The Hard Way! What’s The Easy Way? – Was the OG Original Title of my autobiography. One of the lessons my generation was taught, learning the ‘Hard Way’. The path of my life has been filled learning every lesson, the hard way. Often hear people doing things the Easy Way. When I hear ‘The Easy Way’, usually think, not my life.
Writer Block ‘Notes’
Spending about a year lying in a long-term motel bed, trying to remember different topics, memories and telling about it. Writing this for a few different reasons, memory issues related to Dyslexia and multiple TBI head concussions cause me to worry I will forget most everything. Currently I am recovering from a head injury that’s caused some brain issues, one being memory loss. Another reason is Psychology therapy, having mental illnesses, putting this down on paper is allowing me to stop holding on to everything. Letting go of these memories through writing is calming the violent storm that has raged in my head for so many years, so I can find some happiness in the new life that is unfolding before me.
I was stuck, writer’s Block. I had the ‘Notes’ and I was writing the introduction, then started over again with 2nd, then 3rd introduction. The Writer’s Block was keeping me spinning my wheels in the mud, on rewriting the introduction. What I mean by ‘Notes’, spent about a year 1/2, Mid 2018 – 2019, using an old IPhone and MS Word, everyday I would pick a memory for the book, then open Word and write about it. Eighteen(18) months transferring a lifetime of memories into digital format of ‘Notes’.
1st Introduction – Corvette
Corvette 1st 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 Smoky 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 too 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 through so many problems, still push through. 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.
2nd Introduction – Artist
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, before ever pulling out a blank sheet of paper with a paint brush and color palette, making the first stroke can be very intimidating. A writer has a story to share long before putting pen to paper. 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 supposed to. When I was in my early twenties, back in the 1990’s, I started thinking one day I should write and share my experiences, 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, interested in 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, and places I have been. Being around people that could learn from what I been through, seemly picking up the ability to teach others. Story telling with an overtone of teaching has been part of my personality, for most of my life. The last few years I have been very surprised by these same individuals spouting off things they learned from me, which I kind of 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!
3rd introduction – Final Attempt before Title Change
At this point I was spinning my wheels, not getting any traction!!!
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 artists 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.
These three opening’s demonstrate several things
These three opening’s demonstrate several things – There was definably content to write, writing skills to write extremely well. Around 2019, took a four hour psychology career assessment, conclusion ‘Natural Writing Ability’! Clearly seeing a definite writers block, could not get past re-writing the introduction.
What is Missing?
There is one element missing from all three introductions. The Hard Way! What’s The Easy Way? is solely about me, my life, events, huge amount of obstacles, disabilities, surgeries, and the couple dozen “Don’t Know How I am Alive!” events. There will be one change, adding the missing element, that changed everything, the Title and removed Writers Block. The Reason for excluding this one element, was the story will inspire everyone who reads it, inspired by how hard life has been, hard meant, non-stop obstacles that were ‘Quit or Overcome’ events.