Idea 53 - Homelessly Yours: The Inspirational Story of Rich Nicholas

Sometimes we feel a little disliked at work or at home. Sometimes we get a severe laceration. But while our petty travails and divorces may send us into shame spirals that can only be relieved by self-medication and Deadliest Catch marathons, they pale in comparison to the life of Rich Nicholas. Rich, now 46 years young, has lived on the streets since childhood, but remains possibly the truest example of indefatigable pride and dogged perseverance. Open your heart:

Sitting down with Nicholas, one encounters a man whose every word drips with hope. "I'm so hungry. If I could just get some change for some food, please. Anything helps." But his modesty and feigned desperation belies his industriousness: Rich has learned to nearly afford his alcohol addiction by digging in the trash behind the Methadone clinic for relatively clean needles he can sell on the street.

When was the last time you were so resourceful?

Toward the end of our time together, Rich provided this author a lesson in stoic deadpan humor when he jokingly asked about the proceeds from this book. "It seems like I sorta deserve just a little of it -- please, I'm talking about like ten dollars. I'm hurting, man. Please."

When you high-rolling book publishers are considering how much you're going to pay me for this book, think of the unfortunate, the sick, the lonely souls wandering the streets of our cities. If we price it right, they would only need to panhandle for a few weeks to afford it (the paperback, of course).