Find A California Dream Job

California is the land of brave pioneers who start something big.  We are surrounded by billionaires, for Pete's sake.  Are you unemployed or working a low wage, dead-end job?  Try a new career path and shake things up!

"But the California economy isn't what it used to be."  Stop right there.  You're not expected to change the world - just your own world. If each Californian optimized his/her own life, we would collectively have Utopia.

What kind of life do you really want?  The first step toward success is making up your mind.  Well?  What do you like doing?  What did you love doing with your time when you were growing up?  What made the time fly?  There's a clue to where a fun and lucrative career path may lie.

What hobby or avocation are you an expert at?  Are you a rabid, crazed fan of something?  What's fun for you?  Do you even have any fun anymore?  Well, start!  "Do what you love and the money will follow."  It's a total cliche, but it is true.

"I'm so happy to be doing what I love, and I can't believe they pay me all this money for doing it!"  Those words have come out of the mouths of so many famous and successful people.  Many average folks just gag when they hear that on Oprah, or on some "success" infomercial.  Is it bull?

Folks, it's true.  I have met so many rich, accomplished and successful Californians that I can't remember them all.  Most of these men and women started at WalMart, 7-11 or Mc Donald's.  They just got sick enough of cheesy uniforms and crappy paychecks to start taking a chance on their dreams.

Take that chance.  Have the guts.  Defy the odds.  Risk it all.  Go for broke.  Grow a pair.  Damn the torpedoes.  Codependent no more.  Full speed ahead.  Roll the dice.  Beat the house.  Throw caution to the wind.  Just do it.  Desiderata.

Feeling a little high from that motivational cliche overdose?  Good.  Now that we're past all that, what do you wanna be known for when you're dead?  A life of "quiet desperation"?  That so totally sucks.  Do something.  BE something!

Here's the Big Test:  If you won the California Super Lotto, let's say $77-million, how would you spend your time?  Okay, I mean after the new cars, the house, and the fantasy trip around the world.  What then?

I know a guy who worshipped sports.  His whole life was geared toward playing professionally.  There was an accident.  Quadraplegic city.  Bed-ridden.  Dead dream?  Not quite.  He markets sports clothing, athletic shoes, and even athletes.  Today, he is one busy multimillionaire.

Where's your California dream job?  It's right here in California, waiting for you to decide what you want - regardless of any economic cycle.  Things are turning around in the Golden State, one person at a time.

DESIGN YOUR OWN CALIFORNIA.

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California's Coolest Surfing Museums

Surfing and California are synonymous. 

Perfect waves, hanging ten, surfer girls, suntans, surfboards, bikinis and beach blondes are total California Coast stereotypes. 

The surf music of the Ventures, Jan and Dean, the Beach Boys, the Surfaris, Dick Dale and the Surf Punks plays on.

California surfing museums showcase the history, the legends, and the world-famous culture of surfing in the Golden State.  Both locals and tourists enjoy these surfing shrines as hip and reverent tributes to the world of babes, baggies and boards.

The California Surf Museum is way down in Oceanside. 

Further north is the International Surfing Museum in Huntington Beach. 

Up past The Rincon, is the Santa Barbara Surfing Museum. 

Up north, past Big Sur, is the Santa Cruz Surfing Museum. 

These are the four coolest in California, and all you dudes and dudettes will have a total blast.

When my brother and I were kids, growing up on the beach, we lived in the waves and on the sand.  Everyone was always waxing down old surfboards and saving for new ones.  Boogie-Boarding and body surfing were daily rituals.  The bonfires and beach parties were legendary.

If you're living in the High Desert, in a forest, on a mountain, or in the snow, you may not get what the hoopla is all about.  Make the drive and check out these killer surf museums to see why California surfing is hot.

Then get on the waves, dude.

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Martian Future For California

California cities connected by metal tubes 500 hundred feet in diameter. Monorail cars speeding silently between San Diego and Sacramento. 

Abundance and health in a technologically advanced civilization run like a nonprofit business without banks, taxes or money.

Calitopia?  Los Angeloid?  Shangri-La-La Land?

Ernest L. Norman visited the planet Mars with his Martian guide, Nur El, a number of years ago.  He then founded an organization called UNARIUS in Los Angeles.  Today, the movement is headquartered in El Cajon, California and UNARIUS has followers around the world.

Crazy?  I couldn't really tell you, but the "Martian tour" account is full of innovative ideas...

According to Nur El, (the Martian guide) his planet is a technologically advanced civilization of quiet, peace-loving humanoids in a comfortable environment under the ground, powered by atomic energy.   
    
All Mars citizens are employed and the economy is extremely healthy without any banking system or currency.  Each city is built on the floor of a huge metal dome, five miles in diameter, and up to 3000 feet high.

The cities are laid out like a wheel. The center hub is a giant circular structure which houses government departments. Underground is a very large atomic power plant for supplying power to the cities.

All buildings are supplied with electricity from the central power plant. The power is radiated over ultra high-frequency beams which criss-cross the streets.

On top of each building is an antenna intercepting the power beams, bringing power down onto a small secondary radiator which provides each building's electricity.

There are no public schools. Every child is taught in his sleep via an electromagnetic device which communicates knowledge directly into the subconscious mind. Children have a college education by age 10.

So far, it sounds like where California is headed.  This is, after all, planet Earth's technological mecca.  If it's gonna happen, it will be right here in our Golden State, for sure.  So many ideas here are totally out of this world.

Right now, I can almost hear John Lennon singing "Imagine", but with a synthesized, robotic voice.... and staring at me through a digital third eye.  Okay, it's totally freaking me out now.

Hey, there are 40-million ideas in California.  Some of them are pretty bizarre, but we welcome them all.

I say Jerry Brown should hold a summit with our pal Nur El.   

Governor Moonbeam hanging out with a Martian?  No biggie, really.  Just another day in California.

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TIME Is On California's Side

TIME Magazine's current California issue highlights what is positive, inspirational and encouraging about our Golden State.  Thank you, TIME. 

My hat is enthusiastically off to Michael Grunwald, TIME's Senior National Correspondent, for his superb and accurate reporting.

Grunwald's outstanding TIME article, California: Golden State Is Thriving, Despite Its Woes, explains how the state of California is the future of America.

I challenge other media outlets to follow TIME's positive example.

As Michael Grunwald correctly observed, the Golden State is the capitol of innovation, high tech, biotech and clean tech. It's the green, diverse, globalized and Asia-friendly state.

Also true is that last year, California garnered more venture capital than the entire U.S. combined.

California's future is amazing!

Grunwald quotes Mark Muro of the Brookings Institution's metropolitan-policy program:  "In the depths of the breakdown, you can see the next narrative - it's California.  The next economy is already in place there, and it's amazing."

California is amazing.  I'm so happy to see our Golden State getting some positive reinforcement from an award-winning writer like Michael Grunwald.

Thanks for making some positive TIME for California!

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California Law Shoots Paparazzi

The tough anti-paparazzi law, which Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger just signed, takes effect this January.  It will be a lot easier to sue media outlets that use photographs that invade celebrities’ privacy starting in 2010.

The new California law permits lawsuits against magazines, newspapers, tabloids, TV shows and websites that buy (and make first use of) photos they knew were improperly obtained.  Also a no-no are camera shots which violate a “reasonable expectation of privacy”, or those that disrupt a “personal or familial activity”.

California civil fines will be up to $50,000 per violation.  Ouch!

It's not a big deal for some celebrity media like US Weekly and OK! Magazine who very often make secret deals with the celebrities they follow.  Many "candid" photos are arranged by the celebrities themselves... whatever!

More affected by the new California law are the throngs of freelance photographers who sell their photos independently to the gossip websites like TMZ. If stalking the stars in California becomes an expensive liability, most paparazzi will probably concentrate their efforts outside of the Golden State.

I hope you all are reading this, you paparazzi flies!  I am sick and tired of putting my hands in front of my face whenever I go out for a taco.

NO PICTURES, PLEASE!

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Kids Need California Arts

California's arts programs are vital to schoolkids. 

I know, because I'm a living testimony to the benefits of a childhood with creative arts training.  Who knows what kind of person I would have turned out to be otherwise... some kind of emotionless, ignorant lump?

My first experience with arts training was when I was around 6 years old.  I was given a part in a school play as the "father" of a family.  My Tony Award-worthy performance consisted of about five lines, but I made 'em funny and got some laughs from the audience.  I was hooked!  Suddenly, all those millions of rehearsals seemed worth it.

At 8, I was roped into being the lone male performer of a Hawaiian dance show in our school cafeteria.  At first, I was embarrassed to be the only boy, but afterward, all the other boys thought I was brave and cool.  A girl, who looked like a tiny Olivia Newton-John, wanted to be my girlfriend!

Soon after, our school started a little orchestra.  I learned the cello.  I was "first chair" of the cellists all through my schooling after that.  I wasn't that great at sports, but I received a lot of attention as a musician!

in Junior High, I took an art class, knowing that I really couldn't draw or paint well.  My work sucked.  My art teacher encouraged my own creativity every day.  By the end of the school year, I had won an award for making things with macrame!

As a shy and insecure kid, my self-esteem needed a Dr. Phil back then.  California's arts programs helped me to find out who I was and what I could do well.  This led to years of singing, dancing, composing, acting, broadcasting, writing, speaking, politics and public service.

I've even emcee'd a couple of Christmas parades in front of streets full of people, and LIVE!  How could a shy, geeky kid do that?  Arts training gave me a foundation of confidence.  Now I'm even blogging like a fool in front of the entire planet!  Who knew?

If California ever stopped funding arts programs in our schools, the Golden State would wither and die.  Arts training doesn't just make great performers, writers and artists.  It develops great innovators, inventors and leaders; even governors and presidents!

California's great entertainment corporations would be well-served by kicking up their assistance to the California Arts Council.  The training of young, homegrown talent results in increased revenue and better quality for Hollywood.  May the studios invest wisely.

I am a creative and resourceful Californian because of a childhood that enjoyed arts programs at my schools.... and I'm not alone.

California arts programs really do design our future.

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California Christian Mega Churches

California has more practicing Christians and megachurches than any other state --- even more than Texas, the previous Megachurch Mecca.

Shocked? Many in America are.

California is the new Christian Capitol.  What?  Yes, that's right.  There are 200 mega churches, with thousands of members each, right here in the Golden State.

Throughout the years, I've traveled to many other states.  I still hear how 'godless' and 'wicked' Californians are, and that Satan's corporate headquarters building must be somewhere in Hollywood.  Not so.

California: The New Bible Belt 

For decades, California has been home to mega-preachers like TBN's Paul and Jan Crouch, Robert Schuller, Tammy Faye, Rick Warren and Chuck Smith.  I remember when Robert Schuller was preaching on top of the snack bar of a drive-in theater years ago.  Now he's got the Crystal Cathedral.

A million folks coming together to share joy, to help each other, and to ask God to heal California?  I'm all for that any day of the week. Invite the whole California State Legislature to church while you're at it.

Sodom and Gomorrah?  Not exactly.

California is packing the pews tighter than Houston and Dallas these days, and the trend is escalating.  California's Christian voters are becoming a stronger force for change with each new election cycle too.

California: The Holy State.  Who knew?

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It Never Rains In Southern California

Tiny round particles are falling from up above to down below.  The drops are wet and cool.  News reports are saying that it's water that is descending from the gray mass in the sunless sky.  Water?  From the sky?  For free?  This is breaking news in Southern California.

News reporters keep repeating the same word: "Raining".  It sounds like RAY-NEENG.  It is what has begun to happen.  This event is so shocking that L.A. stations are on constant alert with StormWatch! live coverage.  TV reporters are out in the field with umbrellas, holding out one hand to catch a drop for viewers.

"Yes, I can feel a drop on my hand... It's really a raindrop!", one excited reporter shouts from some boulevard while holding a microphone.  She tosses back to the in-studio anchors, who whisper, "Unbelievable", with shocked expressions.

Should we even go to work or school today?  This is jarring news.  What do we do?  Things falling from the sky?  I might stay inside and eat emergency canned goods today.  It's scary out there.  Cancel the yoga!

Did I really hear that this violence in our air today will help our food grow?  Oh well, no pain no gain, I guess.  Not much we can do to stop it anyway.  I think I had one of those umbrella things when I was a kid.  The TV reporters all seem to have one, but normal people never do.

Rane.  Rayn?  No, it's Raane.  What?  Oh, that's right!  I remember now... RAIN!  Why do I remember something about an old man snoring or something?  Whatever.

OMG.  IT'S RAINING!

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Fast Lane To A New California

California needs to step on the gas pedal.  Stop the political squabbling, posturing and photo-ops, already. 

It's taken a long time to weave the complicated webs that would block the rays of our California sun.  We need a fast lane home.

Hit the accelerator and get over the past.

How many people live in the Golden State?  40-million?  50-million with the illegals?  That's how many viewpoints there are.  We must hear the ideas of every willing child, teen, college student, adult, parent, grandparent and great-grandparent in California. 

Let ALL be heard.

We all have experiences, judgments, opinions, viewpoints, imaginations, innovative angles, revolutionary ideas, practical solutions and battle-scars from living in California.  Our society is a creative one.  Most folks really want to contribute their thoughts!

All we have to do is ask.

We need a new kind of Election Day in California.  A day where the entire population can turn out and cast an IDEA.  Imagine every resident, age 4 to 114, contributing an idea ballot describing changes for our Golden Society.  News coverage would be massive and global.

What we hear from The People would stimulate positive changes that would put California on fast-forward...  and put exclusive power to shame.  Let this be the era of the liberation of the individual mind, and let it begin in California.

Get in the fast lane and DRIVE.

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California Home Prices To Rise In 2010

California home prices are set to rise in 2010 for the first time in three years.

Investors and first-time buyers are returning to the market, according to the California Association of Realtors.

What encouraging news for the California housing market and our state economy!

2010 is forecast to "mark the beginning of the new normal for California’s housing market," said Association President James Liptak.

The median price for detached, single-family homes in the Golden State will rise 3.3 percent to $280K in the next twelve months, the Association predicted in its yearly housing forecast.


Leslie Appleton-Young, chief economist for the California Association of Realtors, stated, "There’s this huge demand on the part of first-time buyers and investors.  The demand for properties in fairly good condition exceeds the supply."

How energizing it for us to realize that California has really made it around a tough economic corner, and that we're beginning to see some forward momentum --- at long last.

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Support Growers: Buy California

California is the cornucopia of the world.  Here at home, our great land provides us with our own endless possibilities.

  California's dedicated growers take pride in their homegrown products and their work, and they help our state's economy and way of life.

We Californians must support our growers.

The "California Grown" campaign reminds all of us how important it is to look for, and buy, agricultural products grown and produced in the Golden State.

The campaign is supported by the State of California, as well as by the hundreds of growers who provide Californians with food, clothing, fiber and shelter.

Let's do our part to help our state's economy by looking for California grown products when we shop. Grocery stores, farmers markets, lumber yards, wine shops and most retail outlets carry California grown products.

It's not just about fruits and vegetables - there are California grown items in every department, like meat, seafood, nuts, canned fruit, floral, dairy and wine. 

California's Central Valley agricultural products are top-quality too.

"BE CALIFORNIAN. BUY CALIFORNIA GROWN."

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California As A Reality Show?

California defiantly continues.  Sure, the geography has changed over thousands of years, but the land is still here.  California goes on, regardless of where the shoreline is situated.  When The Big One hits, our gigantic Golden house will be rearranged for sure.  But a house is not a home without people.

We The People Of California will prevail.

If the water disappears, we will harvest our fog.  If we lose the fantasy of Hollywood, we will market a new reality.  If we lose our technological innovations, we will harness the spiritual realm.  Californians are adaptable people.

Today, there are ignorant outsiders who believe they would profit from California's failure.  Our state's population, politics and power are closely watched and heavily scrutinized.  California is a dramatic reality show to many, but we are not bothered too deeply by jeering spectators.  We are used to living on-camera and under a spotlight.

Like I've previously stated, some dreams have simply cost too much to give up on, so we bravely forge ahead.  Californians are not like everyone else.  Half of us have left behind our native countries, societies, religions, families and lifestyles to march to our own rhythm.  We strive to make our dreams real, and we have gathered at the end of the earth to prove it.

Californians have the guts to back up the ambition.

We have turned a barren wasteland into a top-10 global economy --- no easy task.  Occasionally, we hit a few bumps and pot-holes on our road to the future.  No problem.  We just change gears and consider it an adventure.

If California ends up as 10,000 islands, we will adapt by becoming the fishing, boating and swimming capitol of the world.  We will find a new way.  We always do.

While the rest of the world waits for us to fall into the Pacific, to explode in a nuclear fireball, or to be invaded by demonic zombies, we Californians are busy designing a 22nd-century society.

The whole world is watching?  Groovy!

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California Not A 'Failed State'

California doom and gloom headlines have become an industry.  Big money is made by media outlets peddling California economic Armageddon stories. 

Newspapers and magazines fly off the stands while media websites rake in the clicks and their Alexa soars. 

Is California really an epic 'fallen star' tale?

I know the real California because I've seen it all here since 1966.  Californians are far stronger than the current bad press. We are the poster children for SURVIVAL... with style.

And Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger?  He has meticulously crafted several careers, businesses and comebacks with increasing success.  Never count him out.  He will triumph again, and Californians will celebrate with him.

No, I'm not Schwarzenegger's #1 fan, but I've seen him respond to threats and adversities over many years.  Arnold MUST beat the odds, and I believe he will again.  So will all Californians.

Many around the world do not know the true nature of Californians.  We excel when threatened.  What has been debated, planned and begun in our churches, neighborhoods and town meetings will surface like a tsunami.  California's next wave is building.

Challenges?  We Californians have already been there, done that, designed the T-shirt, marketed it to the world, and made a hit movie out of the experience with a #1 spinoff TV series to boot!  We are the Comeback State.

Don't spend too much time on funeral arrangements for California, ye doomsayers.  We might just decide to become immortal.

Californians can do that, you know.

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Celebrate California Arts Day!

Happy California Arts Day!  The arts make California come alive with creativity, color and passion. 

Celebrate personal creativity through arts events, send an Arts Day card, or participate in the arts in your community or home today.

California Arts Day is on the first Friday in October. Become a part of today's creative vibration with this year's theme of The Art in Me, and express the art in you.

The California Arts Council has arranged a great collection of Arts Day Events so you can see what's going on today in your own California neighborhood.  Some of the events listed will continue on past today as well.  (We should make it California Arts WEEK.)

Do you want to tell others about California Arts Day and what the arts mean to you? Send them a card and let them know about the Art in Me.  The California Arts Council created self-print California Arts Day cards so arts lovers can spread the word.  Kids love 'em.

Check out their cool Arts Day pages along with lots of Arts Day events.  Today is a fantastic day for celebrating the wildly-creative expressions of Californians.  That includes you, so get into it.

I want to thank the California Arts Council for working so enthusiastically at making today the best California Arts Day ever.

Enjoy today in a creative way!

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Finding Solitude In California

California life can be hectic!  Caught up in the daily grind, it can seem like 40-million Californians are on the exact same freeway we're on. 

Visitors say how lucky we are to enjoy so much California fun every day right where we live.  Every day?  With what time?  Where can one find solitude in California?

Most of our gigantic Golden State has no people.

Away from the cities and suburbs, there are a lot of wide open spaces.  You really don't have to travel too far to get a tranquility fix.  Just find a mountain, a field, a beach, some trees or an attractive view. California is loaded with these.

If you're stuck in the cities or suburbs, seek out a park, golf course, sports field, or a place that's got some plants, trees or grass.  Fountains and automatic waterfalls can be totally cool.  Seek, and you shall find.

Get away from the crowds, relax, tame the thoughts and let your own genius start expressing itself.  Faith, courage and self-confidence will surface.

Visit your inner self and find your life's mission.  If you talk to God, allow some time to listen too.

When you are alone, relaxed, and receptive, you can find more than solitude in California...

...you can create your own California in your solitude.

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Nature Conservancy California

California is nature.  Nature is California.  I am proud to highlight a non-profit organization that really appreciates the natural treasures we cherish in our Golden State.

The Nature Conservancy in California has saved more than 1.2 million acres of California's valuable landscape.  This year marks the Conservancy’s 50th anniversary protecting California. Over five decades, they’ve safeguarded hundreds of parcels of land and waterways and millions of acres of ocean.

Starting with their first project, the Angelo Coast Range Reserve in Mendocino County, the Nature Conservancy has

• saved the Marin Headlands
• rescued the San Francisco Bay shoreline
• formed the Northern Sierra Partnership
• rehabilitated the Sacramento River
• created Andrew Molera State Park
• created Elkhorn Slough Reserve
• helped establish the Carrizo Plain National Monument
• dramatically expanded Montaña de Oro State Park
• brokered the Coachella Valley Preserve
• stewarded the Irvine Ranch National Natural Landmark
• developed the Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve
• restored Santa Cruz Island, and
  
• partnered for California’s NCCP land-use planning program
  

The Nature Conservancy played a leadership role in the state’s new landmark climate change legislation. They guided CalPERS (California Public Employee Retirement System) to begin investing more than $2 billion in environmentally friendly timber projects.

Today, the Conservancy is at work in one of the first (and largest) forests to be recognized in California as a verified source of carbon credits.

As for the next 50 years? The Nature Conservancy aims to show the world how to achieve healthier and more prosperous communities. Their ongoing dream is to create a world where nature and Californians thrive.

I say it's a California Dream we all can imagine.

Happy 50th Anniversary to the Nature Conservancy in California.  Let's all support California nature and celebrate it!

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