I quit the structured, but secure corporate life, to pursue the ambiguous, but alluring life of entrepreneurial pursuit. I had started and developed small businesses since I was 15 years old. I thought business development just might be my calling. Over the years, I formed companies dealing with landscaping, remodeling, real estate, finance, construction and retailing. Some of these exploits were more successful than others, but they all provided me with a reasonable living. None the less, I continued to have a problem. Once the struggle for profitability was achieved, I became bored with the entity and I found myself, once again, looking out the window for some new opportunity. And so I found myself going from business to business seeking the elusive pursuit that would satisfy my restless spirit. I seemed to constantly thrive on a new challenge only to become hopelessly frustrated once success had been achieved.

A few years back, a friend warned me of the consequences of my rainbow chasing. He said "Steve, you’re not getting any younger. You can only return to the starting line so many times before you run out of steam." I understood his admonishment, but continued to pursue my fickle dreams. And then one day, not long ago, it hit me like a bolt of lightning and a surge of enlightenment immediately changed my perspective. For years, I have been a devout student of economics, politics and social justice. I have read thousands of books dealing with our financial system, our government, our corporate business environment and the general welfare of the American people. In my time, I have witnessed changes that appeared to diminish our great country. At one point, I became involved in the political system and worked with initiatives, candidates, and activist organizations, and sought to bring about a more representative and responsive government. I simultaneously wrote articles dealing with nationalism, the status quo, economic disparity, and the vanishing American Dream. I wrote briefly for a local activist publication and a Latin American newspaper in an attempt to stimulate change. At the time, I achieved some temporary successes, but ultimately retreated to my business interests when forced to provide an income for my family.

The lightning strike has been rewarding. About 12 years ago, I started a novel dealing with the political, social and economic consequences of the excesses of capitalism. I chose to write fiction because I have been told I am not qualified to write non-fiction. Indeed, I cannot claim any special qualifications other than being just another American who has seen the American Dream vanish for tens of millions of my countrymen. I have no expertise on the relative value of globalization or free trade agreements other than to understand I have friends and neighbors who have lost their good jobs and businesses, and are forced to rely on lower wage employment in order to make ends meet. I have no special credentials on government other than to understand that our leaders have become unresponsive to the needs of Americans. I have no unique insight into corporate behavior other than to comprehend you can not continue to export our jobs and industries to foreign countries without diminishing the ability of Americans to consume and save. I have no economic prowess other than my common sense which tells me that our country can not retain its position as a world power if we continue to decimate our middle class.

And so, as a result of the jolt, I have recently completed my first novel; not as an authority on a complex subject, but as an everyday, working stiff American anxious to make a difference for the people of our country. My book, The Road to the Third World; Conspiring to Destroy America, is now published and is available for purchase. I am in the process of writing another novel concerned with social conditions in our country. I think I have finally found my calling, and I am happy to report I am no longer looking out the window. Together, we can make a difference!