John’s life ended, or so he thought, on the day that he lost his job. He had worked hard for success and now his lifestyle was threatened. What was he going to do without all his expensive toys? How would he attract women into his bed? John liked the fast lane and didn’t look forward to getting off the freeway.

After the shock wore off, John picked himself up again and started pounding the pavement, looking for work. He hadn’t lost his job because he wasn’t good at it, so he was confident that if a job was available, he would have a good shot at getting it.

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.

In a strange twist of fate, John ended up going back to one of those offices and giving them his penthouse condo to sell. That was one bit of good luck he had going for him, because he had bought it very cheaply when it went up for foreclosure many years before. On the other hand, he sold it cheap, too. When it all came out of the wash, he realized he couldn’t afford to live in the expensive part of town anymore.

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 bought some wood bar stools from an old man in his new town who turned them out on a lathe and sold them out of his garage. John loved those stools and got to know the old man well.

Little by little, John settled into his new life and actually came to enjoy it. He looked back on his old life and wondered why he had been so driven to succeed. He had time to ‘smell the roses’ here and life was good. As it turned out, he didn’t have to worry about attracting women, either. He found the love of his life and they got married.