complaining.  It's a great rule but it's easy to fall back into the habit.  If you believe in the Law of Attraction, you're just going to get more of what you're complaining about anyway so it's best to avoid it.

That being said, many people who look into this program are probably not happy with their current job and become prime candidates for complaining.

I shared this rule with my wife and we talked about it.  She agreed with me that it's a good rule and she agreed with me that it would be hard to stop complaining if you worked in a job that you didn't like.

Andy Fuehl said that you should try to go for a whole week without complaining.  If you complain, the timer starts over.  He said that most people take over a month before they can go a whole week straight.  I decided to give it a try starting on the 14th.  I may end up complaining that this rule is too hard.  =)   

Wealth Without A Job Review & Journal: Prep Day I

Disclaimer: Just like P90X, this is *my* experiment with a 90 day system.  Wealth Without a Job by Andy Fuehl might work for me and it might not.  If it does work, that doesn't necessarily mean that it will work exactly the same for you.  My hope though is that if it does work, what I did and went through might help others.

August 4, 2007: I didn't have much time but I had enough time to find out that the 90 days won't start for a little while.  There is quite a few prepatory exercises that you have to do before the timer starts.

The program came with a large notebook with worksheets and instructions and 11 CDs.  There are 8 CDs that describe the program, 2 Bonus CDs with extra exercises, and 1 CD that is some kind of live performance.

If I have one criticism after one day of working on the program, it's that there doesn't seem to be any instructions on where to start with all this.  It would have been nice to have a quick start guide or CD.  Maybe I'll find something as I work my way through the program but so far, no luck.

The first exercise in the notebook was to find out what your purpose in life is.  You do this by listing your natural strengths, how you currently exhibit those strengths, and then what you would ultimately like to accomplish (not necessarily in terms of making money).  You hook all these things together to get your purpose, at least as far as this program goes. 

I have more to say but I'm out of time.  This is late going out as it is.  The tentative schedule will be updates on Sunday and Thursday.

Here's a link to the book:

Wealth Without a Job: The Entrepreneur's Guide to Freedom and Security Beyond the 9 to 5 Lifestyle

If Enough People Tell You Enough Times . . .

Like I said yesterday, I've been blogging for quite some time.  In April of 2006, my wife and I decided to pay off all of our debts.  I created a blog so that I could journal our account.  My thinking at the time was that by having our attempt open to the public, we would try harder.  I don't know if it really helped motivate us because we were already pretty motivated. 

I explained what our plan was and gave tips out based on what was happening in our life.  I also started passing on information about finances in general, not just ours. 

After blogging for a couple of months about my plan and how it was working for us, people started asking me to write a book.  That was flattering.  I had no intention of writing a book.  My plan was simple and I felt that anyone wanting to follow it could just read my blog.  I told readers that I would consider it.

A visit from PTE Rick changed my thinking.

The Good War by Studs Terkel

I finished reading The Good War and have nearly finished the book report.  I have to submit the rough draft to the writing center by tomorrow.  I just need to do that last paragraph.  I got to that point yesterday and couldn't think of the right words to wrap it all up.  I thought I would take a break and come back to it today.

The book is a collection of interviews of people that were involved or affected by World War II, supposedly the good war.

It was great to read these first hand accounts and most of them agreed that even though it wasn't a good war (no war is good), it was for a good cause. 

A hypocritical cause but a good cause. 

It was an excellent book that showed what people thought about the war and about the US government.  There were so many things pointed out in the book that are just so messed up about war.  It really makes you wonder why we keep going to war.