When Your Dreams Change..

My wife and I were talking about "having dreams" and aspirations one day recently. One of her dreams when we got married in January of 2001 was to
finally go to college. She began her quest for a degree the same week we got married and expects to graduate this August with a degree in rehab services.

It's been a hard road. She returned to college later in life. We sacrificed time
and things to make her dream come true. She's worked like a Trojan and made the Dean's list a number of times. She battled with algebra and lost, eventually
going through testing that showed that she had a learning disability in the area of math. She trudged on and is now interning. The end of the quest is in sight.

I'm really proud of her.

I fought very hard for a dream myself. For most of my teen and adult life I really wanted to own a broadcast station. About ten years ago, I seriously persued this, but found the cost of buying, owning and maintaining a station were just beyond the reach of the average American. It's even worse now.

A couple of days ago, I was looking at the website for a local broadcaster. I know this gentleman, and he has built a station basically from nothing. He's surviving
but then I saw this on the website:

"It costs (station name to remain anonymous) $34,311 per month, or about $1,128 per day to remain on the air." It went on to appeal for donations and support.

How in Sam Hill can a station with no Arbitron rating, in a less than great radio market, possibly sustain that kind of support over the long haul? At the last radio station I managed, it billed about $10K a month and had expenses of
$6000 to $7000 a month. It did make $30K during the November 2004 election spot buys.

I retired from radio in 2004, shortly after setting up the buys for that $30K month, because the radio broadcast industry had become a non-win rat race to me. No matter what the station billed, it was never enough. No matter how much air time I sold, I did not get commissions, or even decent raises. I finally decided enough was enough and filed my retirement papers at age 46.

Frankly, my desire now to own a broadcast station has waned. I also had thought of being a foster or adoptive parent at one time, but I don't feel compelled to do that either.

Because I have a visual disability, I do have a desire to run a business from home. One that can help make a difference to people and improve their lives.
One that doesn't take $34,311 a month just to break even. That search has led me to explore copywriting and to the birth of Pro Results Advertising.

So what does the future hold? Right now, I think both my wife and I are at a crossroads. We can limp along like we are now, or we can explore new horizons.
We're both doing that now, she with a career serving senior citizens, and myself, with writing for both select clients as well as my own products and/or services.

We haven't lost our dreams. They've just changed as we've grown and learned new things.

Keep reaching for your dreams, too!