What Color Is Your Parachute 2018 by Richard N. Bolles copy

Is It as Difficult as We Are So Often Told?
Sometimes taking this step is easy. Sometimes it is super difficult. Let’s
consider a couple of real case histories.
Case History #1. A. J. was trained as a physical therapist. He had no
difficulty finding work, at local hospitals. But he fretted about always
being indoors; he wanted out. He considered his assets: he was a
skilled photographer, he was a good furniture finisher, and he loved
thrift shops and flea markets. So, to start, he taught himself to become
an expert on a certain period of furniture, and learned how much fans
of that furniture would pay for pieces from that period. He then began
to tour local thrift shops, flea markets, estate sales, and his local
Craigslist in his area, weekly, and looked for pieces that were for sale
at prices below their true worth. He bought the pieces, took them
home to his garage, finished them off so they looked beautiful, took
attractive well-lighted photos of them, and posted the photos, with
prices, on his local Craigslist (www.​craigslist.​org/​about/​sites). He
quickly became known for his expertise, and thereafter people
flocked to buy any furniture he displayed on the Internet. In fact, he
kept a local list of repeat buyers and would often email them a photo
of his latest finds, before listing the item publicly. Naturally, he
crafted a mark-up in price from what he had originally paid; and soon
he was making—and is still making—a very good living for himself
and his family. He is outdoors all the time.
Case History #2. C. W. was a homemaker, with a daughter in her teens.
The daughter belonged to an organization that sponsored an annual
collection in her small town of stuff that people no longer wanted. C.
W.’s daughter was one of those who did the pickup. On an appointed
Saturday, that organization then had a town-wide sale, of all the items
they had picked up. They made a considerable amount of money.
What they couldn’t sell, they took home, confident they would figure
out, in the future, what to do with it. The daughter brought home
about 150 books. They stored them temporarily, in a room just off the
living room. Visitors to that home would see the books, and say, “Oh,