Wow!  More good news!  I’m now a FINALIST for the $1000 Al Marks Inventive Mind Grant from Idea Cafe. 

Now there’s only one more hurdle between me and $1000 and it requires…

Voting. American Idol-style!
Believe it or not, the grant winner will be decided by popular vote.

That’s a fairly unusual thing, I think, to have a business grant to be decided by vote.  But I’m going to put it in your hands.  Please check out the 40 finalists and then, VOTE FOR ME! (Laura Koehne) Is that blantant enough for ya?!

Seriously, though, there are many really wonderful ideas that could be funded with this money.  As Francie Ward of Idea Cafe says, finalists for the Al Marks Inventive Mind Grant all, "demonstrate an inventive approach which will inspire others who come to IdeaCafe.com seeking advice on starting and running a business, plus they have a plan to reach out and help others in some way."

For my part, the money will allow me to fulfill my dream of setting up an eCommerce store to sell self-help products with a portion of the proceeds going to the Dream Foundation — a national wish-granting organization that enables terminally ill adults to fulfill a final dream.  I will reach more people through my products but, more importantly, I’ll get to help folks that don’t have much time left to achieve their dreams.

Speaking of products!  Here’s a preview — in podcast form — of the kinds of audio products I want to bring to market.  I hope to have full length Postcards from the Road Less Traveled in the near future.  Stay tuned!