Yes it's late.

.....and headed into the weekend. I waited to post this blog on purpose.

I am gaining some of the best traction in my life. I am. But if you think that that means it's easy, you need to stop thinking. This is, and has been the most difficult time period in my life. It's a transition, yes, but that doesn't mean it's easy. For years, everyone I can think of has told me that things will get better. They don't. For years people told me God cares, or they loved me. He doesn't care (because it isn't his responsibility), and people can only love to the extent that they know love (or themselves, and usually those that love them selves are not very loving, in general).

I have been accused of having it easy, and being happy (as if that should be accusatory at all), looking happy, and everything else, while being thrown under the bus and reminded and reprehended for past transgressions and failures. You have to live past that (ironic). You have to get through that and see who you really are. 

I went to a birthday party for a dear friend tonight. I don't get invited out a lot (despite what people think), and I got to see an old friend from High School, and that was good as well. What really worked tonight was (what I felt) solidifying a friendship with a high school friend and her husband. I have a roommate and best friend, and don't get me wrong she is awesome, but you need more than one person in your life. 

Sure as I go threw everyday, and every night, I battle feelings and thoughts of failure and regret; fear and judgement. They may not be evident, but they are there. I don't feel I am any different than any other human, and I have learned that anyone that can feel their feelings, has the same things going on that I do. 

In baseball, every one knows that there is a time period when you start to get on a hot streak. That is true, and the baseball looks like the size of a beach ball; yes! But guess what? Odds are that hot streak was preempted by a cold streak. Depending on the severity; one in which many "bandwagon fans" may have jumped off, and depending on the length or the time frame, he may have been traded to different teams even. You know what though? None of that matters, because that individual is now on a hot streak. This cold streak is coming to a close. All those who witnessed it, gave up on it, or otherwise, just watch! Those who kept believing, just watch! Those who are instigating and instructing it, just watch! 

Get your den in order, so that when the opportunity comes, you can hit the sweet spot over and over again! 

We are only a product

You can be no more than you experience.

Your life cannot amount to more than you experience. Sometimes this helps. When you are going through great times, bad times, or something new, it helps to know that this is growing you. It's not always easy, and sometimes is paralyzingly scary, but in the end you are more. I read an article this morning that helped me with my "let down" from vacation.

It's not that vacation was time off, I already have too much of that, it was that I experienced so many new things, and I realize there is so much more out there to have! It never fails to amaze me when narrow minded (experienced) people try to place their stamp on something they have never experienced. When they try to understand those who have.

One of my favorite people to follow is Richard Branson. He is always encouraging everyone to experience their days differently. Take a different way to work, change things up, don't something you want that you normally wouldn't, stop fearing, don't be afraid of "the man". His twitter page is full of mind challenging thoughts that make your mind experience things you normally wouldn't. Giving your mind the power and permission to experience things it normally wouldn't can be life altering!

Get out there and meet new people, do new things, have zero agenda, and find out what great things come your way. Find out why less is more, and more is less; and also why both of those can be good things.

A strict den is a dungeon, a life that brings the outside in the a den full of life!

Too much of a good den is a bad thing.

Sometimes we make excuses that make zero sense.

Sometimes I want things to be as hard as they seem. The reality is that I am making them harder. Sometimes I get into funks and don't believe I can write a blog or even function that day. The truth is, I'm bored, and not just bored, but bored and stuck. 

Any human needs to be productive in order to feel good about themselves. The moment they aren't productive is when darkness starts to creep in. I need productivity, you need productivity. Some handle humility better than others. I can admit that I haven't handled that well, even though I know it's the key to peace. 

Our hopes and dreams are one thing, but attaining them is quite another. Going out and doing whatever it takes is not easy. Ask anyone who has ever had to work for what they have, no matter how much that is. The difference between a business leader and the common individual is persistence and patience. In some cases your circumstance will test one or both of these. Quitting doesn't have to be down right giving up, it can simply be the failure to act. 

Dave Ramsey often talks about taking time to build things properly, and that the effort you put in plus the time you take to build will equal your results. I know that sounds like a math formula, but it isn't. Some people expect things to happen too quickly, and they don't want to put in the time and effort it takes to get the results you want. I  had a boss like that, and they are the worst. Others want to do things quickly and won't pay attention to how they do them and they come crying that everything keeps falling apart. You have to do both. Only you can decide the pace while balancing your time and effort. 

So where am I going with this? I believe that everyone has something they love doing and something they do for a living. I also think that everyone should work towards freeing their selves from employement into their own freedom with both time and finances. I don't not however believe that it is good to ever stop working. I don't believe in retirement. Retirement to me is like signing deaths document. 

A den can be your job and/or your life. Spend time in multiple dens so one doesn't devour you! 

To my children.

To my children Shelby, Zachary, and Jeremy,

The world is wrong. You do not belong to your mother's side of the family. You are the son's and daughter of Me (Daniel), the son of Mitch, the son of Chester. History has always followed the line of the father. Women marry men and take on their names. Don't think that I am saying that your mothers are not important. They are, and they are special to me also, but the way things get set up by a court, it seems that father's aren't important or reliable. Those are lies!

The love I have for you is not anything you can understand until you are in my shoes. The only thing I can do is make sure you know I love you. Growing up I always thought my dad loved other children more than his own. I have other kids in my life that I care about, but I cannot love them the way I love you. You are my children. When I first became a father (Shelby) I knew I loved you more than any woman I had ever or would ever love. That was a game changer. When I became a father to sons, I knew my that either my dad did love me more, or he was (is?) crazy.

Each of you are very different. And different situations surround each of you everyday. I love each of you the same and in your own way. I don't get to do or say many of the things I want to. The state of Texas has decided that dads are not as important as mothers. They are wrong. Dad's are equally as important if not more so. Father's provide a sense of protection, strength, and love that mother's cannot. Much like Mom's provide different needs than dad's do for their children.

Don't pay attention to those who try to distinguish between Dad's and Father's either. There is no difference. Those who try to distinguish are just having "daddy issues". I am your Dad and I am your Father. Your Mothers are not your Father, your Granddads are not your Father, and your Mothers partners are not your Father. I am, and I will be that until the day you die!

I know this may seem like I am trying desperately to help you understand that I am your Dad, but that's not it. The point is, the three of you have changed my life forever. No one can take that from me ever! I might do a lot of things wrong, and mess up a million times, but I know that no one can take the pride and love I feel in each of you!

I look forward to each day I get to spend with each of you,
Your Father, Dad, Biggest Fan

The next time your den get crowded with trouble, and stress, and lies, and fear, remember who brings peace to your dens!

A new way.

Sometimes events and people can drastically change your perception, but that doesn't always help your reality.

I realize in this blog I have gone from more of an encouraging point of view, to a story telling point of view. They can also be the same. As many of you know, I took a trip to Hawaii (have I said it enough because I don't feel like I have). This trip helped. It helped me see the many things that are just not that important in life that I was making them so. It also helped me confess where I could do better and focus more so that I would get more out of life. Lastly, it also helped me see what things mattered to me, but also my lack of control over everything. 

Honestly, there are a lot of hateful people and things in my life that I would deal with if it were up to me. It's not. Trust me, those things made it harder to come back to. I've always been pretty care-free, easy going, and knowing how to handle given situations. I'm tired of that though. I met a lot of people on this trip, and I would trade a lot of the people I have to deal with in for them. 

I did come back to some good. My business partners are some of the best people I know. I have even told them we are going to Hawaii together next time! I told the same to my mom, for the entire family (although that might have to be a different locale). 

The perception of me from those in my past is not good. My youngest son asked if I had a job Saturday. Since I don't have a typical "job", this is how the conversation went down.

Jeremy: "Dad, do you have a job?"

Me: "Yes, I work with Advocare. Why do you ask?"

Jeremy: "Because I just didn't know."

If I could get the tone of his last sentence across to you, it would tickle you. I know where that question comes from, and I hate it. (Where it comes from, not the question itself.) 

I know Hawaii will fade, and it will make me sad. Or will it? It may have become a part of me in a way that has changed many priorities, perceptions, attitudes, and demeanor. It may have just made me a better person, and helped me remember to leave all the rest behind. But you don't have to go to Hawaii to get the same results (although I do recommend it). Just go somewhere or do something you haven't done before, and do that constantly and consistently. 

My roommate found out she liked flying, traveling, sailing, and relaxing (something she didn't think she could do). I found out I like adventure (probably a little too much). I like danger, risks, and fun. I danced on stage, cliff jumped, swam with dolphins, and yes I like golfing, so I did that. Some of these things helped us figure out what we really want back home. 

Don't stay in your den for too long, it becomes dull and dark. Get out and test your limits.

This blog is dedicated to Guatama, Natalie, Katy, Roger, Ashely, Jared, Casie, Steven, Chet, Britney, and Levi.

Put your sensors down and your feelers up.

There is an epidemic. We think God loves us for some reason. That is not true. We are not important enough to love, and we cannot accomplish anything worthy of love.

I probably would have stayed in Maui if I didn't have kids that I love. It would have definitely been easier to find a job. But that isn't my point. Flying back on a plane, when you get that high up, you realize you don't really matter in the grand scheme of things. Countries, businesses, and world powers rise and fall, and it doesn't matter. We don't matter, and we don't exist because we are important, or needed.

I purposefully put this up on a Sunday. We go to church thinking we matter and what we are doing is important. It's not.

I have always loved easily and well; completely, and without condition. What I have learned is that humans don't respond well to this because we are use to and accustomed to judgement. I have learned that despite your encouragement, belief, and support of someone, eventually everyone caves into judgement.

The hardest thing to accomplish in life is to know yourself, and to know what that means. Judgement is like a storm cloud that never leaves. It clouds everything, and only when the cloud clears can you truly see clearly. In Maui the clouds rarely left the mountains. On my last day there, the cloud left the mountain across the ocean. Until then it was just a dark mass of land. Once the cloud cleared I could clearly see the beauty of the land; and it was gorgeous, full of color and different textures. This wouldn't have happened without the rain clouds.

So the next time you are in the dens of life, remember how beautiful that makes you outside of the dens!