Is your American Dream being slowly shattered like this poor guy’s?

“What does it mean when 600,000 people lost their jobs in January 2009 alone? I knew things were bad, but wow. Where I work, several of my friends were fired. I’m still here, but if and when I get the ax I honestly don’t know what I will do.

“It’s so unfair! I followed the American Dream. I did everything right, worked hard, was loyal to my company. I fit the American profile: married, 2.5 kids, a dog, a big mortgage, and a giant stack of bills.

“We never saved much, but have always been pretty comfortable. My wife and I go out for dinner with friends a couple of times a month. I take a golf trip once a year with my buddies. We take the kids on a nice yearly family vacation. My wife enjoys the occasional Girl’s Night Out, and we still have money in the budget to give the kids what they need.

“That’s the American Dream, right? It was MY Dream, too.

“But now, it’s all slipping away. I mean, I do well for the company, but the eternal Rat Race is killing me in just the commute alone. An hour there, an hour home, and that’s on a good day when some tractor-trailer doesn’t spill its guts all over the road five minutes before rush hour starts.

“And the gas! Then there are the parking fees, eating lunch out every day, dry-cleaning my suits and shirts so I can “look the part.” Each one of those expenses really cuts into my pay but I don’t think my employer ever thinks about it. I can’t say I feel appreciated for my efforts.

“It would be stupid to count on my job forever, right? Just look at these statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics:

‘... for January 2009, non-farm payroll employment fell by 598,000, and the unemployment rate rose to 7.6 percent. Since the start of the recession in December 2007, job losses have totaled 3.6 million, with about half of the decrease occurring in the last 3 months.’

“Translation? My butt is headed for the door any day. Not maybe...not probably... but definitely. If I’m smart, I better start coming up with a Plan B.

“So I’ve been toying with the idea of working from home. My current skills would transfer very well to a home-based business.

“But I’m scared and really not sure where to go for the right help and direction.

“So many work-at-home opportunities are useless. I don’t want to buy some outdated book to tell me how to work at home. I want a real resource I can rely on to walk me through the pitfalls...someone who has “been there” and can tell me what to expect...a place where I can network with other guys in the same position. Is that asking too much?

“Listen. I’m not ungrateful. It’s just that the Rat Race is not My Dream anymore. I want to follow my OWN Dream.

“I want to be my own boss, where my efforts directly impact me and my family. I want to conduct business in my office in a suit or on the golf course in shorts...wherever it makes sense for me.

“I want to arrange my schedule so I can be at Johnny’s baseball game or Suzie’s piano recital without lying about my absence at work.

“All I’m saying is I want to feel like I used to feel—where every morning held new promise...where I felt good about my work and had a passion for my customers and the future...and where I felt I had a purpose on the planet.

“I want to be happy again. I think I deserve it. And my family deserves it.

“But I never ran my own company. I don’t know where to start or how to start. I don’t know what business to choose. And I don’t have a lot of time at my age.

“I don’t want to go back to school and start over. And I don’t want to do it all alone. I need to jumpstart my new career so I am way ahead of the curve when it’s time for me to jump ship. I need to find the best way to get me out of this Rat Race. “

Is that how YOUR dream went? Where can YOU find help quickly?

Perhaps the answers are at http://TakeMeFromTheRatRace.com. Is your escape from the Rat Race there too?