I don’t watch a lot of TV, and I’m watching even less now that I’ve stopped watching pro wrestling (don’t judge me lol). I missed almost the entire Olympics except for the last 2 1/2 men’s basketball games and, other than seeing some shows when I visit my mother, that’s about it, not counting watching a Star Trek Voyager DVD last Friday.

When I do pop the TV on, it’s usually on the weekend, mainly Saturday, and that’s because for some reason I love watching either the DIY or H&G TV shows, where they have people either looking to find new houses of different types or are showing a lot of skill in upgrading homes, something my wife and I hope to do with our own home someday.

As much as I love these shows, I have to admit that sometimes I’m watching a show that makes me wonder what’s wrong with my life. Actually, that’s not quite correct; I wonder what I’m missing, what most of the people I know are missing, and what are we doing wrong when compared to some of these people on TV.

You see that house above? How many people who read this believe they’ll ever be able to afford something like that? This isn’t a question of whether you want it or not; it’s a question of if you could if you wanted it (that’s my mother’s house by the way).

What makes me ask this question, or why am I thinking about it?

Because one of the latest shows I began to watch had this couple who didn’t seem all that much different than my wife and I. They were looking to buy some waterfront property in California. They had a budget of $1 million… yes, you read that right. Their problem? Most of the homes in the area they were looking at started around $4 million. 4 MILLION?!?!? :-O

Just to make this clear, I’m not close to jealous that people have this kind of money. I’m one of those people who believes that most people get what they’re earned or deserve, so that’s not the issue. The issue is that I want to be at a level where I can afford to buy something like this, whether it’s the dream I have for myself or not.

It’s not even the house that I’m talking about as much as the lifestyle. Imagine living a life where you have no issues with money, where you could decide to eat out every night or hire a dietician, build a media room with the best equipment, add a hot tub or Jacuzzi, fly around the world, or whatever it is you want to do without worrying about whether you can afford it or not and still pay your bills. Tell me that doesn’t sound wonderful!

I also understand that the cost of living is astronomical in some places, so the idea of a $4 million dollar home in areas like central New York is a bit ridiculous. Still, what about this house, which sits unoccupied on Onondaga Lake, which was just reduced to around $550,000? How many of us living in this area can afford this, even though I have to admit that based on its interior design I’m not sure I’d want it either (except for the master bedroom; wow! lol). For that matter, how many of us could afford to buy a house in Skaneateles, Glens Falls, and even Manlius; central New York locations for those of you who don’t live in this area?

One of the reasons I’ve always wanted to belong to a mastermind group in this area is because I’ve always felt that, while I like the idea of being a sole proprietor, what I miss is being able to talk to other sole proprietors on a regular basis to throw ideas around, be encouraged, give encouragement and help each other grow. After 15 years, it’s the one thing I really miss from the days when I was an employee like all my friends, being able to talk to people about “business” and put things in place to see what we could achieve.

It’s not a bad thing to have goals; I have plenty. The problem is that, if we’re paying attention properly, almost no one makes it on their own without interaction with others, either in their field of expertise or in some type of affiliation where they could talk to people who might already be where they want to be or are on a track to getting there. I was in a local consultant’s group for many years, and we were about 30-70 when it came to the real haves versus the “wish I hads”.

In any case, at least I know what I’m striving for and what I’m working towards. If I have to do it on my own then so be it. Maybe I’ll be the one to buy the house on the lake so I can renovate it to my heart’s content… nah! 🙂