There Is Nothing Like The Simple Life

When John lost his high paying job, he thought his life was over. How was he ever going to be able to afford to maintain his expensive lifestyle? How would he attract women? John had dedicated his life to living in the fast lane. When he suddenly was forced to slow down, it felt like he had ground to a halt.

He wasn’t a quitter, though. Once the initial shock wore off, he went out and started looking for a new job. He had been great at what he did, so he figured he had a good shot at getting another equally good job.

It took almost half a year before John realized that he was dreaming. He was an upmarket real estate salesperson. That was fine. It was just that the market had dried up, so he wasn’t needed. He couldn’t even get in the door on a straight commission. Everyone in town had already cut back on staff and the sales staff they had weren’t going to accept having a newcomer steal what few leads they had.

Finally, John ended up being their customer when he was forced to sell his penthouse condominium. Fortunately, he had gotten a deal on a foreclosure back when foreclosures were rare. Unfortunately, he had to sell it at a near foreclosure price. When he finished paying off all his debts, he didn’t have enough money to invest in even a ground floor studio in his old location. It was time to move on.

It wasn’t an easy decision, but John had few options left when he finally accepted a job in a small real estate office in a little rural tourist town a few hours drive from the city. Although he could have put a down payment on a little place, John decided to rent instead.

Clearly, John’s big king-sized bed wasn’t going to fit into his tiny bedroom. He went out and bought a loft bed, to maximize the space he did have. Once he got over feeling sorry for himself, he came to love the loft. It reminded him of the bunk bed he’d had as a kid.

He had some expensive modern bar stools, but they just didn’t look right in his new home. Except for his favorite leather lounge, he sold everything else.

He stumbled across an old guy in his neighborhood who made wood bar stools on his home lathe and sold them from his garage. John quickly fell in love with the stools, bought several and became good friends with the old woodworker.

Over time, John adjusted to his new lifestyle and actually began to appreciate all the advantages it had to offer. Eventually, his old fast paced lifestyle seemed crazy to him. He felt relaxed and at home here. He needn’t have worried about attracting girls, either. He met the perfect woman there and now she is his wife.