- Molly, age 32, married mom of two young children. Works as a staff assistant at an elementary school. Her husband Rob works in a local shop that provides copier, fax and mailbox services as well as some printing. He sporadically searches for a position in his college major/ career field, graphic design, but has mostly given up. Molly loves beading, produces excellent work and dreams of having her own studio and selling her wares at various fairs & farmers markets. She'd also love to be home with the kids more often but realizes that Rob may never find better-paying work. A home business would provide extra income and a creative outlet without taking her away from her kids. First, though, she has to figure out a budget that will support four people on $40,000 per year, clean out the spare room and get her kids past the latest round of colds.
- Tony, 41, married with no kids. He sometimes thinks to himself that his job is his child. He's a software engineer and project manager for a large company that makes auto parts. His wife Ellen is a pediatrician. Between the two of them they earn more in a month than Molly makes in a year, but they have no free time. Both Tony and Ellen often work 12 hours a day, plus Tony is required to travel 2-3 times each month for work. Tony wants a dog someday but right now, even keeping a goldfish would be a challenge. Throughout high school and college, Tony played upright bass in school orchestras and electric bass in various garage bands. He'd love to get back into music, but how?
- Sylvia, 51, divorced with adult children who've left home. As the administrative assistant to the sales manager at the office supply wholesaler where she works, she earns enough to keep her and her two cats in comfortable style in her small urban house, plus fly out to visit her grandkids occasionally. However, she doesn't think she'll ever have the money to do what she really wants to do, grow organic vegetables on a small farmstead and sell them to local restaurants. She spends a lot of her free time watching the Food Channel and dreaming. Meanwhile, she's not getting any younger.
- Jake, 22, single. Recently graduated from a prestigious art institute. Works about 25 hours a week as a bike messenger to pay for his 2-room studio, pay off his college debt and support his writing and photography habits. Unlike Tony, he has oodles of time but no money. He also has foggy ideas of what he'd like to do with his life. It would be great if he could find something that includes both writing and photography, but so far he has no plan. He's been living day to day, earning just enough to keep his roof and eat, hanging out with his off-and-on girlfriend Kate, writing poetry and taking photos.
Before getting into the "how to" details, however, I invite you to take an informal survey of your own double life. If you're going to lay plans and set goals, you'll need to have an accurate picture of your starting point.
