The Last Laugh

Well, as I return to blog-ville, I try to muster up the courage and dignity to express what I feel right now. I have never actually been in a "real" fight, but the picture I've seen many times of the guy who has just got the crap kicked out of him and is in a fetal position fighting to get back up just to greet yet another swift kick to the ribs; yeah, that's me right now.
Since posting a blog about great success and wealth to come to me and declaring a bold statement about being a millionaire, it has been straight up Hell! I have gone two weeks without a paycheck, begged for food for myself and my children, pawned my favorite guitar(which is easily in the "Top 2 Most Depressing Moments in My Life", received a ridiculous electric bill and "borrowed" my nine year old's allowance that she has been saving for some time. Not to mention, my sister-in-law has been having to dish us $$ for gas and I just scrounged up enough change "laying around" to get some milk and bread for the kiddos.
What the Hell is going on? I don't mean to have to post an "R" rating on my blog, but come on. throw me a frickin' bone here! I mean, I know what's up and everything, how the devil works and how things work in the natural progression of life in certain circumstances. Unfortunately for me, though, that knowledge has no nutritional value.
Perseverance sucks hard sometimes; well, most of the time; okay, All the time!!! I can see the other side and I believe it and I am ready for it!! The valley between here and there is just tough sometimes you know? That's all right, though; I know that I'll get the Last Laugh! Will you laugh with me!

I can't take the PRESSURE!

Okay, so Francesca decides she's gonna write a bunch of really exaggeratedly sweet things about me for all the world to see. Now, all of a sudden, I feel this tremendous pressure to live up to the expectations of, not only my wife, but everyone else that knows me. I'm torn. It isn't my nature to just responsibly start washing the dishes every time they need to be washed. But now, every time I see one dirty plate or cup in the sink, World War III erupts inside of me. The responsible, wanting-to-live-up-to-this-great-husband-that-she's-made-me-out-to-be part of me versus the lazy oh-I-worked-all-day-and-am-tired-so-that-should-be-plenty-of-justification-for-not-doing-the-RIGHT-thing part of me. But what the hay! I guess that is part of the maturing process. Learning how to shut the one up and listen to the other. Hey, thanks for reading. Gotta go; I've got some dishes to wash!!!!!

Right on Cue!

It is funny to me how whenever you say something out loud or make a public declaration or recognition of something, you are almost immediately faced with opposition to that something. Francesca is taking a class at CJC this semester so she can begin medical transcription work in May. Today was the last day for her to pay for the class before she would be dropped from the class. Wouldn't you know that the weather would turn out ridiculous all week long leaving me unable to work, as I am working outdoors right now, and therefore, unable to make any "dinero." So, on the heels of a bold public declaration concerning my financial situation, I am faced with a financial dilemma to where I have to call my sister-in-law to "bum" enough money from her to complete the transaction for Francesca's class. This only serves to confirm that if you speak things out, you had better be ready to face some opposition because it is coming. No sweat, though. I was ready. Can't take my joy devil! Whenever you try to come against me, guess what? I'm coming right back. Right on Cue!

I guarantee ya.....

I was thinking about John Hawk today and about some of the things that he has said; and continues to say today; and will be saying tomorrow, too; and in twenty years from now(the man's never gonna die, you know) N...E...WAY, you get the picture! I remember him always throwing out his "guarantee". "I guarantee ya that......" he would say, as I rolled my eyes inside, and get on his soapbox about, well, you name it. Smoking, dipping, cussing, ethnicity(to be politically correct), work ethic, Endgate's bull-riding, "Bam's" tennis, Kathy-Lou, Betty Sue, "Candy Kisses", oh, and "what the preachers should be preaching.". If his mouth was open, he was talking about one of those topics. And don't hear me wrong when I say "talking". What I mean is preaching. Not in a typical biased, informative persuasive fashion, but rather, in the type of intimidating, finger-in-your-chest manner one would expect to experience from a car salesman on the last day of the month, one unit shy of "bonus" quota at a quarter to six (and I should know; been there, done that!)
It is this very statement, resounding in my ears as I type, that takes up residence on the tips of my fingers awaiting the "green light" to blurt out for all the world to hear, or see, I guess. I would like to be so bold as to offer this guarantee for anyone who stumbles across this blog. Are you ready?
I have decided that I am going to walk in the full potential of what God has created me for. I am going to succeed in everything that I put my hands to. And the guarantee, you ask? I guarantee that I am going to be a millionaire in the next five years. "Whoa! Hey man, that's a little overboard, don't you think?" "Big deal. Who cares? What about it?" Well, I'll tell you 'what about it'. I am acting on what God has given me. From now on. And you know what? I have been given a whole lot! I'm tired of being the latest generation of "do-nothing, have-nothings" in my family lineage. In my book, "The Buck Stopped Here", I talk a lot about the breakthrough that has taken place in my life because of the shift in my thinking and the recent motivation that has fueled me in the direction I am now going.
Okay, so I don't have a book, yet! It is in the works, though. I do, however, want to encourage you to dream big. I have squelched my own dreams and desires for most of my life because of a conservative belief that it is a very, very small fraction of a percent of people who actually experience success on a broad scale, and why risk the chance of failure and disappointment. But I have kicked that thinking to the curb. My BIG dreams are going to be realized and enjoyed by all, not just my family.
I GUARANTEE YA!