Recently I learned that Briana of 20 and Engaged is in between jobs. I also heard from many fellow bloggers that she is a great writer and if you need assistance with your projects, I suggest you give her a try. I was inspired when I read How to Survive When You Cannot Work by Life And My Finances and If You Are Unemployed And Need A Job then… by Retired By 40 as they both looked at unemployment.

We hear about it in the news everyday. Unemployment doesn’t seem to be improving much. This is not to poke fun at one of our country’s top problems. On the contrary, this is to encourage those who are looking for work to pull out all the stops and think out of the box. I was out of work in the last quarter of 2009. Knowing I would be the most positive and upbeat at the beginning of my new employment status, I went radical and auditioned for a game show.

Perfect 10

Living in Los Angeles, I am in the entertainment capital of the world. Tons of shows are filmed here and with that comes opportunity. I learned about an open call for contestants for a new game show. In a nutshell, you have 10 easy every day tasks. It is you against the clock. If you can complete all 10 in the time allowed, you win, ONE MILLION DOLLARS! Many personal finance bloggers have goals of becoming millionaires. Can I beat the system and jump straight to the end game?

Professional Contestant Cattle Call

This isn’t my first audition so I wasn’t totally surprised at the cattle call. (Yes, Buck had dreams of being a star. Perhaps another time.) The interesting thing is the line up featured all walks of life, many different age groups, and an equal amount of men and women. Looks like a million dollar prize is a universal goal.

We’re Not In Kansas Anymore

I felt a little out of place and intimidated because the contestants around me were ringers. All they did was get on to game shows! I felt like a party crasher because each person recalled their game show experience and I had none. It was a who’s who of prime time game shows. Deal or No Deal. 1 vs 100. Who Wants to be a Millionaire? I wanted to go home, but since I was already here and had nothing else to do, I stuck around.

Dixie Cup Challenge

They finally let us in. There were a few hundred people. We got funneled into a large room with six tables. We all found a seat and waited anxiously for instructions. Basically, each person has 36 Dixie cups. They were the bright red plastic ones about the size of your hand. You have one minute to stack them into a pyramid. Eight cups in a row, seven cups on top of it, six on top of that one and so on and so on. After you have your pyramid completed, you have to break it back down and put all the cups together in one column. All this has to be done in one minute. It is harder than it looks. Out of the few hundred, I would say a handful of people completed the mission. While we were waiting for our turn, a few assistants went around asking questions about our personality. In the end, I did not make the cut of the game show that would eventually be known as Minute To Win It.

Final Thoughts

I did not make it on the show and I did not win the million dollar grand prize. But what I did get was even more valuable. I now know if my back is against the wall, I am capable of thinking outside of the box to find a solution. You could challenge that this story didn’t help me get a job so it was just a waste of time. On the contrary, I remember this experience fondly and it boosted my spirit and morale when I needed it most. Maintaining my positive outlook and energy kept me plugging away at what seemed like a hopeless task. My audition indirectly got me out of a very tight bind in the middle of the worst recession since the Great Depression. I landed a contract position a month later.

Stay Inspired!
Buck

Special congratulations to Retire By 40 for winning the 2011 Plutus Award for Best Personal Finance Blog For Retirement! Speaking of RB40, we launched our blogs on the same date, October 07, 2010. How cool is that? Instead of one blogoversary celebration giveaway, we decided to join forces for a joint giveaway. Tune in this Friday for more details and visit Retire By 40 to double your pleasure, fun, and chances to win!

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