Enter the Young

All you teens and young adults, pull up a chair

‘Cuz Uncle Dave has something to share.

When I was as young or younger than you, I heard this wonderful song by The Association that inspired me.  Here are the lyrics.

Here they come, yeah
Some are walking, some are riding
Here they come, yeah
And some are flying, some just gliding
Released after years of being kept in hiding
They're climbing up the ladder rung by rung

Enter the young

Yeah, they've learned how to think
Enter the young, yeah
More than you think they think
Not only learned to think, but to care
Not only learned to think, but to dare
Enter the young

Yeah, here they come
some with questions, some decisions
Here they come
And some with facts and some with visions
Of a place to multiply without the use of divisions
To win a prize that no one's ever won

Enter the young

Here they come, yeah
Some are laughing, some are crying
Here they come
And some are doing, some are trying
Some are selling, some are buying
Some are living, some are dying
But demanding recognition one by one

Enter the young.

Here them sing it here.

As I grew older, I saw that Henry David Thoreau was onto something when he said, “The youth gets together his materials to build a bridge to the moon, or, perchance, a palace or temple on the earth; and, at length, the middle-aged man concludes to build a woodshed with them.”

What are your dreams?  It’s never too late to get started.  Listen to the lyrics of the following song by Crosby, Stills, and Nash. They sung this tune as older men.

Look around me, I can see my life before me
Running rings around the way it used to be
I am older now. I have more than what I wanted
But I wish that I had started long before I did.

And there's so much time to make up everywhere you turn
Time we have wasted on the way
So much water moving underneath the bridge
Let the water come and carry us away

Oh, when you were young, did you question all the answers
Did you envy all the dancers who had all the nerve?
Look round you now, you must go for what you wanted
Look at all my friends who did and got what they deserved

So much love to make up everywhere you turn
Love we have wasted on the way
So much water moving underneath the bridge
Let the water come and carry us away
Let the water come and carry us away

Here them sing it here.

So take a tip from Uncle Dave: whatever your dream, make your plan, gather your “materials,” and go for it.  And keep living!

Who Needs Rules?

Recently, two writing clients have expressed their irritation at formatting guidelines and the rules of grammar, spelling, and punctuation.  After all, shouldn’t a writer or anyone else be free to write any way he or she wants? 

It’s a good argument, and I’m buying it. People should be free to write in whatever manner they feel comfortable.  After all, it’s not like the arbitrary rules of English are like the Ten Commandments, although who needs those?  I should do whatever I feel like doing. I have my own path. And we can begin to be truly free by first abolishing the rules of punctuation, grammar, formatting, and spelling.  So I decided I don't need no stinkin' rules.

Me when I decided no more rules!

Sins than Ive feel AWESUM free!!! 2, be a riter & rite weather u approve or, not & i lol @ ennyone who aint lik it asap i comm w/ any ya dont say or that fyi my stressload reduced greatly & that a, fact wanna me singin LIKE BIRDIES now i FREE to cree-ate + u can 2 by plunk down w/ me in protest & its duh new lazee fair! thoses are French words haha who can say 1 writing is better than another HUH u can c that now no 1 can judge

what does it matter example 1

Woman without her man, is nothing

example 2 same words w/ punct rules

Woman—without her, man is nothing.

what does it matter who needs them! dum! stupud! rules!  I just keep living....

11 things you did not and will not learn in school!

Note:  There is some doubt that Bill Gates ever created these 11 rules. Apparently, they surfaced in about the Year 2000.  Whoever wrote them, they are worth considering.     

Rule 1: Life is not fair.

Rule 2: The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something before you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3: You will not likely make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. 

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life has not. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as many times as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't happen in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you find yourself. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is not real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to their jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. You may end up working for one.

Bald is Beautiful

NOTE: Since the November 2016 election, numerous people have asked me to republish my 2014 blog that featured a picture of Donald Trump.  So here it is, by popular demand.

Would all the women within the “sound” of my blog who like comb-overs on men please stand up?  Ah ha!   Just as I thought—no one.

Are you listening men?  Because one thing is certain—bald is beautiful!

Not only is it beautiful, it is masculine.  Embrace the truth with a man hug!  Have you ever heard of female-pattern baldness?  No.  It’s called male pattern baldness, which is why ancient Samarai warriors shaved their heads to look more “manful.”  You got that, Bro?

Marketers attempt to make you feel less attractive so they can sell you hair treatments and product.  You don’t need no stinkin’ product.  You need a buzz!  And I’m not talking about ten successive cans of Dr. Pepper.  I’m talking about a #1 attachment to your barber shears. 

Men, attention!  Chest out, stomach in, chin up, and your male-pattern baldness shining like a glorious manly orb.  What woman would not like to get her hands on one of these hunks: 

Men, be fearless and be bald!  Stand up for the Sacred Masculine and get a buzz.  You’ll save some money, you'll save your macho, and you'll keep living...in style.

Where have all the liberals gone?

Those who read my blog know that I am basically apolitical. I don't get involved much in politics.  A lot has changed recently.

First, I should say that I was once a liberal.  After all, liberals were open minded and took care of the underprivileged.  I voted for Diane Feinstein and exchanged correspondence with her.  Martin Luther King, Junior, is one of my heroes.  I have black, gay, Asian, and Hispanic friends.  I believe everyone deserves food and shelter.

I did not vote for Trump or Clinton this election because either suited me, but reactions to the election from the Left are unsettling to me, and the totalitarianism at our universities worries me.  I'm still not very political, and I am certainly not an activist. I love the idea of changing the world by doing good and being good.

But I happened upon this brief video that really kind of says it for me.  Give it a listen, see what you think, and keep living.

Peace and love....
Dave

The Single Golden Key to Success in 2017

There are books on the subject.  You’ve already seen articles explaining in detail how to succeed in the new year.  I’m going to make it easy.  

Keep it Simple

Once every week, create a Weekly Action Plan of specific steps or actions you will take during the coming week towards achieving your goals.

That means you first need to make a few goals for the coming year.  Make them specific, perhaps one for each area of life: career/work, social/emotional (such as family and relationships), spiritual, intellectual/educational, and physical (exercise, diet).

Speaking of exercise, my wife was at the gym yesterday, and her exercise class was jammed.  A woman stood up and shouted, “Those of you who are going to quit by March, please leave now. You know who you are.” 

I laughed when I heard the story, but it begs the question, How are you going to keep from quitting in March?

With a Weekly Action Plan, that’s how. 

How does it work?

Since I am a writer, let’s use me as an example.  I want to write a certain book this year.  That’s the goal. On Sundays (or other day of the week), I will sit down and decide what I will do this week to achieve that goal. I may commit to a certain amount of time that I will devote during the week towards this goal. It could be Tuesday and Thursday night from 6 to 10, or 15 total hours of writing. 

The power comes in making specific commitments and then doing your best during the week to achieve your weekly action goals. Do this every week!  If you don’t keep your commitment precisely, don’t fret or give up. Focus on your progress. And keep living.

Image by rhbaptist.org