Who’s Wally?

Good question.

Most people define themselves by profession. Or job title.

“I’m a vice president at We-Gotcher-Effen-Money-And-You-Don’t Bank.”

“I’m a Starbucks partner and barista.”

“I’m a successful proctologist.”

I used to slip into that pattern, too.

I was a newspaper reporter and photographer.

I was a radio announcer and news director.

At one time or another, I’ve been a real estate photographer, publicity writer, magazine writer, newsletter editor, advertising and direct mail copywriter, marketing consultant, and even a public speaker.

My longest single run was 15 years as a corporate journalist and editor for a bigass exploiter of the planet’s natural resources.

My salary at that job was great, if inevitably limited. The medical benefits were outstanding. The 401K’s and employee stock ownership plans were truly top-notch.

Then the big mucketymucks shoved me and thousands of my comrades out the door in their umpteenth “restructuring,” as usually happens.

By the way, that company isn’t around anymore.

But I am.

And so it goes, as Kurt Vonnegut used to say.

Anyway, since I got the heave-ho from Corporate America, I never looked back. I haven’t been a wage slave in many years.

That’s a very cool thing.

But it isn’t an easy thing.

There’ve been plenty of sleepless nights.

There’s been a whole lotta marital angst.

There’s been a non-stop flow of self-evaluation, self-education, and personal reinvention.

But that’s life, right?

There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch.

Know what, though?

It makes for a fun if admittedly nerve-wracking ride.

Hey, I don’t have to live “where the jobs are” anymore.

My wife Debbie and I eventually got our butts outta Los Angeles and now live in a small resort community on the gorgeous central coast of California.

(The photo of us on this page, by the way, was not taken in California. It was shot at Dunn’s River Falls in Jamaica.)

I hear some people around here bitch that there’s no industry or jobs.

Well, that’s OK with me.

Most afternoons, I can sit in my backyard with a cigar, a pint of Guinness, and a laptop and “do business,” whether it’s writing, consulting, e-publishing, or internet marketing.

Hey, join me in my crusade to smash wage slavery one job at a time.

Better yet, why not lemme help you?