Who you callin' a clown?

I’d like to tell you a story of a sad little boy who thought life was not going his way. No matter what his better judgment was, no matter how much he knew better, he still found himself in a rut of disappointment, impatience, and irritability.


“Was that little boy you Tony?” said the random voice needed to make a point.

“Crap...okay, yes it was.”

As I have said before, I write not only because I feel I am called to write about the random stuff that burrows into my melon; but I also write to confront my own hypocrisy. I find at times, I will deviate from my core beliefs and no matter what words of encouragement I would tell you all in undesired or unfortunate times, I can often find that I kick myself when I am down. I find I seem to favor my strong leg when doing so. What is most frustrating is that I know better. As I have stated before, “my biggest fear is not my inability to practice what I preach, but my inability to become aware when I am not doing so.” Last month did not help.

Due to the gelid Midwestern blast of winter we endured, my business suffered. Kind of like what I figured the first night in prison would be like. The weather was off, finances were off, people’s moods were off, and the physical pain I endured shoveling “nature’s fluffy white blanket of marshmallowy goodness” confined me to sofa-surfing on a couch atop a heating pad. It is not age, it is mileage.

As one of my past posts "Snow Lonely" mentioned, my friends online and in RL (Real Life) gave their support and laughter. I joined a gym (still going), and as I mentioned near the end of one post "It starts with a single step", I decided that if my perception and chosen motivation and momentum could allow me to feel better about my circumstances; I queried, “What would happen if I shifted this positive mindset to more areas?” Ah, grasshopper, now your kung fu is good!

Since that post, here is a brief rundown of some of the simple events that have transpired since that chosen thought shift that for some silly reason, I decided to leave on my spiritual shelf for far too long.

As many could probably tell, I like writing. I say, “I am a writer, now my job is just to let everyone else in the world know that.” I have a book written, awaiting an avenue to release. Do I go traditional, or self publish? I am working on both. We’ll see. I also contribute to other outlets as well; one of the outlets being Movie Planet, which again I have mentioned earlier in a post. By a happenstance of serendipity my friend who is a renowned movie critic called me out of the blue. He often travels to major cities to attend movie junkets with some notable people and movie stars I am sure you have all heard of. His job as an on-air personality at a television station disallowed him to travel to the most recent junket due to ratings sweeps, so guess who he asked? No not Gene Shalit! The sad little boy mentioned above.

Long story short, after much preparation to go to New York City (all expenses paid) and stay at one of the cities’ finest hotels (*cough* Waldorf Astoria *cough*), and interview the celebrities, my trip was interrupted by natures fluffy white blanket again. A "Noreaster" I thnk they called it. We tried for hours to get me in to no avail. The flights into New York were all cancelled. An hour after the cancellation call from the airlines, I received a call from another studio to invite me to stay an extra night, (expenses paid) to watch and review yet another film. Oh well, looks like a Blockbuster night.

I was a little disappointed, but then started the shift. I realized this “sad little boy” was invited to go to a one-of-a-kind event, in a fabulous city, and it was because my friend believed in me and my skills enough to send me to the event. Life was (and is) pretty damn good. He assured me there would be more opportunities. Maybe this could be the one that got away, but I had as much fun fishing as landing the fish. I was happy to be on the radar. (So many metaphors, so little time.)

That afternoon, I received on my phone, a confirmation that I had been accepted by Examiner.com. I applied to become Columbus Ohio's Spirituality Examiner (reporter) for the large website, and if I play my cards right, I may make a couple bucks. Not quit your day job, retire on a yacht wearing a Speedo bucks, but bucks none-the-less. Boo-yah! Another atta-boy from the cosmos! This glass half-full stuff was working. (My first submission got rejected, it was considered too “bloggy”. I find that a compliment thank you very much!)

Sparing you the minute things I notice all day long, I see how the Law of Attraction is working tangibly for me. Call it perception, serendipity, coincidence, B.S., placebo, whatever! I find that if I feel better, things are teetering more so in the favorable, I am all for it. Funny too is how a lot of this was leveraged by a recent purchase of a book on CD about the Law of Attraction. I like to believe it was placed before me at the right time.

I notice I no longer awaken seconds after my alarm with an expletive. I do not “look” for where my pain is going to be today. The workouts (even though only a handful in) have helped me stop making “old man noises” when I bend over to put on my shoes. Business is picking up, and the snow is melting. People are in a better mood and so am I. I don’t know if I have gotten better at sucking in my gut or I am losing weight, but I plan on looking good this summer. Don’t worry; no Speedo. Still same old weather, still same old hurdles, still same old scenarios, but now confronted with a guy with a Patti Labelle sized New Attitude. I suggest trying it on for size.

Finally, as I logged onto my new Examiner account today, I noticed something really, really cool. I made twenty eight cents! I am now a professional writer baby! Heck Yeah! I have been told that I will not make a dime by writing and I can tell them where to get off as in my first day I made almost three times that! Heck Yeah again! I know I have a long way to go for financial abundance, but baby I have momentum! I have movement! If I only make enough in my writing to buy a cheeseburger, I will enjoy it as the best cheeseburger I ever ate. I will reflect that I earned it by following my passion, shifting my focus into a positive state, and I hope I never forget that I truly am the luckiest redneck at the rodeo! Giddyup!

*Shameless plug ~ knowing how we all enjoy a follower or two, if you are so inclined, please stop by my Examiner Page. If also so inclined, help a brother out and subscribe or RSS. Maybe I'll get that cheeseburger. Bless you all!