lAtesT uNconditionaL wIsdoM -->

I must have inherited the daylight from when I was a seed.

I cherish the night but do my best to subdue my lustful greed.

I am my own impediment on occasion but block the blame.

My appetite has no bottom and cares not of my history or name.

It’s gray for me to be the way I feel but speak in a different tone.

My vices could run me down if I chose to step out and become alone.

I’m casually pressed on the edge of chaos teetering on a gusting breeze.

That careless presence is what keeps me balanced and at visual ease.

Knowing this moment could crash my being and detract my life’s score.

I sinfully hold my eyes in gaze at my future as my tongue wags for more.

The moderation of less in my soul gives me the path to eternal success.

A constant turmoil with my creature side who’s goal is an eternal mess.

In dark days I feel little to no fear because I own dark within my soul.

In bright days I hold my light high as humanity’s illuminessence is my goal.

But no man is stronger than his borders so one must hold some line.

Personal revision is our art of life so our intersecting paths allow us to refine.

 

Last night I was talking with my girlfriend in to the late hours of the night (about 4am) and I noticed an orange glow on the wall in my living room. So, I glanced out the window and there was a fire high in the sky. A house was on fire. It was quite strange. First thing I did was call 911 and report it. The second thing I did was ran outside to see if everybody was okay. I happened to take my camera as well. I’m going to put together a video here in a couple days of the footage I filmed. The main issue I have with the fire was not that it happened but that it happened within a few hundred feet of a fire station. Seriously, this fire was burning for 30 minutes before the fire fighters even bothered to show up. For perspective look at the map to your left. The blue dot is the fire station and the red dot is where the fire station is. I would think there has to be a problem here. I’ve lived in this neighborhood over 3 years and when I first moved here I was told about the bustling mall that burned down a couple years before I got there. Guess where the shopping mall was? Yes, right across the road from the fire station. I checked my smoke alarm as soon as I got back to the house after watching this fire decimate the said house. I’m not even sure what the fire station is there for. The worst thing about this was there are two houses in very close proximity to the burning house that could have went up in flames. This neighborhood has a lot of houses that are close together. I don’t feel safe with that fire station in our neighborhood. I used to think it was awesome to have one so close but after two historical examples of property burning to the ground with terrible response time I question the security I feel because of this. Thanks Nashville Metro for putting the most useless fire station in Old Hickory, TN. I don’t feel safe at all because of it. Video will follow in a couple days.

I’ve spent most of my life with one major goal. That goal is to not be subject to the same poverty I grew up under. There are boundless opportunities for those who are resourceful and have a willingness to succeed. However, when you grow up being poor there are some major obstacles you have to overcome. It really seems simple when you point out what the things you have to overcome are. But actually overcoming a sense of self-limitation and belief in lack that one has engrained in their mind and spirit is very, very difficult.

The primary difference between poor and wealthy families is that wealthy families and their children feel like they deserve wealth. They feel entitlled to wealth and thus attract wealth in their life. I remember growing up and thinking that there was a core limitation to what I could achieve because we didn’t have enough and because I wasn’t worthy. Every time we would get some money my mom would spend it quickly like someone was going to take it from us if we didn’t. There was no concept of saving or investment. There was no theory of wealth and really no feasible way back then that it could be achieved. The only thought of exceeding the circumstances of poverty was the possibility that I could finish school and get a grant or loan to go to school where I could get a degree and then provide a better future than my mother had built. Of course I had no love for school and that turned out to not be in my future but that’s been went over in other posts. The only other way we could escape poverty was if my mother magically won the lottery or some new work-at-home scheme she had bought in to started to work.

My mother had 2 jobs most of the time when I was growing up so she could provide for us. We lived with my grandmother during my entire youth. There were a few times where we were so poor we had to accept handouts for both food and clothing. I remember and now regret being embarrassed that my mother was using food stamps. I walked out of the grocery store because I was embarrassed we had to get help and i didn’t want anybody to know. I understand I could have been way worse off. I could have lived in a country that didn’t have such assistance where we could have starved. So, I understand that by our standards we were poor but by the standards of the world we weren’t bad off. However, event the taste of poverty I had was far more than enough.

I promised myself I nor my children would ever be subject to those circumstances. I also promised myself that I would do things on my terms throughout my life. Sometimes these promises have contradicted one another and i have had to live life on other people’s terms in order to not live in poverty. I’ve had some rough times in my career where I wasn’t sure how I was going to eat or where my next dollar for my power bill was coming from but mostly I’ve been blessed. There are still things I struggle with. Overcoming generational poverty is overcoming something you are raised with when you grow up poor. Some of the things you have to overcome are:

1. Self-worth - Growing up poor you sometimes start to believe that you are worth less and have less potential. You have the same potential as anyone and must build that sense of self-worth up. If you don’t have a strong sense of self-worth you will have a difficult time because you will be swayed by everyone who pushes you around.


2. There’s not enough - The mindset that there is not enough to go around and/or that you don’t deserve a substantial amount of anything is a hard thing to get past. The world is unlimited and you have to understand that you are always capable and deserving of whatever is out there.


3. Nobody’s gonna eat off your plate - I don’t know if this one was just my family but my mother spent like it was going out of style when we had a little bit more money than normal. I understand she really wanted more for me and wanted to treat me but there was no concept of saving which is still embedded in the way I do things. I am a firm believer that children should learn the concepts of investment and saving as early as possible. I feel that because I didn’t learn this early I’m fighting an uphill battle.


4. We can’t get it now and pay later - This is one is very hard to learn. Credit should be used as little as possible. It’s best to buy only what you have money for. That desire and drive to get what you want will push you to get the money to have it. Don’t get yourself so far in debt you could never escape it. Banks and loan companies don’t want to help you they want to enslave you.


5. You are the one that breaks the cycle - Generational poverty is common. We are very much more likely than not to live under the same circumstances as our parents did. This is true even in the good ole’ USA. If your parents were poor or middle class or wealthy you are likely to fall under the same or similar circumstances. Be unique and be better than your parents… create wealth and opportunity so you and your children can live better. Society as a whole benefits from this.

I had a meeting with someone today who just wanted to talk to me about being a web developer, about Nashville and about life in general it seems. I don’t really know this person. They emailed me out of nowhere and wanted to talk to me in person. The guy was in the print industry for a long time and has been trying to learn programming and wanted some advice. His wife lives here in Nashville and he lives in Atlanta while he’s looking for a job. A lot of what we talked about was him wanting to break in to a new industry without any experience in that industry. I felt it would be useful to give him advice since I’ve had plenty of people that have given me advice and helped me become who I am today. Though I’m busy I really think it’s important to share the knowledge you have with people when you can afford to. By sharing your knowledge with people you will in turn have others share their knowledge with you and so the cycle will continue.

So, I guess the turning point in the conversation for him is I told him that he has to choose to be a web developer and decide that he is one. At that point he will act as if he is one and all the right things will fall in to place. I think a lot of people fail on the point that they wait for something to happen before they can ‘be’ something. You could be included in this if you have ever said:

1. I get this figured out or finish school I will be ___________ .


2. When I get this new project I will be __________.


3. When I get done with this I will be __________.

Now, you can fill in any adjective you want above in those blanks. You can even fill nouns. For example the thought that you aren’t a programmer until you get a job programming or finish school for programming is invalid. One day I woke up and decided I was a programmer. One day I woke up and decided I was a poet. One day I woke up and decided I was a businessman. I didn’t really require an external event to prove to me that I was. External events reinforce the belief that I am what I believe I am. When I wake up I choose to be happy or not happy. Events throughout the day make that feeling less or more but the fact I have already chosen to be gives me some resilience and some template to work from. Belief tends to drive the human life.

It has been my observation that people only feel worthy of something positive if they have expended the necessary social rituals or had some events happen to them so they claim they can be __________ . However, those who just choose to be and act as if will just as easy, if not easier, become so inclined. Okay, sounds a bit easier than it may be for you. It’s a paradigm shift, for sure. Start with something easy. Close your eyes in the morning when you wake up and decide to be upset. This is easy, because a lot of people act angry when they want attention. So, act angry. Go throughout your day being angry. Find reasons to be angry and make it present. You will find it was really easy to be angry. The next day close your eyes and decide to be happy… think of happy things. Good, now go throughout your day doing thing that make you more happy and build upon that initial mood you have chosen. It’s a lot easier to take control of your life than you think.

This applies to most profession switches. Wake up one morning and choose to be a programmer. Write code, learn code and visit forums where other programmers are and read what they write. Participate if you can and make programmer friends. Call up or visit a programmer you know and talk to them about programming news you read… you may not understand it all but you will learn much more quickly. It may not feel natural at first but you will grow in to it much more easily. If you act as if then so you will be. It has to feel real to you though. If you can’t enjoy what you do then it may not be for you. For a profession change you may need a degree in some cases but at least taking on the role of feeling like you are already there will put you in the right place. Being around others in the profession could lead to an opportunity for you to make cash at it and really make it your career.

Immersion is the best way to learn a new language the same way immersion is the best way to learn anything.

In times like these people tend to let their ambitions fall by the wayside and settle for just enough or getting by. I believe that in any time this is a self limitation that should not be a part of anyone’s reality. We still must aim high and push hard for our goals. Yet, it’s easy to get distracted on your way to your goals by the daily problems of life. I’m going to offer some real world solutions on how to keep your dreams alive in the face of diversity. These rules have worked for me and may work for you.

1. Focus daily on the goals you have. Close your eyes and picture yourself as already succeeding with your goals. Make it feel real. Use your imagination. Spend some time in your future reality. Imagine the things you will do when you achieve your goals.


2. Discard the naysayers. Those who don’t encourage you on the way to accomplishing your goals are a distraction. Do your best to tune them out.


3. Do not use the word ‘try’ in regard to your goals. If you are trying you aren’t doing. Think about what other words you can use. Never use the word ‘try’ or ‘trying’.


4. Break your goal in to steps and paths. Remember that there are many paths to the same goal and you will have to be open minded about which paths you choose. Pick what I call a ‘path’, which is a set of small achievable tasks that lead you to your goal. Sometimes a path will become less tangible and you will have the chance to cross over to another path to reach your goal. People get caught up in their mind sometimes that there is this one path and only this one path to reach their goal but that is usually not true. Open your mind to different paths.


5. When you have picked a path break it down to tasks. Work on these tasks every day. Make them small enough to achieve so you can feel the wind of progress under your feet. Success leads to further success.


6. Tell positive people in your life about your tasks, your path and your goals. This makes it more real. As I said in #2 be careful of naysayers though.


7. Don’t get overwhelmed by the flurry of tasks that lead to your goal. If you try to do too much at once you will get overwhelmed. It’s difficult but try to only plan 5-10 tasks ahead on your path. Think of it like this… if you know the path is 100 miles long you will feel overwhelmed and are likely to give up. If you only see a few hundred yards in front of you then your momentum will keep you motivated.


8. Ignore statistics. Many times if you look at the statisitics about others trying to achieve your goal or what is ‘normal’ about people trying to achieve the same goal and you don’t fit that mold you will get discouraged. In my goals I sometimes did look at the statistics anyway just to understand how great it would be for me to overcome those statistics. However, I’m not that easily discouraged. So, statistics just motivate me to prove them wrong.


9. Your goal is not a dream, a distant possibility or an ‘if’. It’s a reality that just hasn’t come to pass. Treat it as such and mention it as such to others. Use ‘when’ not ‘if’. Use ‘goal’ not ‘dream’. Use patience. Keep your resolve. You are achieving your goal in incremental steps.

I’m a pretty busy guy. So, night before last I had some important tasks that required my attention and I only got 3 1/2 hours sleep. I was sure that I would be done with my day by noon. But, this bad ass product kept me going.

I am completely averse to stimulants. I don’t drink coffee and I don’t do energy drinks. The only time I get caffeine is a little sweet tea now and then. So, a few weeks back I saw this 5-hour Energy Decaf edition and though I was skeptical I bought two bottles. Energy shots usually make me feel like a jittery, disconnected mess. So, I waited this long to try it.

In my desperation I decided I could do this and not feel so bad about it. Well, it was the right thing to do. Really, I would still only use this in an emergency situation but it’s nice to know I have something I can count on if I need it.

I sipped on this during the morning hours until the bottle was gone. I didn’t take it all at once. By about 8pm I was really feeling worn out and I ended up going to sleep about 9pm. I slept till 5am this morning and got up early to start my day. I really didn’t feel a crash or an immediate loss of energy. It was more of a slow downturn of energy. Anyway, a great product and I would definitely recommend.

 

Hi, my name is Will. I is be terrible at da spellin and the gramma. I caught some flame on my education post here on my blog and on twitter. Mostly because my spelling and grammar were terrible on the that post. Granted, it was an education post so maybe that was important. But, guess what folks? I know a ton of people who are very intelligent and can’t spell at all and rely heavily on their grammar/spell checker.

Second, I really doubt any English teachers or Lit Majors are reading my blog. But, if you are, please stay away from my rants that I write late at night. Hmmm… maybe I should flag them so you know. What is it with these OCD spelling and grammar nazis? Get a life. Now, I know some of the retort was from people who disagreed with my views on education. They just wanted some poo to throw in my face.

Look, I don’t give a damn all that much. The only reason I’m writing this post is because I love a lively argument and I think people are being way to tight over punctutation and spelling. Please, argue me on content and basis with facts and opinions. For that you will be respected and I won’t delete your comments. Hell, I won’t delete your comments anyways. If they are extremely obscene I may reserve the right to remove them. But if they are just insults towards me, that’s not a problem.

To the left of this article you will see the spelling bee award I gave myself. Stop being a buch of boring assholes. If you disagree argue with me. I will be putting all my posts after this one in a word processor and checking spelling/grammar before posting. However if I miss something and you are too OCD to deal with my spelling and grammar I have a gift for you of punctuation and spare letters you can use to fill it in for me. You can redeem these any time you need them for any of my posts.

f….,,.;..;::’"u&,’/?………c;;:::::::…,,,,,,,,\k….;;;;”’&(….),,,,,,y;;;;;;;;……,,,,,,,,,o&….”’;;;;;;;u

Update: Feels like I’m telling a lot of people this now. So, I figured I’d update the post. I promise I will be good and use a spell/grammar checker from now on. I know a ton of smart people who have shitty grammar and spelling so stop the presses guys. Give me a day or so to update the post.

Me

Being a CEO, a programmer and a writer you might assume I am classically educated. Well, you’d be wrong. I don’t even hold a high school diploma. In a way I’m proud of how far I’ve come without it and I think it’s a testament to my resourcefulness. I have had a couple people ask me why I don’t go get it just to have some paper that qualifies my education. Well, a long time ago I did go in to get my piece of paper and take the GED test. But, me being me, I was a few minutes late and they wouldn’t let me in to take the test. This was when I was 18. After that, I never got around to getting the GED or Diploma. At some point I started wearing it as a badge and used it to promote my views on the education system.

The Question

So, the question should be "Why would someone who is obviously intelligent not be able to complete high school?". That’s a good question. The simple answer is I was extremely bored. School couldn’t satisfy my thirst for knowledge fast enough and all of the steps I had to take to get a grade seemed irrelevant. I could get 100% on a test without doing homework and just reading the relevant chapter with a couple questions to the teacher I didn’t need any more guidance. The same thing that has been a great benefit to me in the real world was a detrament to me in school. If I decided not to do homework then it counted against my grades, no matter how high my test scores were. I was scoring college level on standardized test at 9th grade for most of my subjects.

One Size Fits All

The current education system in the United States is a result of the Industrial Age with little in the way of modification. Excuse me for this dim view on Education but I’m about to say what I really think of this country’s system. The public education system is a poor baby sitter intent on teaching a government prescribed set of values that create loyal nationalist tax payers and consumers at the same pace for every child. A child who falls outside of that pace is seen as ‘difficult’ and penalized because they don’t fit the mold that the government desires to create. Every child learns in a different way but the system is setup to serve the lowest common denominator which can squeeze the life out of the truly advanced students and leave behind the slowest of students. Basically, if you don’t fall close to the middle you don’t make it. We don’t reward exceptional students who are out of the box thinkers as much as we reward students who follow the intended structure and abide by the patterns we suggest are ‘right’. One size doesn’t truly fit all and I wonder if I got left behind by this system how many other did or how many just learned to brainwash themselves to deal with the inadequacy of the system.

Education That Doesn’t Hurt

Federal central-command style budget management, overbearing educational standards that mean mostly nothing and unions that don’t understand that by protecting the weakest in their herd they hurt themselves are all damaging the system. The purpose of all people should be to educate children and create the next set of Outliers that will innovate and create the things we need to move this world in to a responsible and productive Information Age. Cream will likely always rise to the top even in the face of a system that works against many who need it. Things like Charter Schools, Homeschooling and or Private Schools that don’t have these problems are things I will be looking in to as a parent. I will not send my son to general public school, ever. At least not in their current state. I have a feeling doubling the budget of this system (as has been done by Obama) may not solve the problem. A general revolution in the public education system is needed. I will withhold judgement on what the new administration will do with all the money being showered on them for Education… but I’m skeptical.

Suggestions For Learnin’

What do I know about Education? I mean I dropped out in 10th grade. (-: Anyways, here are some suggestions I have for what I would do if I were to have an unlimited budget to invest in a school of my own.

1. No singular views on historical events. History is written by the victor. We need to consider the loser’s point of view, why they lost and how they felt. Nothing can be understood without really understanding more than one perspective.


2. Ethics. Why can’t we teach ethics in school? Seems like Ethics should be a subject. Maybe if some of these shady Wall Street types had taken an ethics class and failed we’d know who to not trust with our money.


3. Homework is Optional. If you can pass tests and understand the subject matter than you have no homework. Hey, what a great incentive to pay attention, take good notes and study them.


4. Economics For Youngins. At the earliest age they can count they should not only learn about money but the school should be given a micro-economy where goods and services can be traded for mock money. So few children leave school with any mind for managing their own money or having any understanding of money.


5. Respect the Outliers. Those who are very quick should be allowed to advance as quickly as they can absorb subject matter. Those who are slower should be given the resources and time to be successful.


6. Apprenticeships. If a student takes an early interest in a subject they should be allowed to apprentice with a professional in that industry at an early age to learn more. As early as 13-14 but even earlier than that they should be encouraged and allowed to pursue an interest if they show interest in something.


7. Respect Different Styles of Learning. Some people are better at auditory learning, some visual, some need both and some need examples. We should teach and class people together based on how they learn.


8. Respect Different Schedules. Did you know 20% of us are tuned to be better at night (terrible with mornings) and 20% of us are better in mornings (terrible at night). The rest of us fall in between. Teachers are in these groups too. We should test for this and put late rising teachers with late rising students and early rising teachers with early rising students and those that fall in between don’t matter as much. Read Brain Rules.


9. Respect Physical Education. We are creatures that need to be on the move. We don’t learn as well when we don’t sweat. Go back to my link about Brain Rules (a great book).


10. Respect Sleep. This one is a bit more optional but if we were following our body’s patterns as again suggested in Brain Rules (third plug for this book) we would sleep once in the afternoon for a short nap and we would gain over 30% efficiency throughout the rest of the day. That’s a high gain. Guess what? We learn better when we get more sleep. Crazy.

It’s in the self serving of most goals that I be who I can’t help but be.

In some ways I’m a father, a peasant of my company yet a man who is free.

But in others I’m capitivated by the surrounding bind that glues me to my family.

I shuffle my own desires about the box that is my life, sometimes unserving to me.

The sun shines on my back and warms my soul for the loving sacrifice.

At the humble altar of toil for which a man gives his sweat for a bag of rice.

Responsible for the stray thoughts who lead to idle hands gambling like dice.

For every moment is production and through it production becomes a vice.

To hold a child high on light and call it’s name knowing that it’s of you.

This is a gift, a burden and a reward that gives and takes you through.

To see deep in the eyes of your love and know she depends you be true.

This is a gift, a burden and a reward that reflects what you need to do.

Every day has it’s gift and that present is yours and yours alone.

When you attract abundance through depth of desire your reward is grown.

No desire is greater than the pride of showing your family’s flag flown.

From two we come and through two we give one at a time as our flag is sewn.