"Inch by inch, step by step...."

No, not Niagara Falls, like in the Three Stooges. "Slowly I turned, " etc etc.

Walking by faith, taking each day as it comes, following the path, entering the open door, etc.
We've all heard these maxims before, and we may have thought we were living them at times.

Typically unless there is serious illness or loss, we are not in the position to actually do so.
While we are young our parents shield us from the bad things in life.
We should not have to worry about jobs, politics or the economy.

And even though we do spend too much time doing so as adults, for the most part we are in that amorphous state of doing our jobs, maintaining our families, and living from paycheck to paycheck.

We live to please our bosses, and to keep our jobs.
It was not until the industrial age was in full swing that people started to work for someone else.
Most Americans worked for themselves, a majority at least in part were involved in agriculture.
Since all of my ancestors were farmers first and craftsmen second, I know how much faith their lives contained.
There is no controlling the weather.
Everything depends on it.
Crops carefully planted and cultivated, livestock raised from infancy, water for drinking and cleaning could all be wiped out with a bad turn of the elements.
Imagine working from springtime throughout the summer to have a severe early fall snow destroy most of the food and feed crops you have toiled to produce.
It made for a sparse Winter.

Both of my grandfathers worked away from the farm to earn extra money.
One as a carpenter for the coal mines, one as a master mason and Ice Man.
The women ran the farm in their absence.

Well, we find ourselves in that situation now.
It became obvious to me soon after I was 'downsized' (quaint term!) that I did not want to go to work for yet another company.
I've worked for all sorts. Small family run businesses, large businesses that started humbly, and most recently I went the Fortune 500 route, working for one of the oldest companies in American industry for twelve years.
A common thread amongst them all is that when it was to their benefit to cast me adrift, they did so without much personal concern. I even had one man tell me "Well, it was my boat or you." The boat was more important than my young family.

So we are starting our own business. The doors started to open for me in that direction, and it continues to be obvious to us we are pursuing the right objective.
My business partner and I hope to have the legals done by labor day.
We have a strong prospect that we will meet with next week to become our first company represented. They are local, their HQ is in RTP right here in Raleigh.
We will be manufacturers representatives. Instead of working for a company directly we act as third party sales, receiving a commission on everything we sell.
No benefits, or salaries as such. But also no boss, no vacation time, and no depending on one companies whim for our financial existence.
We hope to have six to eight such companies by the first of the year, including one Flagship line to lead our efforts..

Each day is an act of faith, there are no regular paychecks, and monthly commissions can be estimated, but may also vary wildly from month to month.

The odd thing is, my stress has greatly ebbed since I left the corporate rat race.
Everyone has noticed it, and my health has actually improved!
The nagging arthritis is still there and probably always will be, but the frequency and severity has most definitely reduced.
I'm more or less my old crazy self again as well.

It will be a long and sometimes difficult road ahead, but it is much easier to see who is in charge again.

And that dear family and friends is indeed comforting!