www.davewestwood.com

I said in a previous blog, My Million Dollar Mission, that I live a modest lifestyle. But that doesn’t mean it is a simple life. Like many of you, I work a lot of hours. I also have a 22 month old son that runs me ragged when I get home, so it seems like I never have enough hours in the day. So money aside, one thing I am looking to accomplish in my mission is to have a more simple existence. To do that, I figured I would declutter the house a little bit. I went up in the attic and found several knives that belonged to my father. My dad was a bit of a pack rat and a collector. He loved getting stuff. There is still things I have of his that are still in the original boxes they were shipped in. I miss my dad, he passed away in 1988, 20 years ago yesterday as I’m writing this. I didn’t even think about it until I started writing this, so now I’m really bummed out thinking about it, and feeling guilty that I forgot this anniversary. Between QVC and the Internet, he would have been like a kid in a candy store if he were alive today. Anyway, these knives were in great shape and I would never use them, so I put them on eBay along with a John Wayne belt buckle (also my dad’s) and some books that I bought at a used book sale at the local elementary school ($5 a bag). I have sold stuff on ebay before, both for myself and for others, so this was a great place to start. Out of the 19 items I listed, 5 sold. Here’s the recap:

Vintage Gerber Folding Knife: sold for $60.00

Puma 465 Back-Packer Folding Lock-Blade Knife: sold for $45.00

John Wayne: A Tribute by Norm Goldstein: sold for $9.99

John Wayne Limited Edition Belt Buckle: sold for $10.49

And the winner is…Vintage Puma White Hunter 6399: sold for $261.89!!!

Although other items like the General Hospital Scrapbook and Fundamentals of Corporate Finance did not sell, I think I did okay here. Total after ebay and paypal fees: $284.19 .  Still waiting on a money order for one of the items, but I’m counting it in the totals.

As part of my New Year’s resolution, I’ve decided to go on a mission, my personal Million Dollar Mission. Why? Because I’ve been broke and I’ve had money; having money seems to have worked out better for me, generally speaking. Why a million dollars? Because that’s what conventional wisdom says the typical person needs to save in order to be able to retire comfortably. Also, it’s a nice round number that’s easy to remember. Now, my wife and I live a pretty modest lifestyle, so I don’t think I would need a million dollars to retire but the $759,753 mission doesn’t quite have the same ring to it. Most people earn well over a million dollars in the course of their working careers, but after taxes, housing, food and all that other stuff, few end up with over $1,000,000. So my mission is to make $1,000,000 doing things other than earning my salary at work. I want to do it by doing things I want to do, not things I’m forced to do to pay the bills. Ultimately, it’s not about being rich, and a million dollars does not make you rich, despite what one of my favorite bands, Barenaked Ladies might say. Nor does it make you unique. According to MarketWatch, 8.9% of all Americans are millionaires (about 2.6 million people). The average major league baseball player makes nearly $3 million dollars, per season. No, what it’s about for me is freedom. Freedom to make my own decisions. Freedom to sleep in if I want. Freedom to work when and where I want. And freedom to help others. That is what I feel I am missing right now. Although I do (hopefully) help some business owners and my company money, I don’t think I make a huge difference in the grand scheme of things. And that is where my Million Dollar Mission begins. As I continue in this mission, I’ll update you on my progress and hopefully inspire some of you in your own Million Dollar Mission.