---

Dear Friends,

It's a long story, but I ended up with about 5,000 Angel Baby dolls in my garage. I acquired them as a business venture and planned on selling them at some point. But I found a much better use for them.

As I was putting together this Adventure Alert I kept thinking about everyone whose lives have been ripped apart by Hurricane Katrina. I can’t stop thinking about how their dreams were swept away, too, and now they're struggling just to survive. Families and kids who lost everything, including their toys. And I have almost 5,000 dolls in my garage...

I started by calling all the major charitable organizations. But one by one they turned me down! A couple times I couldn’t even get my full pitch out before the person on the other end cut me off and said, “We’re not accepting anything but cash,” or “We don’t handle that.” I couldn’t believe it. They’re free, man! They’re for the kids! Are you kidding me?

Finally, getting kinda discouraged, I decided to call TUSD (Tucson Unified School District). I knew some of the kids who came here from Louisiana had been registered for school, so I thought I’d give it a shot. Maria answered and I started my pitch. “We’ll take them!” she said, before I’d even finished.

Maria put me in touch with Pam Fine, the Director of School Community Services for TUSD. Her job— to coordinate the school attendance of needy children. This includes about 19 evacuees from Louisiana, area homeless children, and— this just blew me away— just under 400 refugee kids from other countries! Kids from Somalia, Kenya, Liberia, Afghanistan and so many more. Right here in Tucson.

Pam and her crew make sure all the children have school supplies, transportation, interpreters, are part of the Federal School Lunch program, and they try to help with whatever else is needed. “They need so much,” Pam tells me. “Usually the big organizations get all the donations, so we’re happy to accept anything that’s offered.”

It made me realize that a lot of times we only think about giving donations or helping out when the holidays roll around or there’s a big disaster that shocks us. Yet people like Pam plug away, with minimal funds, making a real difference in kid’s lives every day.

So I'm dropping off 400 Angel Babies to Pam tomorrow. I have a bunch more, and I'm open to ideas about how to get them in the hands of kids who need them most. What I'd really like is to find a way of getting individuals to sponsor a doll, so both the doll and the cash can be donated. If you have any ideas or think you can help, send me an email at LYATeam@LiveYourAdventure.com

Thank you,

Mark

---

Mark's Journal : Boy cries wolf, and makes incredible offer again!

I really thought Driving to the End of the World would be mailed out by now. Really I did. But I'm still working hard with my editors and the book is getting better and better every day. I hesitate to give you a specific release date for fear of being the boy who cried wolf (again).

The sales I've made so far certainly have lit a fire under my butt! If you want to help keep the fire burning, the amazing pre-publication offer is still online. Over $170.00 worth of goodies for only $14.95! Pretty irresistible... click here to go to offer.

---

AdventureView:
Curt Zacharias,
The Grinning Ironman

Curt Zacharias always has a smile on his face. Why? Because he's doing something he loves. After a decade of working for large corporations (and being miserable) he decided to create the life he wanted. He started his own business, but the real payoff is that he can dedicate time to his true passion— training for triathlons. This year he completed his first Ironman in Tempe, Arizona; a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride, followed by a 26.2 mile run. (Yikes!) People keep telling him to stop smiling, it's supposed to hurt. But he replies, "If you're not enjoying it, you should do something else."

Live Your Adventure: How long did you have a corporate job?
Curt Zacharias: I got out of college in 1976, went to work for Hughes Aircraft, worked there for 8 years, then went to Merrill Lynch as a stockbroker. So probably a total of about ten years. Hated just about every day of it.

LYA: What was the straw that broke the camel's back and made you go out on your own?
CZ: One thing I realized was that I'm not a very good employee. I didn't like someone giving me sales quotas and having to sell certain products that were beneficial to the company versus beneficial to my client. In exchange for that I gave 65% of my income to the house—
I only got to keep 35 cents for every commission dollar I produced. It just didn't make any sense, so I went out on my own. I already knew I didn't want to be an employer, so that left me as an independent worker doing my own thing. I could do a much better job for my clients, make more money in less time, and everybody was happier.

LYA: You were doing the same thing you did for Merrill Lynch?
CZ: Actually I developed a specialty area in annuities working with senior citizens. It fit my personality. I enjoyed working with older people, and they liked me. It was a good match. So I developed the expertise and just had to figure out a way to get clients, which came down to marketing. I hated cold-calling, so that wasn't an option. So I developed a marketing program where I had people call me based on small advertisements in the newspaper.

LYA: How long did it take before you started bringing in enough income to support you?
CZ: Pretty much immediately. I had developed a marketing program when I was working for a brokerage house after Merrill Lynch, and the first time I put the ad in the newspaper I started writing business almost immediately. I went to the bosses and said, "I can show the guys in the other offices how to do this in exchange for a piece of the pie," but they didn't want to do that. I said, "The heck with it!, I'll just go and do it myself." So it didn't take me long at all. It was just a matter of setting up my operation out of the house. Right now though I'm working out of an office. I get free space there because I bring in a flow of clients who they can do other business with. It works out nice for me because I have access to really expensive equipment I wouldn't otherwise have access to. And I can still be home before most guys get home from the office.

LYA: Having your own schedule allows you devote time to triathlons. How much time do you devote to that?
CZ: My goal is to work and work out an equal number of hours per week, about 20 hours of work and 20 hours of working out. It's a pretty good balance. I only schedule appointments for 10:00 am or 2:00 pm. That way I can do an early morning workout, swim with a group at lunchtime, and get in an evening workout.

LYA: Would you say your passion is split between your work and your training?
CZ: I would say my passion is more in the training. I really enjoy the work and I'm good at it, but I wouldn't say I'm passionate about it. The training I'm passionate about. Even if I never raced in a race, and most people don't understand this, I just enjoy going out on my bicycle, running trails, swimming with the group down at the U of A. It's fun. Most people think, "I can't wait until this Ironman is over so I can stop training!" But for me the Ironman is just a way to show that the training was working, that I figured out how to improve and put all the pieces together. It's not easy to make it all work and finish it.

LYA: So literally for you it's about the journey not the destination.
CZ: Definitely! I did my first full Ironman this April and I thought I would probably cry when I got to the finish line—I mean, it's a big thing, it's a long day, and very emotional. But when I finished I didn't get emotional at all. I was happy I could stop and not have to run anymore, but I didn't cry. I got up the next day, had breakfast with family, and the following day I was back in the pool. I got very emotional at the beginning of the race though. Picture this: Tempe Town Lake, the sun is just about to come up and there's 2000 people out in the lake treading water waiting for the gun to go off for their long journey. Some people would take 9 hours, some people 16. Then a fellow came on the microphone singing the National Anthem. But as the song went on more and more people started singing along until there were 2000 people treading water singing the National Anthem. That was probably the most emotional part of the day for me. It was amazing.

LYA: I've heard that you're always smiling, even when you're training hard or competing.
CZ: People see me training and racing and are like, "Why are you smiling all the time? This is supposed to hurt." And it does hurt, but very rarely will you see me during a race without a smile. But it's just because I'm doing something I really enjoy. But I'm pushing myself hard. It's like a tachometer on a car. I know where my red line is because I race a lot, and I put it there. If you go over it you crash and burn, but I know where that line is for me. I'm not taking it easy out there when I'm smiling, but I am having a good time.

LYA: That's the thing I was impressed by, that you can go all out, be passionate, and still have fun. You don't have to kill yourself.
CZ: The people who aren't enjoying it don't last. When you're training for an Ironman, it's a lot of hours and there are times when you're just tired. If you're not enjoying it you should do something else, because it's too much hard work for that.

LYA: We have some great stuff here, thanks Curt!
CZ: You're welcome!

Click here to read a Tucson Citizen article about Curt Zacharias!

---

Reader's Story:
No money, no time, no skill, no problem!

This story was sent in by Bob Wilson. This guy definitely has the Live Your Adventure spirit! He wanted a boat, couldn't buy one, so he built one. He had no special knowledge, little time, and even less money, but a heck of a lot of determination. Read about it in his own words...

It took me two years to get up enough nerve to start this project. I lived in Edmonton, Alberta, a fair distance from the ocean. I wanted a large trimaran to sail around the world with my family. I did not have enough money to buy one, so... let's build one!

But not in Edmonton. Although I mapped out a route to the Arctic ocean from Edmonton and I could get the boat there if I did not mind a portage of 22 miles about half way to the ocean. They told me that they take 50 foot barges over the portage all the time. Thanks, but no thanks. Guess we will just have to move to Vancouver. My wife, two boys, our dog, and I loaded everything up in a U-Haul and our station wagon and headed to Vancouver.

There starts the adventure. Did I enjoy this effort? You bet I did. Would I do it again? I sure would. It is the greatest feeling of achievement to be able to point to my boat, and say "Yes, I built it".

To read Bob's project journal, click here.
Even if boats don't do it for you, it's a great read. Here's a sample entry:

47. Live aboard Since my living quarters were destroyed along with my boat shed, I moved into the boat and became a live-a-board for the first time in my life. Hmmm…not a lot of room in here. Is this what I want? I can’t find any place to put stuff and when I do, I can’t find it again. All my tools and equipment had to stay outside under the boat. Rufus didn’t care; he just curled up under the table and went to sleep. I had a lot to learn about living in a boat. There were also some special problems living in a boat on the land in the winter. Did you know it can get really cold in Canada in the winter? Even on the West Coast. The only difference between outside and inside was a 3/8 piece of plywood. Not much protection when the temperature drops to –8 or –10 Celsius. The first cold night I slept in my berth, I woke in the morning to a completely covered cabin top. Covered with frost…on the inside. What happens to the frost when things warm up? Why it rains on the bed of course. First important job…insulate the berth area. One cold and frosty morning, I got up early for a nature call and climbed out of the cockpit onto the deck. Rufus always like to keep me company, so he got out with me. The deck was completely covered with frost and we both slipped and started to slide towards the edge of the boat. At this stage of the construction, there were no safety features like stanchions, or a deck edge, or non skid. Over we went. The boat was up on blocks so the fall was about 8 or 9 feet. I remember thinking, as I was going over the edge, “I wonder what is down there?” I landed on the dresser that I was using to hold sandpaper, small tools, etc. The dresser did not survive, but I did. Rufus got the ground. I continued with my journey to the portable and then thought I should just lay down for a bit. I woke up a couple of hours later and could not move. Man, I hurt so bad I could not raise an arm to pull myself out of bed. Getting out of a Searunner berth is not the easiest job at the best of times, and this was not the best of times. I stayed in bed for the rest of the day. I could move a bit the next day and I gradually recovered. I put some carpet on the deck and taped it down as soon as I could. That was a painful experience I did not want to repeat.

Have a story you want to share about yourself or someone you know? Email us! LYATeam@LiveYourAdventure.com