There are two types of people I automatically don’t trust. The first is the guy who just walks up to you in a public area and starts talking to you out of the blue. If you are in a busy area, a stranger walks up and starts a conversation, the odds are pretty high that there is a con coming. Just keep on your toes and you’ll see the scam headed your way. He needs some cash, wants to sell you something….
Think I’m cynical? Those are just the odds.
Now you may be wondering what the other type of person is that I don’t trust. Would you like to take a guess?
Lawyer?
Politician?
Car salesman?
No, no and no. With all those people, you know what you’re dealing with and you know that they have an agenda. As long as you know what the agenda is, you can you can only kick yourself if you fall for the trick. [click to continue…]
The other day, I was in a crowded DMV. It was the end of the month and since everyone waits until the last minute to do things, there were at least 40 people in the lobby standing in line. All of the sudden, a woman entered the lobby and demanded to know who was driving the maroon Ford Taurus in the parking lot.
A woman at the front of the line turned around and replied, “That’s my car. What happened?” [click to continue…]
In the early 90’s, I was with the team that built the original holding facilities at Guantanamo Bay. These were built for the Haitians fleeing to the United States. A rumor floated through the camps that if one could only step on U.S. soil, the Americans must let you stay. The Haitians knew that Florida was only 90 miles from Cuba. So close, but so far away. As a cruel joke, the Americans had built the camp on the shore where the Haitians could even see Florida on the horizon across the ocean.
About once every three weeks, one of the Haitians would decide to make a break for it. They would use something to throw over the fence, scramble down the rocks and dive into the water. The race was on as they swam with all their might. And to their amazement nobody would pursue. They would swim and swim and would finally reach the land. There they were welcomed by U.S. military personnel who would help them out of the water and then congratulate them on reaching the OTHER SIDE of Guantanamo Bay. [click to continue…]
In a previous post, I mentioned running into my old boss. At 13 years old, being big for my age, I went to work in the hayfields. How I got connected with Steve Fisher, I don’t remember. But he taught me things about life that I still carry with me today. I would like to expound upon one of the ideas that has been meaningful to me. Based on what I see every day, this idea would be helpful to a lot of people. [click to continue…]
Uncle Lex in front of the Eminonu Mosque
I am currently shaking the cobwebs from my skull. For those of you that keep up with me on Facebook or Twitter, you know I’ve been in Turkey for the past several days. (If you’re not following me on Facebook or Twitter, you should be.) I’ll get back to my regular schedule soon, but first I wanted to share the three things I learned during my trip to Turkey. [click to continue…]
There is a ton of advice out there to help you make good decisions. Or, at least to make better decisions. Why is that? Because life is a game of choices. The better the decisions you make, the happier and the easier goes your life.
But it seems that the tons of advice are often overlooked and so many people are Hell-bent on making bad decisions. So if you are one of those knuckle-heads who wants to make a name for yourself in all the wrong ways, let’s not waste time in the decision making process with “silly” decisions. Let’s start making decisions that will be epic. Here’s how: [click to continue…]
What started off as a cold morning, resulted in a beautiful day of hiking with Mama and Chepe.
We have three components of time to play with: the Past, the Present and the Future. All three are important to guide us. But I would submit to you that although all three are necessary, most of our time should be spent on the Present.
The Past should be used as nothing more than a learning tool. It shapes us and molds us, but we can’t live there. Some of the most desperately sad people in the world are those who live in the Past. It’s gone, baby. Study it. Grow from it. But do not build a cabin there.
The Future, too, is important. I agree that goals and plans are necessary to achieve success. Yet, this too is not a place to homestead. You see, a life full of dreams with no action is a fairytale with a sad ending.
It’s the here and now that matters. Armed with the knowledge gained from the Past and guided by the direction of the Future, it’s right now that counts. It’s where we take each of the necessary steps toward achieving our goals. To do that, we must Be in the Moment. [click to continue…]
Is it 3/4 full or 1/4 empty?
Sometimes, Mama is a free spirit. She’s funny and so light hearted. She is awesome to be around. Her mood is infectious and helps me relax. However, there are other times that woman absolutely drives me nuts. She can be completely silly, almost juvenile and believe me when I say it is incredibly irritating. To tell the truth, she doesn’t change that much. What actually changes is my perception of her. [click to continue…]