August 19th, 2006 - Step Nine Completed
Step Nine picks up where Step Eight left off on August 15th, 2006, still at the same Mall.
After leaving the bookstore my wife and I went from store to store as I looked for loose change.
In all I picked up Sixteen cents($0.16) and while walking on the way to our car to leave I spotted something and walked past it but decided to go back and picked it up. It was what looked like a fake gold hoop earring. Perhaps I will be able to use it in some way to raise funds but it will be difficult. Now if it had been real gold, that would have been nice.
As I mentioned in the Time Line we drove to another Plaza with a KMart. In front of Kmarts I found a Blue BBQ charcoal lighter under a bench. It was in working condition and I will attempt to sell it to someone to raise some cash to add to the Stake. (They sell in the stores for about $1.99). I checked the fuel in it and it was a little more than three-quarters full.
The next day:
August 16th, 2006 - I found a bunch of bottles and cans that are returnable and I have added them to the stake for trading for ($0.05 each) at a later time. I picked up a full garbage bag of beer bottles and cans in only about 10 minutes. My wife was skeptical that I wouldn't find any more after finding a bunch on our road the day before but I hit the motherload at one point and there were so many that I could only pick up a portion of them. I will need to go back and get the rest.
*Caution: Personal Rant*
It is a shame that people are polluting the environment with their trash with no regard for anyone or anything. I do not have a high opinion of such people putting it mildly.
*Personal Rant Ended*
Anyways, we carried this bag of bottles with us to do some errands and I began to get concerned because our car began to stink of beer pretty badly and I was afraid if we got stopped by the police for some reason they would think we were drinking. We came to the conclusion that informing the officer that I am going from a penny to a million dollars collecting beer bottles would make a plausible explanation and that we wouldn't get arrested for D.W.I. Yeah sure!
August 19th, 2006 - I turned in for "Return" 20 beer bottles at Five cents a piece for a total of One Dollar($1.00). This was the first Dollar Bill I have received since starting the D.T.A.M.P.
Although I am repeating what I said in the Time Line, I wanted to put this here so I can add the photo of the *First Dollar Bill* I have received since starting the D.T.A.M.P.
Lessons:
(1). This experiment makes you go outside your comfort zones and you have to do things you may not ordinarily do to move along the steps. Sticking your hand in slimy puddles. Picking jammed coins out of machines. Walking around looking down all the time. Swallowing your pride and picking up a penny while people look at you strangely. Picking up beer bottles on the sides of the road while people look at you strangely. But again it is important to realize that to complete this project you are going to need to go outside your comfort zones and boldly wander into unknown and messy frontiers. But doing so will expand you and enable you to take each step without fear of criticism or judgment and that is paramount to success. I wrote a proverb a long time ago;
"Listening to other people will always lead you down the wrong path, one that is not your own and one that is filled with regret."
In this experiment, you will need to make your own decisions and take your own risks and it is best to listen to that still small voice in your gut before choosing the next destination. There will be a thousand voices, a thousand people telling you what to do, if they were you, but there is only one quiet inner voice that will tell you what the right thing for you to do will be. Listen to that inner voice.
Step Nine was now complete: $2.56
Check out the Time Line to learn all the details about Step Nine.
Motto: It is only "one" found penny.
Regards,
Xinfinitum
posted by Xinfinitum | 5:50 PM PermaLink
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home