I have always known I would one day write a book about my own life. This was my ‘Original Title’ of my autobiography. A life that felt like every lesson, was learned ‘The Hard Way!’.
Original Introductions before ‘Gods Changes‘
Wrote this March 2022 after graduating Magna Cum Lauda honors with a degree in accounting February 2022
The writing was slow and difficult, did not come easily. I was spending a lot of energy trying to make it sound like a book, being over critical of my own work, artists fight with that need for perfection. I already had the ‘Content’ to write a book, and already had the writing skills. The perspective was causing writers block.
Corvette Introduction
Life should be like buying a brand-new Corvette, picking it up from the Corvette Museum and Factory, in Bowling Green Kentucky, and taking it on a road trip crisscrossing the lower 48 states. Start the engine, drop the top, turn on the stereo to find some good driving music, slip it into 1st gear, pop the clutch and smoke the tires pulling out on the road, to begin a long journey of life. Picturesque driving thru beautiful places like the smoking mountains to the Rockies, seeing the most beautiful places this country has to offer, driving on roads that have been maintained to feel as if they were had just been built and in brand new condition, roads are relatively empty of traffic, occasionally passing other cars, not to many. That is about how we all wish life should be.
The road that has been my life, has been one filled with never-ending obstacles, speed bumps, detours, holes from non-maintained roads, and a few high-impact collisions. Wanting to share with everyone how thru so many problems, still push thru. Bring inspiration thru telling of the life I have lived, often told people that, “Most everyone who would try and live my life and make it thru to the end, at some point most would give up and quit.
Artist Introduction
The most difficult part of being an Artist or a writer is starting a new project. Every Artist begins with a vivid picture in their head, a writer has a story to share before ever pulling out a blank white sheet of paper with a paint brush and color palette, making the first stroke can be very intimidating. In this case where to start when I have so many pictures and stories to share. I am an Artist, with some writing skills, storytelling ability, a unique viewpoint and education, and a lifetime of interesting experiences to talk about. I’m not like anyone you have ever met, seeing the world we live in, very differently than I’m suppose too. When I was in my early twenties, back in the 1990’s, I started thinking one day I should write and share my experience’s, knowing I will never actually tell my own story in my own words because I never expected to live that long.
I am an introvert and usually keep to myself and being the quiet one, around friends and family, usually just watching, listening, and learning. Often finding myself talking about something I experienced. Once I start talking, most times people stop talking and listen to my stories of the things I have done. Usually everyone semes to genuinely listen as I talk, waiting to hear what happened next. Eager to hear more about the life I lived and the things I have done, places I have been. Being around people that could learn from what I been thru, seemly picking up the ability to teach others. Story telling with overtone of teaching has been part of my personality for most of my life. The last few years I have been very surprised these same individual spouting off things they learned from me, which I kinda find pleasure in that now. This entire book will be in that format, interesting stories overshadowed with passing on experiences and teaching from a lifetime of learning everything the HARD way.
Artist Introduction 2
The hardest part for any artist is getting started, usually beginning with a clear vivid picture in their head and wanting to share it, long before ever getting out a clean sheet of paper, making that 1st brush stroke, ruining the clean innocence of a new sheet, is very intimidating. A lesson learned from many years of taking art classes, studying art history, covering different artist to art styles, mediums, and techniques, has taught me to see the world from many different perspectives. Artists are visual storytellers, learning how to tell a story, drawing attention to different details making the viewer interpret for themselves. An Artist with an interesting education obtained thru life and experiences, picking up writing and storytelling skills along the way should be a very interesting picture. Instead of drawing a picture with an art pencil, watercolors, or oil paints, this will be in words, emotions, with a unique viewpoint. My father always told me “If you don’t believe me, Just Hide n Watch!”, teaching me to keep quiet and to watch n learn, pay attention to people’s actions, and listen to their words. Sometime in my early teens, the first thoughts of one day writing my own story started, having a long list of interesting things to talk about already at such a young age. The thoughts of writing a book lingered while my life progressed, accompanied with conflicting thoughts of never living long enough to actually write it. Writing was reinforced unknowingly by family and friends over the years, from often being the quiet one until an interesting topic would get me to start talking about something I knew, place I been, or something I had done that had something to do with the topic being discussed. Noticing once I start talking, everyone starts paying attention to whatever I was saying. Once I start talking, I get going and can talk for a while, friends just sit and listen like it’s a good book I am reading to them. This has happened quite often, the girl in this story has to tell me to shut up so she can kiss me! I can get on a roll and talk for hours about what’s in my head. This caused many to agree I should write a book and are anxiously awaiting the day they can read it. They have all only heard bits and pieces; this will be the only place to get the full story.
Original “God Talk” in ‘The Hard Way!’
I’m going to honest and blunt; this will be read by many different types of people for a wide range of reason or answers. This will be of interest for religious types looking for a sign of God’s presence. This will not be full of church and bible talk, with quotes of scripture, sorry that’s just not me. Instead, I have felt my life was not fully my own, on a journey doing what God wanted me doing. One night I pleaded with God to give me road signs but make them obvious so a blind stupid man would see them. To me they have been like Neon Signs from the Vegas strip along a long stretch on the highway of life. These signs cannot be dismissed as a coincidence, I have way too many examples of them. This was the only God reference in this original chapter, only one!