The Loser, the Workaholic, and the Home Business Opportunity

This is a tale that takes place in Anytown, USA.

You know the characters. They are both always daydreaming of a better life. A life free from work. A life free of debt. A life enjoyed as a family.

They both pursue their dreams, but in different ways.

Shortly after graduating from college, the workaholic was offered his “dream job.” Nine to five with free vacations and two weeks of vacation each year. The pay wasn’t too much to start with, but there were miles above him on the corporate ladder. All he had to do was climb and a better life awaited with every step.

The Loser took a similar job at a different company. The hours were a little different, from eight to four. Other than that, you couldn’t tell the difference without reading the company name outside of the office.

Day after day, they both climbed the ladder. Then after a couple of years they both realized they were working 10 hours a day instead of 8.

The workaholic kept going. “If I just hang on a few more years, I’ll be on top with the life I want for my family,” said the workaholic.

The Loser took another approach. He stopped climbing. Instead, he spent the afternoons building a business from home.

When the workaholic saw what the loser was doing, he despised him. “Those things never work! You’re wasting your money! You’ll never get anywhere!” said the workaholic.

The Loser was actually hurt by those comments, but moved on. You see, at this point, the workaholic was making more money than the loser; but the workaholic also spent all his time at work.

A short time later, the Loser and his wife were at a school play. All the parents were there. Well, almost all of them.

The Loser found the Workaholic’s wife and daughter. “Where is the workaholic?” asked the Loser.

“Oh … he had to work … okay, I have a videotape for him. He said he thinks he’ll be able to see it sometime next week,” said the workaholic’s wife. “How is that business of yours from home doing?”

“Oh, okay. The workaholic and I are making roughly the same amount of money now.”

“That’s good, but it must be hard to lose that money every time you take a week off, right?”

“I don’t lose it. They pay me even if I don’t work.”

“Well, enjoy it while it lasts. My husband is working for a solid income and pension. In the end, that home business stuff never works, Loser.”

Years passed and the differences became greater and greater.

The loser retired young … very young. In fact, his children were not yet in high school when he retired.

The Loser also received more money than almost everyone in the city. The Loser was able to spend as much time as he wanted with his family and enjoy life on his own terms.

The Loser was the top contributor to multiple charities it supported. Throughout the city, he was known and the most generous man who ever lived in Anytown.

The workaholic kept climbing. He missed his children as a child. He wasn’t there when they had school performances. He wasn’t there when they had birthday parties. You almost missed your graduation.

Every step of the way he was promised a better life, so he kept climbing. Yet each step made him one more slave to his job.

Even when I was overloaded and spent more than 12 hours a day in the office, I couldn’t stop. If he did, he would be fired. So what would he do?

Unfortunately, the pension he was promised never came. The economy took a downward turn, or so they told you. The few years of financial security for which he had sacrificed his life ended in an illusion.

It wouldn’t matter much. The workaholic had tried so hard he had little time left. When he realized that his life was ending, all he could think was that he never really knew his family. He missed all the important events in his children’s lives.

Looking out the window he saw what he thought was the Loser in the park. He was old now, but he was still active. He spent time with his grandchildren, just as he had invested time with his own children.

The workaholic turned his back on him and finally considered that maybe the Loser wasn’t really a loser after all.