The move to Pennsylvania was to find a way out of the “rat race”, only to put myself back in deep. I never pictured me driving a tractor trailer, but when the economy fell hard, I needed a quick way to stay alive. But before it occurred, I was already making the biggest leap I would ever attempt, to become a sole proprietor. My goal was to simply build a school of concepts dealing with computers, and I thought being in a new environment I would be able to collect my thoughts and develop courses quickly. The first struggle was creating a theme. I used much of my credit to get the materials started, while learning how to get the most out of what I already owned. It started in April 2006. By June 2006, I was already making steps to a developing theme, and spending money, when I saw the news and President George Bush explain our economic struggle that had occurred. The machines ordered had to go back to the merchant even before arriving to my business, and I went into shock.

The biggest struggle with Video “How To” never was explored. I created three parts to using Microsoft Paint™, and placed on a website to see what the market reaction would be. I never pulled it off during my shock, and didn’t go back until I had decided to get a commercial driver’s license. Even that was only to be a means of working part time, while I found a way to recover the business plan. By August 2006, it appeared that I was about to lose everything if I attempted to be part time, driving school buses. With time and money going to truck driving school, I thought of going full time and over the road, and wait years to return back to computers. Now, I was back, and in a profession I never expected of ever staying in. Truth be told, I worked five to six months at a time, with a few months away and back to my business plan, and would work like that for more than two years.

The brainstorm came across to use the trucking trade as the role model to recreate the business scheme, and develop ideas around truck driving, but what could be applied to any business. This would only work if I could apply my work in computers to the real time work schedule of trucking. Those first three years involved understanding the role of trucking, then building the endurance, and finally finding the motivation to create more work by building a records keeping design to incorporate with the daily ritual of over the road truck driving. I knew I couldn’t do it five months at a time, and I was so far in debt. I had to find a way of staying committed to this business theme. That was when I made the greatest gamble, and signed up into a Lease Purchase program.

This was the biggest risk, since being in the military. I could have given up and lost everything I owned. At times, I was so desperate to stay focused with where I wanted to be, the business plan was my incentive to keep rolling. I wouldn’t see things working my way until 2012. Then, I was able to start paying off debts and get ahead, just as I finished the lease, and own the truck. The six year fight paid off, but I still had so much to bring me back out of that rat race. I still don’t see me out of harm’s way, but I do understand the attitude it takes to keep going (and not always rolling).

The last time I came to New Jersey there seemed to be a longing for me to come back by select family member. Looking back, wherever I went, from state to state, many family members wished I would stop in; but when I came off the road, that was not what I thought. I came off the road in February 2014, before taking the next challenge of running under my own authority. The reason was that I did not feel ready. I sacrificed not only time but time away from family. The challenge of owning a truck was that important to me. I am using the time to build a database, which will in turn be used in developing a software program to be sold. If I break it down into beta (test) software, it may be several sample programs. Doing it this way will help me gauge the interest, may explore the areas of improvements needed. Unfortunately, I found myself with so much paperwork to file and eliminate (I m supposed to be a paperless business). Some of my time needs to keep that with its own priority, or I will be hoarding another pile of paper, and stay unorganized.

I found myself opening another opportunity that not only involves building blogs, but another ambition in fictional writing, and I am calling it the Casey Farrelli project. The name is fictional, and divides the work of fiction from all other work, which naturally is the work of Todd Harris (me). The books, once completed and a copyright is initiated, will still be authored as Todd Harris, but the project will be addressed as the Casey Farrelli Collection. I always had a passion for writing but I never could just stay in one place and just write. I actually had written a novel and two playwrights, which I may be able to rewrite, and include them with the project. The original reason for not pursuing a creative writing career was because of the time away to simply create stories, and I as missing time with family; it is exactly what had transpired when I pursued ownership of a Freightliner.

The work I have now created for myself has changed my routine, and reflecting upon the time it took to create a routine with trucking and computing, the transition is much more expected. But time is money, and like any business, it has to start becoming a productive means of income; the business development period must be as short as possible. And, the One Man Show project needs to reflect this as well. The Driver’s Blog was broken into other headings for future +30 second instructional video’s to reflect all the work done in the past six years of trucking. That door I opened is supposed to be a step in a new direction, and it is uncertain is it can become something that merges with driving a truck, of if that door of opportunity needs to be closed behind me.

I really do want to return back to all my old blog writings, to see if I can keep them alive. And even if that door (of over the road trucking) is closed, any products made might challenge me to get back and roll again, to make sure whatever I make relating specifically to the truck driver can be practiced, exercised, and improved by me. For now, I am “thawing out” and organizing my records, to include preparing my taxes from last year. April 15^th is less than three weeks away. This passing year was productive, and I am expecting that I can maintain the same work ethics and steady production in the future to continue this possible venture. But like everything, there must be results and expectations. I really do need to show something in the near future, to keep all this real.

There is still so much more to do. Since 2010, I have been experimenting with a Driver’s Database, which currently includes many truck stops, a feeble attempt of recording weigh stations, weather and traffic telephone numbers, Truck information, and since 2013, I have started to include Customer [freight] locations, pat load information, and everything already recorded in the active spreadsheets. I have to go through these projects to see if a software product can be made for a market… which means I’ll be back to working with visual studio; another Microsoft product. At the same time, when it comes to my past blogs, I should make a record to include all my works, to show past times invested when not driving.

Any transition appear to be indecisive at first, and in the beginning of any new change, it is hard to gain anyone’s support, unless the goal is a brainstorm. But even brainstorms can go overlooked. I recall back when I was a kid, wondering why we don’t build a business by bottling water, and I joked around about solar powered flashlights while in high school. Decades later, some of my routes included the transportation of bottled water and not by one business either. There also seems to be some great flashlights built with rechargeable batteries, which actually charge by solar power. The strange thing is, I wasn’t the only kid who thought of bottled water and solar powered flashlights.

I had just finished recording all the previous posted Blogs on both the Driver’s Blog and the 1 Man Show Project blog. Like any starting databases, you start out with a table and a form, and most importantly, you start using it. The reason to do this is to not let it go stale from its creation. In this database, I have already had to move and stretch fields, and now, I want to include other fields, which means adding it to both the table and form.

Where to Go From Here…

Since February 2014, I have been trying to develop a new routine that will eventually lead to some form of income. Before coming off the road, I had added pages to the Driver’s Blog, for the purpose of short video Blogging. It will still be focused on one Profession, but the goal here is to keep it as general as possible to promote the ability to apply these concepts to any personal, academic, and business activity. Another project to start will be ideas to challenge those who see the possibilities and make them happen, called “Brainstorms”. This probably will be something shared on another Blog or social network. At the same time, there is the Casey Farrelli Project, already in progress.

Time is important, and although I am now out of the truck, it truly is up to me to set timeline, deadlines, goals, and expectations. I do need to get back to the truck, and get my own authority, and have pushed that time line from July to September 2014 (it may be pushed further depending upon my development and progression in this phase). This is the amount of time I have to build these projects, databases, video shorts on the blog, and implement a couple of bête software to market, and get feedback. The next time out, I’ll be pulling away from spreadsheets and record all information on access database, but will still work with the same aging mapping software, until the future software offers more promise and advancements. Once I build a video routine and timeline, I am hoping what I begin to do now will be able to be incorporated into the truck.

It is still a work day, and although I am unsupervised, time is money, and nothing has been presented in the form of monetary value…