Why am I going on a tour?

Yesterday would have been a good day to tell you about my tour, but I write what is on my mind, and yesterday I was irked by my environment. I don't work as well in a messy environment. It stems from my training as a writer. My journalism instructor once said (I'm paraphrasing): "Before you can report on something you have to get your own house in order." He meant that you ought not report on someone else's wrong doings unless you yourself are without misdeeds. But I also liked the idea that you can't organize your thoughts if your immediate surroundings are in chaos. So I like to have a clean uncluttered work space before I sit down to write. it just feels more peaceful and I accomplish more when I feel calm.

About my tour....

I left Girard, Pennsylvania 2 years ago to start a tour of the US and Canada but the stress of the previous 7-8 years (more about that another time) had taken its toll on my health and I got as far as St. Catharines Ontario. So I got sidetracked and bought a condo, my first-ever home purchase. Big mistake. After running for the board of directors and being rejected in favor of men who have no business experience or management background, I have been harassed and bullied by the 5 members of the board of directors and the property manager... to the point of having my fundamental rights under Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms denied. So I am selling my condo at a loss in order to get away from the bullies. And then I can write about them without fear of retaliation.

I will resume my tour this fall, this time with a different purpose. Originally the mission of my tour was to teach about civility and empathy as an antidote to many of society's ills. Obviously that didn't work in my building. This time my mission is Spreading Prosperity. My passion is showing people how to generate more income as a consultant/advisor. I call it building an "advice empire". My clients over the past 30 years have been how-to authors, consultants, physicians, lawyers, speakers, etc. but business fell off drastically when I was unable to speak to associations, appear on radio and TV. Nobody would hire me because I have been invisible for nearly 10 years now. I want to be visible again, not to generate clients to promote and publicize as I did, but to promote myself as a speaker, consultant, author, teacher. I will generate an extraordinary income only if I assist others in generating excellent incomes. I also encourage people through one of my other businesses, Handy Ande, to start personal services businesses like personal shopping, errand running, pet sitting, organizing/decluttering, etc.

Considering that I have had very little income over the past 10 years, my plan is to sell everything I own, and travel and live in a 2002 Ford cargo van as my "poor man's RV."(Click on today's header at the top to see a photo of the van.) I plan to generate an income from which I can live in my old age when I can no longer work. I have no retirement funds or investments so this is definitely a working tour, not a vacation.

I will stop at newspaper offices to promote my business advice column, stop at talk radio stations to promote my books and businesses, consult by cell phone and email, write another book, and a bunch more activities which are listed on my web site's home page: http://www.AndreaReynolds.com

Necessarily, I will need to live very frugally, finding places to stay that cost little or nothing. By that I mean parking overnight in parking lots by permission (churches, shopping malls, schools) and in driveways of homes where I am invited. Without electricity I will need to either pay for or barter for electricity to recharge my cell phone and laptop - I have a 100 foot utility cord - Internet connection, freezing of ice packs for my cooler, empty waste, refill water jugs, even a hot shower, etc. I'm willing to do an hour of household chores in exchange and lots of people all over the US are taking me up on my offer. I'm not expecting a free bed or free meal. But I would love to be able to set up camp on a piece of level ground for a day or two. maybe an unoccupied section of a back yard, farm, or a private acreage. I have a tent, screened gazebo and a dog fence to confine the cat. I can't cook inside my van, and many parking lots don't allow cooking, and I don't want to spend money on fast food restaurants. I want to buy groceries and cook a decent hot meal every so often. Salads and fruit will be my mainstay, but some protein is important too. I'm a conservationist, a former girl scout and camp counselor so I know safety procedures and I leave a spot as I found it.

Next week I'll tell you about my Wish List which I am working on.

Andrea