Chapter Twenty-Five

2001 to 2002

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Having fun at work meant I desperately needed a new job, so I applied for an exciting role as a lead object oriented (OO) designer. That interview was easy, and by April 2001, the coveted consulting position was mine.¹ No longer needing to push theory, I was finally putting skills into practice for an organization already bought into home-grown distributed architectures.

Who needs a PhD?²

My first assignment was leading the design of a railcar management system using the Unified Modeling Language (UML) and the Rational Unified Process (RUP).

UML is used to communicate object-oriented analysis and design (OOAD) decisions.

RUP is a set of step-by-step procedures that support the who, what, when, and how of iterative software development.

The project was thrilling, and of course, many antagonizing villains emerged. But none were significant enough to drive me away; I wasn’t looking for a change. The business opportunity was simply intriguing. Not due to the lure of money, though that was part of it.

The freedom of business ownership captivated me.

Photo by engin akyurt on Unsplash

I was wary of the business model at first. That’s why I started journaling again in the spring of 2001. However, the more I wrote, the more I believed God was leading me toward it, not away from it. For example, since I was a new business owner, on June 5, 2001, he challenged me to observe a Sabbath. From sunset on Saturday to sunset on Sunday, I was to do no work that prospered my business: no bookkeeping, no selling products, no phone calls, and definitely not showing the plan.

Of course he would teach me to rest; he had already taught me to tithe. At the beginning, he challenged me to give $5 a week. Then he encouraged me to give $10. Over the next few years, my giving continued to increase until it reached ten percent of my income.

Tithing as a discipline protects God’s people from greed. Rest does likewise.

I wrote a poem on May 18, 2002, to describe an ultimate rest.

I will be taken care of

I will not have to labor for the roof over my head

I will not have to labor for the food on my table

I will not have to labor for the clothes on my back

I will be taken care of

I am taken care of—like a princess—like a queen—like a daughter of the king

I do not labor for the roof over my head

I do not labor for the food on my table

I don't labor for the clothes on my back

I am taken care of

I am the mighty encourager

I labor to bring souls to the kingdom of God

I labor to bring prosperity to the Church of God

Spiritual, physical, and financial prosperity

In the meantime, I was having fun as a business owner—sometimes. I enjoyed the products, especially the skincare and nutritional supplements. I loved going to motivational conferences—I always came home feeling like I was doing the right thing. However, after showing the plan to friends and family, which did not take long, I stagnated. I dreaded reaching out to people I did not know well to push a business model that was not my own.

Unfortunately, that was the only way to be successful in multi-level-marketing (MLM).

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Career Dream #3: Fulfilled (Software Architect Consultant).

Son’s College Education Dream: Fulfilled 2002 (University of Pennsylvania). He graduated from Penn in the spring of 2002. He also went to Harvard. Twice. Once in 1999, and again in 2001 to play football at Harvard stadium.

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If you have just joined us and are wondering what this story is about, start from the beginning. I promise it will all make sense.

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1. The position increased my income by 28%—just in time to pay for my son’s last year of college.

2. I dropped out of the PhD program.