I grew up in Renton, WA, a small suburb just outside of Seattle.  Attending all grades of primary education in Renton and then ventured East to Wenatchee, WA, to attend college.  I attended one semester of football, uh… I mean college, and decided that it was not for me, or maybe I was not ready for it.  At 19, I up-rooted and moved to Dallas, TX, looking for a new start.  With no work experience or college education I really couldn’t expect much.  For the first 9 years I jumped from one job to another starting in a warehouse and later driving delivery trucks for companies like Dr. Pepper, Pepsi and UPS.  After 9 years of physical labor, I decided to look for a job in an office doing anything that did not require lifting, carrying or sweating.  The summers here are tough!!  Through a friend, I soon landed a position in a law firm as a legal investigator.  Before long I was moving to another firm for a better opportunity.  After 4 years in the legal field, I was approached by a doctor friend that asked me to manage his practice.  Knowing NOTHING about medical or management, I accepted the challenge.  Five years later the doctor opened another practice in East Texas and my family and I moved to run that practice.  A few years later he decided to close the East Texas practice because he was tired of traveling.  My family had really adapted to and enjoyed the slower paced lifestyle of our quaint little East Texas town and I decided to seek another opportunity in this area.  I soon found myself partnering with another doctor that had just gone out on his own and was needing help with how to do it.  We grew his practice from 1 provider and 3 employees to 4 providers and 30 employees in 6 years.  The growth had dramatically increased the time I was spending on the job and away from my family.  I grew more and more distant in my relationship with my wife and children.  I was making a great living, but not able to enjoy it.  The slow paced environment my family and I had come to enjoy was gone and I was stuck back in the rat race……

Fast forward 6 1/2 years.

Date: August 2009 -

A few months ago I was working as a medical practice administrator for 4 different practices.  I had been in  health care administration for 14 years often working 10 to 12 hours a day and not seeing much of my family.

With the Country in the midst of the worst economic crisis it has ever seen and the future of health care in the hands of the Obama administration, my company decided they did not need me any longer.  In an effort to cut expenses, they decided they could pay someone half of my salary and get by.  So, here I am, jobless, no severance, very little reserve and no way to pay bills.  I had grown accustomed to a pretty good salary and now nothing!  I knew I had to find something pretty fast.