The Penny Quest Essay

This is a pictorial essay. The story and the pictures are true.

2004 I had a dream that I found a penny and turned it into a million dollars. Straight up! I thought about it for a few days and decided to see if the dream could become a reality. I took my camera out on a beautiful sunday afternoon and went looking for a penny. I found one, along with a dime. And with this penny I have started my quest to turn it into a million dollars. Maybe I'm crazy, or maybe not. Let's see where this takes me. Let's find out what I buy, where I go and who I meet along the way.

My thinking is that I would buy something with the penny then sell what I bought for a profit and continue this process until I have a million dollars. If you would like to buy the current item go to the forum.

There is a certain Zen purity to it. When you think about it I start with nothing and a serendipitous event (finding a penny) starts the ball rolling. It seems to me that I have everything I need to accomplish this goal. Aside from perseverance I need the ability to buy and sell things. So, here it begins.I took my camera out for a walk in search of a penny on a beautiful sunday afternoon.

Sometimes there are happenings that make you think and sometimes there are moments in your life that bring awareness. I seemed to be in an elevated state of consciousness. The thought of my goal heightened my awareness and everything seemed more alive. It wasn't the goal of making a million dollars from nothing that excited me, it was the goal of doing something grand. My subconscious mind (through a dream) had

I hadn't walked 20 steps from my home when a flock of birds flew overhead. They seemed to be honking in joy. Was it the joy of their existence or the joy of proclaiming my quest had begun? I managed to snap a photo of them before they got away.

This was encouraging and I hadn't walked a hundred yards from my home when the local church bells began to ring. Was it another coincidence or another proclamation that my quest had begun? I turned and snapped a picture of the church tower. It is the red structure just to the left of the telephone pole.

I let myself just walk in any direction, always keeping a sharp eye on the ground, I found myself walking over a railroad bridge. The city I live in still has an active railhead. You can hear the trains running by every evening. From the top of the bridge I snapped a picture of the tracks that cut through the woods.

I hadn't walked too much further when......

I am tracking my progress with the Google Calendar. You can see my progress and goals there.

The Penny Quest forum - News and information about the quest. Want to find out what the latest item is?