ORLANDO, FL, May 9/MidnightOutpost.com/ Where can I go? “Now this is a place to go when 'you' have no other place to go at midnight.” – Making A Life We are republishing one of our most popular articles for a limited time. Originally published 03/12/2007

I woke up in the middle of last night. I'd left the TV on and “Conversations with Michael Eisner ” was on and Diana Ross was the guest. She was talking about the peaks and valleys in her life. I thought that this was interesting, at least the time that I woke up, and something about Diana’s statements, to learn from.

A quote from Disney’s “The Lion King ” – “the past is there to run from or learn from,” and since I am just coming out of a 12 year valley in my life, which, this valley in particular, I consider a learning experience and a big part of my purpose in my life to learn from. I can, so far, find no other reason for this valley except to learn from – “fighting and beating a Hostile Takeover attempt.” Who knows how or why I’ll “need” to know this “learning” in the future!

In the “early” years of the record business, in the 1950’s – 1960’s and earlier, the big bucks went to the record produces, managers, etc. and not the “stars.” Michaels question to Diana is, “do you feel that you should have gotten more [money] from yours and the Supremes early records?” Diana’s answer is great. (Diana Ross Hits ) Diana said, “I’ve always thought of making a life, not a living.” She went on to say that in making a life, money didn’t matter.

I thought that this is great. That is exactly what I’ve been doing. Others have gotten the lion’s share of the monetary benefits of my efforts, and I too believe that, to me, that “loss” does not matter! Money is easy to make, honestly. Wait, while that statement is true, for the point that I intent to make, I said that backwards. Making honest money is easy. It is so easy that I wonder how it is that others choose to NOT make honest money ! Why do they use, or at least benefit from the indirect use of, coercion to make a living? Wait, this article is not about others and why they do what they do. How do I make MY life better?

Making a life is also easy, much easier than making a living (although, sometimes not as monetarily rewarding, yet rewarding in other ways). So, I wonder why it is that so many people are consumed in making a living and not as consumed at “making a life.” Maybe it is because they measure their life in their things and stuff (material things and others opinion of them), not their legacy, what they leave society, how they benefit the others around themselves.

So why is it that I’m alone ? Well, when I see someone coming to me for their hostile take over attempt, I leave them and if they follow I go places so that they will not follow!

So why is it that those people leave me with no explanation? This may be related to what I see when I avoid someone when I’m so far away from them, with their short term view so short, that they never see me. Their hostile take over attempts are so loud that I wonder how anyone could not see them. My “knowledge” now includes skills that reject hostile takeovers so loud, and so visible that, maybe they see that their hostile take over attempt, which I don’t see, will fail!

Hostile take over attempts are usually driven by individual or personal greed , while mutually beneficial mergers are driven by the ideal of the common good (and Mutual Benefit (The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People) )!

So, these people that do not come into my life, well, now, I’m glad that they do not enter my life. With no other effort on my part, I’m spending my time with and surround by honestly, successful people [that do come into my life]!

Enjoy.

There is no such thing as coincidence!

Never believe/trust Lucy. Never believe/trust Snoopy.

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