Those of you whom I have already met probably know I retired in 2020 from Costco after nearly 37 years. Many of my co-workers hung in there 40. Good for them! Looking back, I wish I had quit after my first summer.<\/p>\n
Not because Costco was a bad job or company (it was too good a job and too good a company). I earned a substantial raise my first summer with Costco, and from there I was quickly promoted too. The money was good and that meant a lot to me as I had been living dirt poor throughout my five years in college. (My father passed my senior year in high school, so after graduating high school, I needed resources to help me afford the cost of a higher education. Translation: I had to work during college in order to pay my way through college, and it took me 5 years to graduate \u2013 with nearly two degrees.<\/em>)\u00a0<\/p>\n I didn\u2019t realize it then, but in reality, Costco was giving me golden handcuffs. I happily locked them around my wrists for nearly 40 years. (Crikey! Who am I kidding? I still live and breathe Costco! Ha!) My original goal however, was to quit after my first summer. That\u2019s what I had told my first Costco boss. I explicitly told him I only wanted a summer job. I was young and cocky, but they hired me anyway. Looking back, Costco wasn\u2019t even a year old yet, so that and maybe the fact I had a college degree and an extensive background in retail overshadowed my egotism \u2026 maybe!<\/p>\n What’s my point? Fast forward from 1984 to 2019. I have had a full and gainful career at Costco. I am happily married, we have a nice home, the kids are grown, but I am unfulfilled working for Costco.\u00a0 Although I still enjoy the many benefits of Costco employment, I never really enjoy Costco employment. Some friends even tell me I missed my calling working for Costco. They tell me I should have been an entertainer or even a magician!<\/p>\n That was my first wake up call, but I ignored it. My second wake up call came in 2017. My doctor informed me that I have cancer. It was early stage cancer, so doctors assured me it could be treated, but I am not actually “cured<\/em>” till the summer of 2025. My third wake up call happens in 2019 when my second sister passes. A year later, 2020, and almost to the day, my only brother passes. At the same time there is Covid messing with everyone and everything. My grandson is born 6 weeks premature and is in the NICU for six weeks. Due to Covid, he cannot have visitors other than his mom and dad. Just a few weeks later, my niece, the daughter of my second sister who had passed the year before, is diagnosed with major heart trouble. Her life is threatened. At the same time, my last sister learns she doesn\u2019t have forgetfulness related to dementia, she has something much worse \u2013 an inoperable brain tumor. That isn’t a wake up call. It is a five star fire alarm. I tell my wife I have to quit and she completely understands and agrees. I tell Costco, in December 2020, that I am retiring. In February 2021, my last sister returns to God, and I wake up an orphan.<\/p>\n Since then, I have found so much fulfillment consulting, deepening my faith and growing my professional magic act. Up until my retirement from Costco, magic, since the mid 1990’s, had been semi-professional. It was more than a hobby, but working full time at Costco meant it could never be a profession. I think of it as like an unkept garden. It had great potential but needed TLC and a dedicated gardener. After leaving Costco, I became the much needed gardener. I went to magic school. I practiced, promoted and performed magic aggressively. Today I pursue it with happy energy and vigor. It turns out I didn’t miss my calling after all.\u00a0<\/p>\n Some like to say, \u201cWe only live<\/em> once,\u201d but I disagree. We live every day<\/em>, and we only die once<\/em>. Make the most of this moment you\u2019re in today. The truth is we only have this moment – “right now\u201d. Everything else is either a memory or a prediction.<\/p>\n <\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Those of you whom I have already met probably know I retired in 2020 from Costco after nearly 37 years. Many of my co-workers hung in there 40. Good for them! Looking back, I wish I had quit after my first summer. Not because Costco was a bad job or company (it was too good […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"\n Magic is also \"springing\" this time of year! I am booked solid for April and now both May and June are booking quickly too. I am so blessed by the variety of clients who hire me. We all have and an amazing time during my show. It seems all my clients are more like friends and family then they are clients or customers. I suppose that is the key to my success. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Things are changing too. Magic shows are hot tickets. There has even been a great trend for engaged couples to hire a magician and combine both their bachelor and bachelorette parties together. These parties are a hoot! <\/p>\n\n\n\n June is typically the month of weddings and 2026 isn't an exception. I'm involved with a lot more wedding reception performances too. Oh, and then there is the trade shows and conventions. One of my best clients has me travel to all of their convention and trade shows. I love it because I don't sell. I just perform for the sake of entertainment and this approach and attitude opens doors for my clients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When it is all said and done, life is great and I am so blessed! Thank you for allowing me to entertain you and your friends and family!<\/p>\n","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-newsletter"],"yoast_head":"\n