I’ve always been a private person. To a fault really.
But over the last year I’ve been making an effort to open up more. And for some reason, whenever I do share some personal stuff with my readers, they seem to enjoy it.
I don’t know why that is really. What I consider to be boring details of my life, usually generates lots of nice emails from my readers. Many I haven’t heard from in years, or have never heard from.
And that makes it worthwhile. Because online business in about connecting with people. In fact, life is about connecting with people.
So today I want to open up a little more. I apologize in advance if you could care less about this stuff. Because as you’ll see, my life is relatively boring.
(If this starts putting you to sleep, you’re welcome to click away at any time. I don’t mind, really.)
OK, here goes… 11 things you probably don’t know about me.
1. I’m gonna be 52 this year. There. I said it. I’m getting old. Well, relatively speaking. I hear from lots of my subscribers who are in their 70’s, 80’s and even 90’s so I have a way to go. And getting older is not so bad really. In fact, the current me always seems much wiser than younger versions of me. And that makes me feel like I’m getting somewhere. But I’m sure I’ll feel that way 10 years from now too.
2. I live for my family. My wife Beth and I have been married 20 years. We have a daughter in college and a son in high school. Our daughter just got her driver’s license and our son just got his permit. It scares me to see them driving but I enjoy no longer having to taxi them everywhere. In fact, I can’t believe the extra free time it has given me!
3. We have a cat named Butterscotch that wandered up to our house 10 years ago and decided to stay.
4. I dislike politics. But I can’t help but follow it for some reason. In fact, I have a confession along those lines… I’m warming up to Bernie Sanders. Even though I consider myself an independent now. The thing is, I agree that in a country as rich as ours, health care should be a basic right for everyone. And free college sounds like a great idea too. I know someone has to pay for it, but if he can figure out how to get most of the dough from Wall St. then I think it could be great for America.
4b. 1000 Republicans probably just clicked away. And I get it. I was a Republican once.
5. I drive an old 2004 Toyota 4Runner because it gets me where I want to go, plows the snow off my driveway, and I don’t like car payments.
6. I have bills and credit card debt. For some reason some of my subscribers think I’m filthy rich, but I’m not. I have bills like everyone else. Sure, I’ve made a lot of money online but like lots of other people I’ve also made some questionable financial decisions — including some poorly timed real estate investments just before the market crash of ’08. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not broke or anything, but I’m certainly far from the 1%!
7. I take a lot of supplements. I avoid prescription drugs at all cost. Anytime something ails me I research natural remedies on the web for hours on end. I research the science behind why certain natural remedies work so well then before I try them I read lots of customer reviews on Amazon and other sites.
As a result I feel great most of the time despite my age creeping up on me. I take probiotics for my sketchy, lactose intolerant stomach. I take glucosamine and chodroitin to keep my knees and other joints pain-free (old sports related issues). I take high doses of vitamin C with Lysine and Proline to keep my arteries clear. (I learned that trick in this book written by one of my subscribers.) And I take orange peel extract when my occasional heartburn flares up.
8. My favorite hobbies are golf and poker. I used to play a lot more poker but got a little tired of it. I was once knocked out of a poker tournament by James Woods, the famous actor. Now I just take my mom to the casino once a month. She plays the penny slots while I play Texas Hold’em.
As most of my readers know, I love golf. I’m a total golf addict. I play 2-3 times a week in the spring, summer and fall, and I play once a week indoors on a golf simulator during the winter.
Heck, I even run a golf technology website in my spare time so I can stay abreast on the newest golf technology and help my fellow golfers to the same. My goal is to get my handicap down from my current 8 to about 4, then get certified to teach in my spare time. I just can’t get enough golf for some reason.
9. I used to be a telephone man before I started my online career 20 years ago. Yikes. It’s hard to believe I’ve been earning my living online since 1996. When I started out most people had dial up Internet access on AOL or Compuserve. The big search engines were Yahoo, Lycos, Ask Jeeves and Webcrawler. (If you remember those you’re probably as old as me!)
10. I love technology. I spend a couple hours a day on my laptop. I use my Samsung Galaxy S4 smart phone way too much. I watch golf videos on it. I use it to check stocks. I use it to shop on amazon and ebay. I take memos when things pop into my head. And I always have a game of Words with Friends going with my 77 yr. old aunt in Florida.
11. Oh, I almost forgot. And we have a 9 year old Yellow Lab named Yellow Dog who my kids named after the dog in that movie Funny Farm with Chevy Chase. He likes to wear a black tee shirt and sleep in my recliner.
There. Pretty boring stuff.
But it’s my life and I wouldn’t trade with anyone.
And I mean that.
Jim Daniels
BizWeb eGazette
Jim, just wanted to let you know that I loved your email. You are so relateable (not sure that’s a word, but you know what I mean).
Thanks Kay, I appreciate the kind words. 🙂
Jim, I read your story with interest and learned something I hope will solve a problem I’ve been fighting with…statin drugs … This last month I made up my mind I was no longer going to “ache all over” for the rest of my life, so it was quite a coincidence to read about the Vitamin C, Lysine and Proline thing … and I bought the book you mentioned.
FYI – Some ten months ago, I learned my heart “ejection fraction” had been dropping after a 2 yr. bout with “Gillaine-Barre-Syndrome” had interrupted my (moderate) exercise routine…so I started on “CoQ10 and Pycnogenol” per an Italian study that documented a 20% increase in ejection fraction after 12 weeks. I achieved the 20% and am continuing the program…had immediate increase in energy. (I’m now 81+). Keep up the “opening up”. It’s a great idea. Cheers, Burt
Hi Burt, I think you’ll like that book. David Leake, the author is a long time BizWeb eGazette subscriber and I read the book a few years ago. I also did a lot of research on the subject which I urge you to do as well. Very interesting stuff and David’s own personal story is fascinating.
Jim you are a inspiration, and sharing your life to show how human you really are, I have had your e-news since you started and enjoyed your journey, keep inspiring the world you do it so well and look after the family…….I am married 46 years, 65 years old, and at the grand children stage and loving my role as Consultant and Sales trainor to my part of the world.
Great to see this from you..
Thanks for taking the time to post this Richard. I’m glad you enjoyed reading this. Gosh, 46 years! Congrats to you and your wife. I’m hoping the grand kid stage is still quite a few years away but look forward to that too. One thing is for sure, it all goes by in a blink, so you need to enjoy every moment. Here’s to your continued success Richard…
Hi Jim,
It´s a very nice post you´ve written.And it´s very nice to get you know, and see who you are. I agree with you to take natural remedies and not “traditional medicine”! I try to eat all clean, we´ve why all health-boosting foods on our Earth, from fruits,avocado,citrusfruits,nuts,grape,turmeric,cocosnut to beetroot (it´s juice is especially good for heart,gut,brain) to olive oil,dark leafy greans as kale then carrot all with their healing power. And then there are the cutting edge new (alternative)science results that brings us the natural remedies curing potentials (even cancer),way better than the toxic chemical pills .But skip grain,corn,sugar and the gluten the enemy of gut,brain and the whole body.If you´ve heard of Dr David Perlmutter and his books – Grain Brain and Brain Maker – or Dr Peter Osborne, with his book – No Grain No Pain – and his Gluten Free Society and other new thinking doctors how they treat and cure their patients from all kind of long term illnesses,yes this radical new approche is promising. Cure and preserve health with natural food (like our ancestors did) is what I´m applying. Thank you for your letter and best wishes Gabriella