Christian Home Based Business | GBG | Guided By God: Christian Homebased Business Gives Me More time for Music

Working from home in my Christian homebased business, GBG, gives me time to pursue interests. One of my interests is music. For several years, I ran the roads as a sales rep giving two-hour presentations on various products (commercial grade windows, walkin bathtubs, hot-tubs); then I worked for three years straight, working anywhere from 50 to 55 hours/week. During those time periods as I was draining my life away pursuing the almighty dollar, with no time left for family, music or any interests--I finally was forced into finding a plan B.

As a small child, with a very reserved and shy personality, I still knew that one day I would have a career in sales. My first glimpse into this field was when I sold newspapers in front of a grocery store and later branched out, riding a bus downtown to sell even more newspapers.  If you grew up in the 50's or 60's, you might remember a newspaper which came out once a week called GRIT.  During this time, my shy personality evolved into an outgoing personality with a smile on my face. As I look back on it, I realize I became a different person when I was involved in the selling process. The metamorphosis into that outgoing personality gave me confidence to keep endeavoring to pursue my goals of selling many papers each week.  I remember once when I was in the eighth grade, seeing a green long sleeved dress with white polka dots in a window. I really thought it was a beautiful dress and decided I was going to save the money and get it myself. I can still remember wearing it and the pride I felt in knowing I had paid for it myself.

Yes, from selling newspapers at 15cents to candy bars at 50cents to potato chips at 75cents-- I was always a winner in all contests (not because I had a parent backing me or selling them for me, but because I wanted to win--not to derive attention from others, but I craved the sense of self-satisfaction it gave me when I accomplished a goal. The same smile and determination which helped me sell a 15cent newspaper was the same smile and determination which helped me sell windows at $10,000 or more or even a walkin bathtub at $15,000. 

And, you ask--why am I not doing that now--driving the roads going into the homes of strangers to sell them a product they had requested information on? Well, the truth is--I made alot of money for awhile (I even made alot of money when I had my own satellite dish company), but you see--money is fleeting; it comes and goes. The money came and the more I made, the more lavish my lifestyle or "things" I purchased.

When I was laid off from a high-paying job in January, I reanalyzed my life and decided that some "things" were not worth the price. I had few close relationships, no time for church, no time for family -- and most of all, no time for me.

The first few months after being laid off, I thought I was going to be called back to the same job with the parent company, so I basically just rested and pursued one little part-time job. But after a few months had gone by and my car had been repossessed (because I had spent all the money I made) and my home reclaimed from the bank (because it was a lease purchase and the owner had to declare bankruptcy due to the fall of the housing market)--everything in my life was one big domino parade. The first domino came with the primary  house I owned and rented out to tenants. They also had a lease purchase agreement and fell behind in their payments and I had to evict them.  As I continued to make those payments, I lost even more of the money I had worked hard to save. The second domino to fall was the loss of my job due to cutbacks from the parent company. The third domino to fall was the reclaiming of the house I was lease-purchasing from the bank. The fourth domino to fall was an accident I had where the wheels were leaning inwards and the insurance company said it was like that before the accident and the dealership said it happened in an accident (neither would pay)--so, I let the bank repossess it. Prior to this I had almost perfect credit--even when I did not have a tenant living in my main house. But all this squeezing and stretching to achieve a better house was a big joke in the end. In the end, I was left with nothing. My life was a HUGE mess. 

The best thing to come out of it was that a relationship I had been trying my best to end for several years was finally "forced to end."  Because he had no house, he was forced to go somewhere else, and I sure was not going to force myself back on the road and again start the same thing over. Now, it was all up to me and my faith in God and his word to me that he had a good plan for my life.  I gave up everything to have everything--if that makes sense.

The first few months prior to the bank taking over the 2400sf house with the 3 acres of land had given me much time to think. I had lived there four years, and the reason I had moved there in the first place, besides the land, was that the house had about $40,000 worth of instant equity. I had acquired a payment I could barely afford, but now it was over. My beloved "promised land" along with my lifestyle was now gone.  I had loved the house because it was secluded yet was close to everything. There were birds, squirrels and rabbits to see each morning instead of cars whizzing by. However, the fact was, I had never had time to enjoy the house because I was working all the time. Yes, working hard to purchase a house which I could not enjoy because I worked so much. So, reality set in. Here I am 57 years old and the only assets I had was equity in these two houses, yet all equity was washed away due to the housing crisis.  I was like many other people, caught up in the American way of life.

But, you see--I am thankful to be where I am today. There are many people not so fortunate who have no job or hope.

I have hope in my homebased business, GBG, because I knew what I was looking for when I found GBG. I had already been using the product which was excellent, especially working 55 hours a week.  Most people who go into network marketing do it on a part-time basis, and then when their income from part-time matches or exceeds their regular job, that is when they leave. But for me, GBG, became my only vehicle for financial prosperity.

My opinion is that wealth is a state of mind. There can be many definitions, but true wealth is not in the money you have exclusively. True wealth is being able to comfortably live a life of joy and contentment in whatever state you are in. If it were just the money part, I actually had a choice to be able to live in a lifestyle where my financial and physical needs were met by someone else. Now, this type of situation may be the better choice for many--but for me, I needed a spiritual renewal and freedom. This renewal could only come in the lifestyle I have chosen at the present time which includes GBG, my Christian homebased business.

You see, I could even go back to school. The government has a grant which would allow me to do that. But I don't want to go back to school at 57.  Life is too short, and I have the intellectual knowledge I need to help me achieve what I want in life. I have no desire to go back and take classes in a career which I do not want.

My Christian homebased business allows me flexibility of time which makes me wealthier than most people on Earth. I have the opportunity to work from home and pursue many interests which I had not been able to do previously. I even get to sing in a choir at church as well as pursue my interest in writing to help encourage others who might be in the same situation.

My goal is to encourage those who do not have a job or those who feel vulnerable in their present job to be able to realize that their job is not the only thing in life--working to pay bills to go to work and come back home, rest a little and then wake up and do the same thing over and over is not the only lifechoice a person has.

I had my wake up call.  There is much more to life than a job.  Think about it.  During the next few weeks, I will be going off the Internet some because I plan on doing some work on a one-on-one basis with students going back to school to offer them an opportunity to engage in a homebased opportunity which will offer them residual income and a career which can always be their Plan B. Take it from me--the person who had no Plan B; a person is more open to options when half their life has not evaporated.

But, having said all that -- the past is in the past now. I'm looking expectantly towards the future, knowing in my heart that I have only seen the tip of what the Lord is doing in my life. What looked on the surface to be a disaster, is really a blessing in disguise.

You know, prior to losing my job, I didn't think about relationships that much. The work had numbed me to the emotions I needed which would give me much joy and a more rounded life. After losing my job, I got on Facebook and reacquainted myself to old friends and have made a ton of new friends. I have got my homebased business going somewhat and know (due to a variety of realistic factors), I will soon be achieving my lifetime goals working right from my house.

As I said , in the title of this blog today, my Christian Homebased Business has allowed me time for music. Music is in my blood. Music gives me joy, and now I have the time freedom to enjoy and pursue the enjoyment of that passion.

I wanted to introduce you to a young artist I found on YouTube. I really think she is amazing.  Her name is Kaitlyn Benton. Although I don't know that much about her now, I have time to learn more. You know it is exciting to wake up every day and know that the time you have is yours and you don't owe it to some corporation which cares nothing about you or your feelings.

Below is a video from Kaitlyn Benton, called "Impossible Love." It is very unique and I hope you like it as much as I do.