What I did before I became a Window Cleaner

In my book "Running For Home", I go into great detail as to what I did before I became my own boss. I can honestly say that it was without doubt, the best decision that I ever made and I have no regrets other than wishing I had done it from the beginning.

"Running For Home" is an autobiography about a man that could not settle at anything but finally finds what he's looking for in self employment.

It goes into the agonies of being employed and the unhappiness that developed as a consequence along with life's uncertainties and disappointments on the way.

Should you want to know just what I got up to before I became  successfully self employed, then you must read my book to understand how I felt and how I arrived at this point wishing to help others get into a better place. "Running For Home"

Get Free Books Forever - Easy to do!

Free Books Forever - Don't buy another book 

How would you like to have free books for the rest of your life? I'm not talking about any old books but up-to date books included! How is this possible you ask? What is the catch, surely their must be a catch? But, there is no catch whatsoever.

All you have to do is to go to Amazon and look for the shopping menu. If you click on this it will drop down and show all the shopping categories. Look for "Kindle Store" and click on this. It will take you straight to the Amazon on-line book store where there are literally millions of free books
Type in the box at the top Free Books or Top 100 free. This will take you to the free books.

These books are free because Amazon allows the Authors a period to promote their books and putting them on for free usually give them greater exposure and greater sales later on. I often put my book "Running for Home" onto this scheme with some success. In this way you can obtain as many free books as you wish for all time, many of which will be best sellers by famous authors.

But wait a minute I hear you say! I haven't got a Kindle or other device to get the books on. Don't worry, this is the simple bit. Guess what, you can convert your computer into a Kindle! Now that's what I call a bargain. Not only can you get more free books than you could read in a whole lifetime but you can also get them on your computer. How do I do this? It's not particularly difficult to do but if you are not too good on the computer just get some help since it will be worth it I promise you.
Just click on this link and it will take you to the site which helps you to instal the app required to give you a whole new experience. Now go and have a look at some of those top selling books for free.

Want an ebook reader? Top tips from Top Autobiographies

Want an ebook reader? Top tips from Top Autobiographies

Did you know that you don't need a Kindle to read kindle books? The fact is that you can actually read Kindle books on your computer or even your i-Phone if you want to. All you have to do is download the app for this, follow the steps which is quite easy and hey presto you've turned your computer into a Kindle!

My book "Running For Home" is on my own computer since I don't own a Kindle myself. This is no big deal since I can just read it on my computer. Of course a Kindle will be more convenient since it is smaller and lighter to carry around but if you want a taste of what is available from the Kindle store, then this is a good place to start.

You can benefit from thousands of popular book titles many of which are totally free. In fact you need never buy another book again. Many best sellers can be acquired this way since many of them will have what is called a "promotional period" in which they are free. If you do a search for free books on the Amazon Kindle Store, a list of them will appear. I personally think this is fantastic.

Most books however are in the paid section and it will require you to pay for them but unless you are after a particular book, then most of them will be very inexpensive. My book for instance is at a very low price. I don't make much from this as you can imagine but I would rather have it read by more people at first to give it the best chance of success later on.

If you fancy having a go at getting the Kindle app, then just click on this link: http://goo.gl/DBcA2
I really do hope I have helped you with this and it will open up a whole new reading experience for you as it did for me. Thanks for looking at Top Autobiographies.

I'm a Lucky Man

It's only when you are older that you start to realise how lucky you are. I was listening to a radio programme on Radio 5 Live today about two lads that had to look after their Dad who had Alzheimer's. Their Father was quite young when he got this debilitating disease. They were just teenagers when they were thrown into being carers. Their Mother was not living with them at the time so it was down to the lads to do everything for him as he deteriorated.

When I look back at my life, I realise just how good it has been. I am over sixty and I still have both my parents and they still live in their own home. They are in their late eighties now and have never really suffered any health problems that were serious enough to cause much concern. They are still active and my Father still drives a car. He only gave up towing a caravan last year but retains the caravan as a static on a nearby site.

Of course they are becoming frail and both have had falls recently. My Father was pulled over by his over exuberant dog. A neighbour brought him home and it appeared that he had not broken anything. A hospital trip should have been on the agenda but he was not having any of it. He looked like he'd been beaten up for a couple of weeks.

Rather than take it for granted, I now realise that I must try to make the most of what limited time I have left with my parents. My Mother is showing early signs of Alzheimer's so time is not on our side. I had been unable to visit them for eleven months before my last visit and the signs of deterioration in them both was evident. I left it far too long but life can be difficult with work and lack of money getting in the way.

I have to make up for this somehow and this year at least, I must put more effort into visiting them before it's too late. If you have both your parents, remember they are precious and don't leave it too long before you visit them. When you look forward it seems that it's a long time but when you look back, you will find it has passed in a flash and that's why the saying makes so much sense; "life is short".

Time Travel Novel - Inside the Clock

Time Travel Book - "Inside the Clock"

"Inside the Clock"
My book "Inside the Clock"  is doing remarkably well for a first time novel. This is a book that is based on a true story. When I was sixteen, I met a girl who I fell in love with. One day, I really mess up and do something that ruins the relationship and she ditches me for my best friend.

Virtually everything in the book is real and actually happened but some things are not. These are blended together seamlessly and you will have to decide what is real and what is not. Dates, places, people and locations are correct even down to what was in the newspapers on that day. I have changed peoples names but nothing else.

As I look back into my past, I yearn to go back to a certain day in my life but when I get the chance it can never be as I want it. If I change too much, will it affect my future? Will certain loved ones cease to exist when I return if I make the wrong move?

The clock featured in this novel is an antique that still exists today and is a strong player in the conclusion of "Inside the Clock".

In the writing of this book, I have had no training, no publisher and no help whatsoever. It just goes to show that if you try and keep on trying, then you can succeed.

You get quite a long free preview of this book by clicking on the "look inside" feature when you visit the Amazon Kindle page that features my book "Inside the Clock".

Above is  a screen shot showing you just how you the public have helped me in ranking "Inside the Clock" the time travel book.

Do you fear self employment?

Do you fear Self Employment?

Don't fear self employment, it's not as bad as you might imagine. I have been self employed for 28 years now and I vowed that I would never work for anyone else ever again.

Having done a number of jobs in the past like the Merchant Navy and three trades in the Royal Navy, I know enough about being employed to make a judgement.

One thing I did like about being in the Navy was the security it gave me but I also have to admit that I was in the wrong job. But you know what, it is notoriously hard to just change jobs when you have commitments hanging over your head and bills to pay. It can be a real nightmare. For more information read this amazing book

In my case I had no choice over my discharge from the Royal Navy. I was discharged because of stress aggravated by Naval service. No body's fault really, just one of those things. All this was a long time ago though and to be honest I was relieved to get out and at the time, I didn't have very many commitments even though I was married. I didn't have any kids as well so the decisions I made would be easier. Although I owned my own property, it was a mobile home on a Naval caravan site.
We loved it here but we could not stay so I put the place up for sale and sold it without any problems.

After a foray into the jobs market I was able to get a job with accommodation as a gardener for a millionaire in Kent. There had been many applicants but somehow my wife and I had impressed them enough to get the job. We only lasted a month here though and it left me with a bitter taste in my mouth and I began to wonder where my life was leading. For more information read this amazing book

I spent the next two years unemployed in Malta. This was a highlight though and as my wife is Maltese, we had many relatives to rely on. I had received a gratuity of £5000 on leaving the Navy, and this is mainly what we lived on for two years. When the money ran out and a bad on foreigners working in Malta, we returned to the UK and briefly to my parents house. We were now homeless and almost penniless apart from a small pension granted to my from the Navy, but not enough to live on.

We did not last long here either so moved in with friends in Durham whom we'd met in Malta. It was then that I met a window cleaner who was selling his round. It wasn't something I had considered before but I decided to buy the round.

Because I was so eager to work for myself at this time, I was keen to make it work. After some training from the old guy I was away on my own. There was a lot to learn but it didn't take long to learn the routine. Soon I was able to come off social security although they did not give me much on top of my pension. Then we applied for a council house and got one within six weeks. Since I had been in the Navy, I got some priority but remember, the waiting list was not so long in 1986.

Things were looking up and my wife would help me clean the windows too. After a few months we really began to learn how to clean windows well and even we were surprised at how fast we could get the round out of the way. We also began to pick up extra work. Some I got by canvassing newly built houses and began to get some good work. Others I got by people just seeing us work and asking us to clean there houses.

I had bought an old Morris Minor which should really have been in the scrap yard but it got us about at first. However, we were doing so well that I was able to sell this and get a big Rover SD1. It seemed like an amazing turn around and not long after we bought an old caravan to go touring in at weekends.

So being self employed was suiting us but don't get carried away, absolutely nothing is ideal. It was hard work especially in winter. Going back to peoples houses collecting at night and being responsible for my own tax. I had to be self disciplined too and this won't suit everyone but to be my own boss for once far outweighed the downside for me.

Also, when you are self employed, the money can be better than you initially imagine. We could have done better but we are content with the life we had self employed and one big plus was that I got to spend a lot of time with my family. I concentrated on short hours but with a relatively high pay. Also I am actually in a very secure job, a job for life and one from which I can't get the sack.

So if you're thinking of going self employed make sure you are prepared for the responsibility that it brings but the upside can be very rewarding. For more information read this amazing book

Who I am

Who I am

      Hi, I'm Chris Dawber and my nick name is Wagga. I began this blog in the hope of selling a few more books. Yes I wrote a book called "Running For Home" so this blog is mainly about this and there are many snippets and excerpts from the book on this blog.

I'm actually a window cleaner but I've done so many things in the past that even I have trouble believing that it was I that did them all. I have had a life of adventure, danger and sheer farce. The title of the book was inspired by the song "Run For Home" by Lindisfarne.

I was always trying to get home any way I could and this propensity to chicken out of so many responsibilities, was detrimental to whatever I tried to turn my hand to career wise. Though I do not regret much of what I did, I know that I could have done much better had I had the confidence and self esteem to go with it.

However, every cloud has a silver lining and as such, because of all the mishaps and adventures that this sort of lifestyle got me into, gave me a lot to write about. The most hectic period of my life and perhaps the most dangerous, was when I was an aircrew man in the type of helicopter in the picture.

It was a dangerous yet exciting period of my life but it still makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end every time I think about all the things that happened.