Risky Business (PODCAST EXCLUSIVE EPISODE)

**MrBallen** (0:00)
Today, I'm going to share four stories about people who took big career risks in order to be as successful as possible. But in each case, the risk did not pay off.
But before we get into today's stories, if you're a fan of the Strange, Dark & Mysterious delivered in story format, then you've come to the right place because that's all we do, and we upload two, three, even four times every week. So if that's of interest to you, please give the follow button a beautiful red velvet cake, but don't tell them that the red in the cake is actually from ketchup. Okay, let's get into our first story called Lawyers' New Career.
The story of Southern New Hampshire University started in 1932 above a small storefront. Almost a century later, SNHU offers over 200 degree programs online. There are no set class times, so learning fits around your schedule, and courses are career-focused to help strengthen your skills. But the best part of the story? SNHU's online tuition rates are some of the lowest in the entire country. This could be your next chapter. Visit snhu.edu/mrballentoday.
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Around noon on May 29th, 1975, a 26-year-old man named Homer B. Lawyer Jr. left the store where he worked as a shoe salesman in Miami, Florida for his lunch break, and he walked down the street.
He tried not to rush or look like he was in a hurry, but the truth was he was extremely antsy as he walked along here. And the reason for that is he knew that soon he would either be rich or in jail, because Homer was actually on his way to rob his very first bank. So Homer had decided that he was done being a shoe salesman. He didn't make nearly enough money, and it was just so boring. I mean, every single day felt the same, and again, there's like no money in it. And so for the last couple of weeks, Homer had been trying to think of a way to make lots of money really quickly that might also be kind of exciting along the way. Hence how he landed on robbing a bank.
And it just so happened, there was a bank right around the corner from his work that he decided would be his first target. Now, Homer was aware that he was brand new to robbing banks here. So before he actually stepped out to go do this thing, he'd put a lot of thought into how to actually do it. He'd spent days preparing for this by mauling over and scribbling down ideas and plans until he'd finally landed on what he felt was the best way to pull this thing off. And so now, as he rounded the corner and he saw the bank up ahead, his stomach fluttered with nerves. But he took a breath and told himself that he had a solid plan in place. And the risk was definitely going to be worth the reward. Seconds later, Homer walked into the mostly empty bank with one hand in his pocket. He had a finger stretched out so that it looked like he had a weapon in his pocket, a gun. But he was not armed. He was just hoping to fool people into thinking he was armed. And so with his hand conspicuously located in his pocket, he headed over to the short line where one other customer was at the counter being helped by the only bank teller on duty. And so Homer, you know, doing his best to stay calm, he waited his turn. And then when the other customer was done and had left the bank, Homer walked up to the teller and handed her a note that said he had a gun and he was robbing his bank. And now she just needed to give him all the cash in her register.
Homer watched as the teller read this note and then got this terrified look on her face like it suddenly sunk in what was happening here. Then as calmly as she could, because now she was really frightened and very on edge, she set the note aside and then with shaking hands, she unlocked a drawer and began pulling out all these stacks of bills from inside of it. And then when she was done pulling all this cash out, she put it into a bag and then slid the bag over to Homer. And for a second, Homer just stared at this bag. I mean, at first, he was just totally thrilled that his plan had even worked here. I mean, he was confident, but this is amazing. I can't believe this is going so well.