Smokey the Bear Approves your Moves

I always like to start stories with "When I was a little kid..." but really that shouldn't be in the past tense. I'm very much still a little kid, vertically and mentally speaking. Somewhere though, in this growth spurt we all call life, I learned the jedi tricks of camping. And apparently it stuck. I loved everything about it. From finding a good spot for my tent, to making a fire, to just being in the simplicity of nature, it fit me well. And that hasn't changed. I'm still a big fan of playing homeless for a day or two. But every time we were done camping and we were packing up to leave, it was ingrained in me to leave the campsite cleaner than when I arrived.  So I went ahead and put that concept in my pocket of important things to remember.

It always intrigues me to hear someone talking about a nasty breakup they went through. I'm not saying my record is squeaky clean, but I would say that I have a passing friendship grade when it comes to people I would call my past significant other.  Is it because I am super graceful about breaking it off with people? Absolutely not. If you are really good at that, let me know. I'd like to buy you a beer and take some notes. I think it is the idea that somewhere in my subconscious brain is concept of leaving a situation better than when I came into it. I'm not saying that people are better humans because I walked into their life. That is a little too male chickeny for me. What I am saying though is, bring out the best in people that are around you. Get over yourself and don't hold grudges because the timing wasn't right with your past found love. It's always fun talking about past relationships on a public forum right? Yikes.

In this past chapter of my life, I've started new occupations a few times. In a couple different industries too. And what I've learned, is that the concept of advancement is all about who you know, is true. Even for a guy up in Alaska, professionally fishing for salmon, I bet it's about who he knows. No matter the industry, it's good to know people. But it is not all about just knowing a copious amount of people. You can know a ton of people, but if you suck as a human being, it's worth about as much as a velvet painting of whale and a dolphin....What I'm saying is clout trumps popularity. It's good to know a lot of people, but it's even better to have a lot of people know you are legit.

Part of this legitimacy comes from the same concept I learned when I was cleaning up trash from our campsite as a little Jose. Leave the situation better than when you showed up. Think about your last job. What does your old boss say about you when you are brought up in a reminiscent conversation?  If you improved the workplace and left it that way, I'd say they have a good taste in their mouth about your tenure. And that is resounding. That is how you build a great personal brand. It's cool to talk about burning bridges, and I'm sure it's appropriate occasionally. But when it comes to your reputation, no matter your professional industry, it's good to leave your pyro tendencies out of it. Unless your last job was being an actual bridge burner. That's just ironic. So at your current income source, remember to always add value. Whether it's through work ethic, a great attitude or baked goods, make the employment atmosphere better. People remember that.

Essentially what I am saying is that you need to come camping with me. It'll be great, we'll have a beer listen to some country music and talk about the St. Louis Cardinals at some point. Just kidding, but not really.  For real though, no matter what your campsite may be, whether it is a relationship or a job, leave it better than when you showed up. Be awesome. Add value. Yep.

New in my life: Sculpting guns while feeding the family via garden. Recently learned first hand about flash flooding. Good to great is still in effect.

Keep smilin'

JM

Fate, Faith and the Way Things are Supposed to be.

You know when people are trying to remember something and they're having a hard time recalling their memory? And the best thing they can do is talk it out. Swimmy...Swanny.... Sammy....Samosonite! I was way off! I do that same thing via bloggage. So this is me blogging it out.

There's a life philosophy that I believe in that can be explained in three different ways. And I'm sure there's a professor with a long beard out there that has a better rendition of it. Or maybe just Pastor Pete Wilson could explain it. Name dropping what? But here's my crack at it.

Numero Uno: I don't worry a whole lot. Not that I don't have things to worry about,  I'm just not the worrisome type. And part of that is I always find myself saying and thinking, "Things work out the way they are supposed to." Now I've always outspokenly disliked cliches so it's a very hypocritical thing for me say. I suppose I use that wordage mainly to avoid consuming melatonin pills before bed. But I also find a lot of logical truth in the overused saying. It's a free spirited way of saying no matter your actions, life is going to hand you what you need. And over the years I've noticed a couple parallel subjects that tie in well with the "things working out the way they're supposed to" mentality.

Numerus Duo: I grew up in a very Catholic educated atmosphere. As in, I received a grade for religion class and wore a dress code for 12 years, type of atmosphere.  Since I've lost touch with most of my atheist friends, and live in the Paula Dean part of the country,  I'm normally around numerous Christian people on a given day. All this added up means I get my daily recommended dosage of Faith talk. Now Faith can be explained several different ways. That's probably why there's 2,679 different religions. But for me, most of my Faith is trusting that the Big Man has my back. Now whether that's what I want or what I need is completely up to Him. Really, it's just trusting that there's a plan for my life that I have no control of. Since Faith is a popular subject and a rather complex one, there's a million different aspects of it I could talk about here. But I'm not going to. You can't make me. I'm just saying the main premise of my Faith is knowing that "things work out the way they're supposed to."

Novero Tre: On a blurry eyed night, my friend Dave asked me what the difference between Faith and fate were.  I did my very best to intelligently present a logical explanation to him. What I really felt like was a third grader explaining the economics of North Korean business. Now I've guiltily seen my share of romance films. They're not my first choice, but I've been in the movie watching business for 20+ years now, so it's inevitable. From what I've seen, they are many plots that center on this idea of fate.  It was fate that put the girl in the coffee shop at the same time the guy walked in. Everyone has a soul mate. That sorta thing. But if fate is a predestined storyline of life, how is that different from having Faith that God is the author of your life's actions? 

Like I said, I'm just talking this one out. I don't really have the answer. Is fate a part of having Faith? Are they the same thing?  I believe that they are. I think the end result is the same no matter if you're a free spirited hippy, a faithful Catholic Christian or a hopeless romantic. Different ways of telling the story, but the ending comes out the same. See you gotta have Faith that if you believe in fate, everything works out the way it's supposed to. See what I did there? Boom. 

New in my life: Good to great takes patience and self discipline.  This year was a good Super Bowl aside from the game. Deliver with confidence, whether you have it or not.

Keep on smilin'

JM

Live Strong Die Ugly

I don't drive a Volkswagen. Nor do I plan on it. I'm a pick up man (Joe Diffie anyone?). I suppose if they made a cool truck though, I would. Anyways, the folks at Volks have a really cool commercial out right now that is right up my wheelhouse. It's a bunch of people of all ages laughing, and at the end it quotes "It's not the miles, it's how you live them." Pretty baller marketing if you ask me.

When I moved to Nashville 4 years ago I decided I needed cowboy boots. So naturally I went online and found a pair. Outsourcing is cheaper as our Mexican friends have taught us capitalists. But 4 years later my boots have this badass, rugged and scuffed look to them. I've resoled them once already and I'm going to keep on resoling them because the more scuffed they get, the more miles they travel, the more character they have. Who wouldn't want to be badass, rugged and scuffed?

Same with jeans. I have a pair that I'm fairly confident have more patches than they do original fabric. I hope you do to. Because everyone knows jeans aren't comfy until they are almost worn out. In fact, nowadays the young whippersnappers buy jeans that already have holes cut in them. They are manufactured like Paul Bunyan has been wearing them for a couple years. Now, some people have beef with that, but it actually makes sense. As much as we love new things, we also favor the used look on our clothing. But why?

Maybe because we've seen some celebrity or person in the public eye do it, and have come to the conclusion we need to look like that too. Related but side note, I just read that Justin Beiber takes bath salt before he picks out what he's going to wear for the day. Always remember kids...WWJBNW (What would Justin Beiber not wear).

Not to compare the elderly to old boots or jeans, but we humans are the same way. We're cooler when we have traveled some miles and are a little rough around the edges.

We as a society have determined that the experienced look is cool. A lot of people appreciate someone that looks well put together. I'm one of those people. But would you really want someone that is physically and socially perfect? Absolutely not. And lucky for us, no one is.

Truth of the matter is, no matter how high our standards are for people, it can't be perfect. And that's awesome. A lot of the people that I deem as important, it's their quirks that I appreciate the most. That's their personality. Their character. That's why a lot of the times when we miss someone, it's their odd mannerisms we think of first.

Some people call them flaws, but really it's just a scuff or a fray in our personality. And that gives us individuality. The more comfortable you get with your scuff's, the more your personality becomes something other people envy.

So don't worry about making sure that identity of yours seems pristine, everyone is going to be a little rough around the edges. And now a days that's cool. So embrace those little imperfections in yourself and other people. Life will come easier.

In conclusion, just like our clothing and buying a Volkwagen, how we live these miles we travel is what gives us that badass, rugged look. Which ultimately will make us one cool old person.

New in my life: Taking on new responsibilities is synonymous with taking on new debt. I need to return a pie pan. Faith is a tough, but beautiful thing. It's warmer out west this time of year. Salad dressing is delicious.

Keep smilin'

JM

Kryptonite Makes Me Sneeze

There's always that silly interview question of "If you could have a superpower, what would it be?" I always choose practicality and say "Instantly making stoplights green." But creativity tells me there's cooler powers out there...

Superman can fly. The Hulk is super strong. Spiderman can climb and wrap people up.  They all have their one or two characteristics that they use to dominate.  That may be personifying fictional characters,   but there's a good comparison to how us peasantry can use a superhero's conundrum.

I've written about superheroes before. About how anyone can be someone's personal superhero on a daily basis. I dare you to go back and read it. This bloggage is more so about how you should focus on your own personal superhero strengths.

There's a reason people go and see Spiderman over and over again as it's remade.  People love superheroes.  They love to see the good guy win.  When people leave a superhero movie, they want to take that euphoric feeling back home and somehow use it to be a superhero in their own little sphere of influence. Hell, when I got out of Karate Kid, I judo chopped 3 people. That last part is irrelevant and untrue.

In grade school most people do a cornucopia of activities at the same time.  From basketball to baseball to choir to the debate team. But as we approach high school, most of us, for the sake of our parent's schedule and not spreading ourselves to thin, choose one or two extracurriculars to focus on.  So naturally what sport or club do you choose?  The one or two you're best at. Yep. And for 90% of us, that choice we make is not teaching us to pursue that sport or activity as a career, but simply to focus your efforts what you are ninja at. (ninja = really good)

Now sometimes super models get a bad wrap for being less intelligent than the average primate.  But to be honest, that's perfectly okay. And you know what? Engineers usually aren't that great in conversation. Now those are stereotypes, so if you're a whiz super model or an extroverted engineer, cool your pants and go back to hence the words "sometimes" and "usually."

I actually respect the super model for not being as smart as the average bear.  She's done what millions of people who suck at their job have failed to do.  She's figured out her strength in life and she's focusing on it.  If you're not an extrovert that's good with people, that's okay! You don't have to be in sales or on a stage. There's plenty of libraries that need to be kept in order.  If you're not good with kids, don't be a teacher (that goes out to you Mr. Schmidt)

I love to see a doctor or an actor or teacher that are really good at what they do and totally enjoy doing it.  They're not just following a paycheck. They've put some thought into their occupation choice. Boom.

You don't see Captain America jumping off buildings trying to fly.  He knows his own strengths. As should you.  So the point of this creative grouping of words is to remind you to evaluate what you're really best at.  Hopefully you did it about the same time puberty played a part in your life, but if you didn't, give it a whirl these days. If you upwardly dislike your job or don't personally feel like a good fit where you spend a large chunk of your life, do a quick self evaluation of what you're really Superman at.

Choose your superpower and use it for good, not evil.

New in my life: If I visited Nashville, I'd recommend 6 points.  Someone told me dime pieces are better out west. The bear necessities of life are much more than a baller Disney song.

Keep smilin'

Suns Out, Guns Out

Life, put simply, is about barking up the right tree.  They say in the wilderness, you can't survive on elk meat alone because it doesn't have enough fat content for the human body.  That was an interesting fact to get your attention.  In regards to hunting though, the bigger the game, the higher caliber of bullet you are going to need.  We all should apply that weaponry lingo to our own lives.

The word caliber is used to identify different types of bullets, but also is a synonym for quality.  Quality in reference to life, is given based on circumstances.  Our circumstances are often times based on choices we make.  So in essence, you choose your quality of life.  (Let me throw out my personal disclaimer:  I don't drive a pimped out Range Rover on 20's.  Actually, most of you people reading this, have a higher income level than I do.  But my job is better than a lot of people's vacation. Yep.)  Once again though, money doesn't determine your quality of life.  Your habits do.  Example:  A millionaire addicted to cocaine doesn't have a great quality of life.  They simply have comfortable surroundings financially supported by their bank account.

In layman's terms, habits are how you go about your day to day life.  I've preached about this in a few of my prior opinionated chapters.  Like this one: http://www.joemosley.blogspot.com/2011/08/state-farm-who.html  In this jaunt though, I'm not confabulating about specific habits but simply that you should improve yours.  For all you readers who are perfect, disregard that last statement.

Now I've only been alive for a couple of decades or so, but I feel like I've ran into some really smart, successful people throughout my happenings.  I've also had the pleasure of interacting with the other end of the spectrum.  The difference between wicked successful people and those that don't bring much to the table?  You guessed it, habits.  Here's the definition based on the book of me: Habits(n): What you do and how you treat people. It's your demeanor, the way you carry yourself, your swag, for my R&B friends.

Remember the hunting speak from earlier?  The bigger the game, the bigger caliber.  Use that in life.  Step up your game. Step up you caliber. Boom.

New in my life: It took a second to recharge from that.  Being selfish is not a negative thing. 67% of my wardrobe has been given to me.  Mexican food definitely became popular because of the free chips before the meal. Apparently I my thumb is green.

Keep smilin'