Is New Age Really So New Age At All Or A Big Moneymaker?

By: Rick London

I fell in love with a former girlfriend for a whole new reason, that is, a different reason than when I'd had the one before her. It had nothing to do with looks, money, social standing, or anything like it. She had gone through a similar struggle as me, actually one much larger in scope, and not only survived but prospered as a major Beverly Hills Attorney. I, struggled as a writer and cartoonist for several decades, not such a dramatic story as hers, and finally "made it". People ask us often, "How did you do what you did"? (they ask her much more so than me). The one thing we agreed upon was developing organizational skills, having a plan, and acting.

Since I went back to school and studied Internet marketing, she always said I was better at it than she was. I am not so sure that is true. I spend more than half my day doing advertising and promotions and don't make nearly as much income as she does. She doesn't even have a website or advertise and people are always lined up at her office door. So who is the better marketer is a bit of a moot point. Her clients market for her via word of mouth. And it works well.

I, on the other hand, though a bit clumsy and not as organized, have managed to create some exciting things on the Internet. But, if not for the Internet, I do not think they would exist. One, for instance is the largest cartoon website which lures about 4000 visitors per hour or 4.5 million people per year. From that I've expanded it into 5 different e-stores with my cartoon products (over 80,000 of them in 23 different categories). I invented and have a patent pending on the world's first fully-automated medical device. I did not get rich (but I do make a lot more money than I did before I took action, conjured a little confidence and started from ground zero. (I was working out of an abandoned warehouse in rural Ms. but that's a whole other story).

My ex and I are alike in so many ways and not alike in others. When I was young, I was quite the "car person"; loved fast cars and even raced them at the track. But today, I'm happy at age 53 with my four cylinder Saturn and she's happy trading in her new Mercedes for another one every year.

I live in the Ouachata Mountains in Arkansas. She says we "think small" and work too hard for too little. I wish Sam Walton could hear our conversations regarding "small-thinking people from Arkansas".

I don't really get much into New Age philosophy. Let me rephrase that. i do and I don't. I get into it from the biblical point of view, because, that is really all it is; ancient text rewritten ever so gently and packaged beautifully. And if we don't watch out, some "guru aka false profit" is getting rich as I write this. I prefer to read the same material free from ancient scriptures. Yes, its a harder read, but its the same thing.

I don't believe in gurus. The "real guru" is in all of us. Dr. Vinton Cerf, the Father Of the Internet and founder of tcp-ip while a sophomore at Stanford, long before he became a PHD, leveled the playing field to knock down the "so called gurus or captains of business"; so that all information would be available to everyone. If we utilize the Internet correctly and absorb all the good information on it, who needs gurus, who needs new age, who needs to spend an extra dime for any of that? I surely don't.

Life is what it is. I can't debate with her about income. If I want to make more, I will promote my business more, go to law school, or both. A good lawyer, historically, makes a better income than a good cartoonist and e-tailer. But I don't like law. Grew up with plenty of lawyers in my family and though they made a great living, very few of them enjoyed it. In fact several quit and one never even practiced after daddy paid for law school. So it goes.

She wants me to "live the dream". Ok ok. I don't like that term. It sounds so MLM-sh and I feel like I'm in Egypt starting a Pyramid scheme. But I digress.

Carl Jung was in full agreement. He felt it wonderful to live a spiritual life and live in the now as well. Too much attention on dreams can make "Johnny a dull boy", just like too much attention on reality can too. There has to be a balance. And that is an art. And that art, like any skill, can be learned.

Jung warns us that once we have achieved our dreams, we may not necessarily be 100% happy; in fact, he adds that we can almost count on that. That does not mean not to pursue happiness. It is part of our personal and national Constitution. It is just to realize that reality. We will always have problems and issues, no matter what.

In our culture, we correlate happiness and success with our bank account. We were taught that in our formal education, and its a big mistake. Yes having a big bank account is wonderful, but that's not all there is to it. One has to do what one loves to do, to build one's own happiness, not let anyone else do it; not a boss, a spouse or anyone else. They can add to it like we can add to theirs, but they are not THE SOURCE.

I make less money now working at home than I did in the big city corporate world. That is just fine with me. I love working in my jogging suit. I love being able to stretch, make coffee, and take a long walk when I feel like it. I love that the Internet allows me to make an income based on past work, my products sell by others who are affiliates. They make good money and so do I. I can sit back now, and create work for others and myself. I had to work hard every day for a decade to allow that to happen. You may be a faster learner, but it took me awhile to figure it out.

It is insightful to read autobiographies of captains of business such as Bill Gates and others. They struggled too. They had many missteps along the way, many failures. They discuss them. It was those mistakes that led them to finally do it right. Alfred Nobel invented dynamite before he invented his famous prize. It was for blowing up mountains to build cities. When he learned the military was using it for killing people he fell into a depression. That is not how he wanted to go down in history. So he re-invented himself. So can you. So can I.

I have many wealthy friends, many middle class, many upper class, many lower class; I really don't find any of that important as a requisite for friendship. I love being around people who are doing things to try to improve themselves and others. If someone is out there just trying to make a lot of money, so be it. They bore me. If they are out there trying to provide the best service, product, or creative endeavor out there, and whether they make a pot of gold, or not, I will hang with them.

No two people are alike. One person's dream may be to travel the world while another might be to build a wildlife refugee.

But that is okay. We are in the 21st century where live and let live is the name of the game.

I will continue to "live my dream", even if my better half thinks I'm "not thinking big". I've seen more big thinkers in bankruptcy court than checking into The Four Seasons Hotel.

"To thine own self be true", Shakespeare said. It was a short sentence but a most memorable one, and memorable for a good reason. If we learn nothing else about life, that statement describes life. If we are not who we really are, we are the walking-dead, striving to be someone else. It is not a fun way to live, though way too many buy into it.

Paupers and kings are both happy if they are true to themselves. Both are miserable if not.