Debt Monster on Life Support

 My debt monster is on his death bed.  His best days are behind him.  I'm writing his obituary.  He was much more formidable when he had seven heads and spewed fire from his nostrils.  Sadly, his life is filled with regrets.  As tempting as his empty promises once were, his life is about to come to a conclusion because I ignored his pleas to spend beyond my means.

If you happen to be living with a debt monster, I want you to have hope for a better future.  It begins with saying no to the monster.  Cut him off.  He's not human.  He's a blood-sucking demon who wants your soul.  Caving in means slavery.  Fight to get your life back.  The two of you cannot co-exist.  In order for you to live the life you desire, you must kill your debt monster.  Have a great day.

What's Your Story?

 How do you feel about sharing your story?  If we were sitting around the campfire, what would you share with me about your life?  What chapters are ahead for you that are currently unwritten?  Are you excited about what is to come?

Maybe some day I will get to hear your story.  I'm thankful for those of you who are in my life who have been willing to share.  I'm also excited to share what is ahead.  The one day at a time strategy for sharing seems to work for me because it prevents me from being overwhelmed.  There is much to share in the coming months ahead.  All I can say today is that I'm delighted you tune in here to check up on me.  I look forward to learning more about your story.  Have a great day.

The Molecules are Working

 I'll be sharing the details soon.  I'm still not sure if the improvements are placebo related or if they are the real deal.  Either way, I'm going through some great changes.  It's also hard to pinpoint which variable is giving me the best results.  It is possible that the results are due to a combination of factors.

The most significant change I'm observing has to do with what's going on inside my mind.  The aging process appears stalled.  My memory seems to be improving.  I may be a lab rat but I'm taking notes.  Stay tuned for more about the molecules.  I'm thankful for all these discoveries and promise to share more for those curious about slowing down the inevitable – aging.  Have a great day.

Celebrate at all Times

 How is your day going today?  I ask this question because I know deep down that we all have those days when things aren't going the way we thought they should.  Perhaps our outlook could be different if someone could just ask us, "How is your day going?"  

If you happen to be having one of those days when life seems extra challenging, try this... Look around and find one thing, just one thing today that you can celebrate.  Make a big deal of that one thing.  Celebrate like no other.  If nothing is going right in your life and you can't find one thing, look to your friends.  Look for one thing they are excited about and be happy for them.  Celebrate their one thing that is going well with them.  Have a great day.

Oops!

Call off the search party.  My missing post from yesterday was found on my laptop this morning.  In my rush to get out the door I missed the "publish" button, a final step to get my stories out to the world.  Don't worry. I'm still here doing what I love every morning before sunrise.  

How do you feel when an "oops" occurs in your life?  I'm discovering my life is filled with these.  These moments give me an opportunity to comprehend how insignificant they really are in the big picture.  What's important to me is to keep moving forward.  I'm really getting excited about everything that is on my plate.  I'm also learning the best way to get things done.  Visualization is an important of this.  If I spend enough time developing the projects in my mind before I put it into action the easier it is to go through the process.  I expect to have certain "oops" moments along the way, especially when I'm juggling multiple goals simultaneously.  Thank you for being patient with me when I blow it.  It's time to hit the publish button and check to see this message pops up in cyberspace before I head off to my day job.  Next week I'll be blogging on the road.  Hopefully, the oops moments will be kept to a minimum.  Have a great day.

Here's an Idea to Help You Overcome Obstacles

 If you read yesterday's story, you already know what I plan to do in 2022.  The objections are already swirling around in my head like a soon-to-be formed tornado.  Isn't that usually what happens when you come up with what you think is a great idea?  The naysayers come out of the woodwork to tell you all the reasons why your ideas are crazy.  Then, the self-doubt creeps in.  Your mind invents objections that may or may not come true should you stay on your journey.

Yesterday's blog message was more of my mind's response to the elephant in the room and he's asking me, "Michael, where are you going to get the money to buy Lucy?"  Isn't that the question that usually comes up first anytime you come up with a vision.  I can hear Tom Cruise shouting at me, "Show me the money!"

If money is the show stopper, I already came up with a creative way to handle the objection.  Yep.  I don't adopt Lucy (our future dream home on wheels) until I have the money to adopt her.  That's a fair solution. My guru, Dave Ramsey, would surely agree with this idea.  Why get back in debt after finally achieving financial freedom (that's in the near future)?  Most people would stop there at the objection and then wait, deferring their dream until some future time that may not ever happen.

Here's another objection:  "Hey, Michael.  What about all those supply chain issues?  Won't it be forever until you get your parts for Lucy?"

That's why building Lucy from the inside using freed up monthly disposal income makes so much sense.  If there's a supply issue, I can wait up to a year to get what I need because I'm only building Lucy from the inside while saving money to adopt her.  

What I'm suggesting here is that you dream first, visualize all the objections, and then find a creative way to handle these objections before you begin working in earnest to make your dream come true.  

Here's another objection I'm hearing from people who are deferring building their dream homes due to the shortage of wood?  "Hey Michael, have you heard how much wood costs these days?"  

Wood shortages are more common in my area due to this massive storm we had called a Derecho.  It destroyed homes and caused a big surge in building costs.  Here's my answer:  Aluminum.  Yep.  Extruded aluminum.  80/20 to be specific.  I'm going to building Lucy with mostly aluminum.  I may be a newbie when it comes to building a dream home on wheels but I do believe I've seen enough objections in my lifetime to know the only way to achieve a dream is to conquer each and every objection that comes your way.  Have a great day.

Sharing a Figment of My Imagination

 I can name a number of reasons why a certain figment of my imagination won't ever become a reality.  Those reasons don't really matter much to me because I've experienced some profound moments in my life when those figments became seeds that sprouted new adventures.  I'm referring to Lucy.  She's only a thought right now.  A better way to describe her is that she's a vision.  I'm sitting in my basement studio thinking of her right now.  The house is empty today.  I will be working on my book projects as soon as I finish today's blog message.  Before I sign off, I do want to share a little bit more about Lucy.

Lucy weighs in at 4,768 pounds.  She will be empty on the inside when my wife and I adopt her, hopefully sometime next year.  The idea is to spruce Lucy up with everything we need to turn her into a home on wheels.  The people I've been watching on YouTube who show newbies like me how to build these dream homes on wheels all buy their vans first.  I have this crazy idea that I build most of the insides first and then adopt Lucy once her guts are assembled.  Why not do it this way?  That would make the adoption process a rather unique experience.  Stay tuned.  2022 is going to be an interesting year.  Have a great day.