My career path is not what I originally planned for, especially not the historical preservation work. I've always enjoyed art and architecture and history and all of those things, but I never knew or planned to be focusing on historical preservation. But I hopefully want to get more back into my weaving and get more of a balance between the two. I think all of these are my passions, but you need balance. I don't know if I'd be necessarily happy just weaving ten hours a day or working on buildings ten hours a day, especially something where it's physically hard to do that, like the Pon Yam House.

I guess success is being happy and satisfied with your lifestyle and the friends that you have. I certainly don't see success as being money or security or any of that kind of stuff. I obviously want to be in an environment that's nice and comfortable, but as far as having IRAs and such, well...I'm not planning my life for my death. I want to enjoy life now instead of working and killing myself. I'm never going to be somebody who has a retirement plan because I don't work for a corporation, but I want to set up a good life for myself and continue to work until the day I die, do my art or preservation consulting or whatever.

I think my environment has influenced my opinions about success, that and the people I know. I think people here [Idaho] are less oriented toward "success equals money." I like going to cities and traveling and doing things like that and I have friends who have computer jobs and lawyer jobs, but all they seem to do is bitch and moan and complain about it all the time. They look at what I'm doing and say "God, you have it so great." But then I say, "Yeah, but I deal with a lot of hassles too ... there are tradeoffs."

My Dad climbed the corporate ladder and did that whole thing, but money didn't equal happiness. They (my parents) were always fighting and problems. We moved all the time and they just decided that the simpler life was the better life. I'm not sure if they necessarily found that, because I'm not sure if they are all that happy here, but I think that's more of a personal outlook of life. They kind of blame the world more, where I try to take more responsibility for my own happiness. You are responsible for your life and what happens to it.

I don't know if I've necessarily found my own success. I don't know what that [success] is. This may be it, but I don't know. I guess I take it as it comes and deal with each situation. Not every experience is a good experience but learning is important. From a business point of view I've learned that when the red flags go off, watch it. Listen to your heart and if you see a problem developing in a relationship, business, or whatever, you heed that advice.

Follow your heart. Don't spend all your time planning for your death. Live while you're young and do the things you want to do while you can. I say that, but I don't always do it, but as long as that notion is in your brain, you'll be better off.