All Posts Tagged With: "lesson"

Being true to yourself is not an easy thing to do in America!

It’s true: in this country, we’re judged by what we own, and what we do for a living … not who we are (note: you can thank the f-ing media for this phony bullshit)! That’s why it’s so hard to remain true to yourself … our whole freaking culture is based on competiveness, of which I don’t think is necessarily the worst thing in the world (our economy depends on it, after all) … it’s just the fact that we have been fully trained to define everyone as either winners or losers (“I don’t do that,” you say? Bullshit to that lie!). “He’s a janitor, so he must be a loser,” or, “He’s a Fortune 500 CEO, so he must be a winner,” is the kind of phony s@#t we’re taught to scream from the rooftops, all parrot-like!

It’s true (whether you want to admit it or not): we’re all guilty of judging people based on how they look, what cars they drive or the friends that they have! Here’s a question: have you ever been nervous to approach a person because they have a better job title than you? Sure you have! Have you ever avoided someone because they looked homeless? You better say “yes”! Well, judging others based on this irrelevant s@#t is kind of inevitable, so don’t feel bad since we all do it from time to time! Hey, it’s the first thing we see, right? However, I think some of us are really abusing the freaking system! Continued

Is your glass half empty or half full?

What I really mean to say is, “Are you an optimist (half full) or a pessimist (half empty)?” As for me, I’m a walking, talking ball of very positive energy (color me optimist). The people in my life know this the best, and they often ask me how I have this kick a@# balance of both calmness and joy (I’m not making this s@#t up … really!). To this, I usually respond, “I eat appreciation, gratitude and joy for breakfast, lunch and dinner (oh, it tastes so good!)”. Then, when I fall out of sync (as we all do from time to time) I simply bring myself back down to Earth with the realization that I’m just a “tiny ant” on this “giant rock” (read: the world’s weight doesn’t sit on my shoulders … get it?)! This usually calms me back down in a hurry … pretty sweet, huh? Continued

Life is like a baseball diamond, with God standing on the mound (note: if God, or MLB, talk offends you, you may want to leave now, sinner. LOL)!

Seriously, life brings us many unexpected, and often unwelcome, series of events. Now, why do you think this kind of crap happens? In your eyes, are these experiences considered punishments, lessons, or opportunities? How about a little bit of each (note: this is the more likely scenario). Life tests each and every one of us, and at times the situation is so severe that we may feel more beat down than tested, am I right? So, is life a series of lessons to be learned? Or opportunities to see everything it has to offer? Have you ever wondered, “Why would God do this to me?” Well, here’s my theory on that subject: God loves that nasty breaking pitch of his, which is so hard to get a bead on! Yes, I am serious. Continued

I used to be a New Yorker (not a rude one) and was once taught a valuable lesson from a cab driver who goes by the name Donny.

While on the subject of how he keeps his cab (it was not company-owned) running in tip-top shape he told me, “Maintenance is about either paying for it now or paying for it later. Not conducting proper preventive maintenance has a huge impact because it is very cheap, relatively, to fix something early on with your own two hands (as opposed to taking it to a garage). If you break down on the road, it will usually cost you at least triple the repair cost at these highway bandit shops they’ll tow it to.”

“But, the focus should be on where to spend maintenance money,” he said, “because you can go broke by over-maintaining your automobile as well, so you’ll have to determine the key areas on the vehicle you need to maintain. Pay special attention to your brakes, followed by the tires, axle’s alignment, air and fluid filtration, the cooling system, batteries, transmission linkages, and all chassis and body fasteners.” I didn’t know what all this meant at the time; today, I broke down on the highway, and found out the hard way!

A few rules of thumb for preventative maintenance, you’ll need to stay on top of, are listed below (abide by them, and learn from my costly mistake): Continued

Unless you’re filthy stinking rich, you should never purchase a brand new car!

“Why,” you ask? I’ll tell you why: There’s not one price reduction or incentive that a salesman can offer you that will make up for the 25% depreciation you’re going to take on that shiny new car the moment you drive it off of the sneaky bastard’s lot (they never advertise this piece of evidence for a reason: the truth hurts). Yet, this one simple fact will always remain: new cars are the largest assets we can buy that are sure to go down in value. Good enough reason?

“I work hard, so I deserve a new one,” I often hear. Well, I don’t know about you, but I don’t have that kind of money to waste (I’m hoarding it into my bank accounts for a new house in a couple of years). Whenever you buy a new car that’s essentially what you’re doing, because a new car wastes up to 75% of its value in the first four years. Depending on how many miles you drive per year and the physical wear and tear you subject it to (you know who I’m talking to, lead foot) your car will more than likely take a bigger hit than that. Continued