25 years ago, two amazing events occurred / Happenings In The Outhouse 29-Nov-2019

Twenty-five years ago, the movie Interview With The Vampire came out in the theaters.  It is the only--and I mean ONLY--movie I have ever seen more than once in the theater.  Not including the re-releases of any Star Wars movie, of course.  But even those, I have only seen once in the theater.  At home, I have watched them a lot more.

There are a few Netflix series/movies I have watched more than once, however, but that doesn't count either.

The release of Interview With The Vampire isn't what came to mind with the two events--oh, by the way, I watched the movie four times in the theater!  Yes, four!  It was released on November 11, 1994.  The only reason this date comes to mind is because I went to this movie to celebrate the completion of my first novel.  It was a 1,000-page behemoth of horror fiction.  I have met so many people in my life who have wanted to write a novel and never do it.  Well, at that point, I did it.

The second (and better!) amazing event occurred just after Thanksgiving at Bemidji State University.

There was this cute brunette I had noticed for quite some time and she worked as a dispatcher for the campus security.  Campus security was also housed right across from the stairs leading up to the cafeteria.  On the day in question, Mike, a friend of mine, said he was going to ask her out.  Feeling defeated, I made my way into the cafeteria.  Minutes later, he sat down.

"How did it go?" I asked.

"She shot me down."

Okay.  Maybe she had a boyfriend.  Maybe . . . well, I thought of a million reasons why I shouldn't ask her out--the number one reason was that I was a first-rate chicken shit (sorry for the profanity, but I was deathly scared to talk to women, even though I had friends who were girls; I know, go figure, right?)

After eating, I made my way down and saw a guy I knew from Tae Kwon Do who happened to be working at the security office along with the cute brunette.  So, taking a deep breath, I walked in and talked with him.

Then, I said hello to the brunette.  I must've stood there and talked with her for over an hour.  Her name was Melissa, although most called her Missi.  We gradually became friends over the course of the next few months.  By August 1995, we decided to take it to the next level and start dating.  Almost two years after that . . . we were married.

And have been happily married for over 22 years since then.

Keep your time sacred / Happenings In The Outhouse 22-Nov-2019

When it comes to creating your art, you'll need to keep your time sacred.  If you don't, you'll never finish.

And finishing, so you can share with the world, is the point of creation.

Do you eat meals?  Even though the time may vary, you do eat.  Treat the time you set aside for eating the same way you would toward your art.  Whether you're a morning or evening person, find a time that works best.  Experiment with it too.

Also, these may change over time.  In college, I used to do my best work at night.  Many nights, I'd write until two or three in the morning.  About ten or so years ago, I found mornings worked best.  I'd wake up around five or five thirty and write.  That time was sacred.

Even nowadays, with my life turned upside-down, I set aside times to write.  Am I perfect about it?  Heck no!  But I plunge ahead anyway.

Whatever you do, create an appointment for the things that are important.  Like eating or reading or praying.  Even sleeping.

You can do it.  The world is depending on you.

Epitome of Greatness / Happenings In The Outhouse 15-Nov-2019

Close to a month ago, I listened to Lewis Howes interview Simon Sinek for his School of Greatness podcast.  One of Lewis's final question was, what is your definition of greatness?  My first and obvious answer would be Jesus.  Seriously, you can't get better than that.

Then, another image came to mind.  Pictured below is my grandfather Ray Johnson who passed away in late August 2019.  There was so much I learned about him, his work history, and his personal life that I didn't know prior to attending his funeral and reading his obituary.

The other day, my sixteen-year-old daughter came to me and said, "I'm going to give you the greatest compliment that you have ever heard.  The way people talked about how grand-grandpa Ray treated his wife, great grandma Adlyne.  Well, that's the way you treat Mom."  Her compliment certainly brought a few tears to my eyes.

My grandma Adlyne (whom I would also categorize in the greatness file) passed away in January 2005 after a long battle with Alzheimer's.  My grandpa always called grandma his "forever loving doll" and treated her like an angel.  They loved each other so much.  And, without knowing it, those same values I have carried into my marriage with my wife, Melissa.

For those who have been following this blog for a while, you know my wife battled leukemia in 2011 and since May of this year has been battling other medical complications, from a failing liver to anemia and a whole host of other ailments.  She has just finished a 2-week hospital stay (her 7th such stay since May) and is residing in a nursing home for rehab.  She is struggling to regain her strength so she can return home, and we all know it is all in God's Hands.

Who do you think of when you think about greatness?

Reading for the sake of building numbers is dangerous / Happenings In The Outhouse 08-Nov-2019

I'm currently reading a book as a part of my daily private victory at work, and although I'm about three-quarters of the way through it, I already know I'm going to re-read it once I'm done.  There is just way too much information to absorb at once.

Then, I recalled a YouTube ad where someone had stacked up 52 books and said that great leaders are readers (they are, I'm not disputing that) and that in order to be great you needed a read a book a week.

I thought of how dangerous this was.  Not life-threatening dangerous, like jumping out of an airplane without a parachute or trying to catch a bullet your teeth or walking a highwire when I haven't put in thousands of hours of practice.  But dangerous when it comes to simply recalling information or putting it to good use.

In the past three months, I've been diligent on my daily private victory (see the link above for the YouTube video for more info) and putting in 30 minutes of nonfiction reading five days a week.  So far I've read a book every 1-2 weeks, and some I've even read more than once in a week just because I needed to absorb more information than during the first read--these books were quick reads to begin with, in order for me to read them so fast, as I am normally a slow reader.

It's good to read (nonfiction as well as fiction) but don't sacrifice your time by reading just to check off a task.  Take your time.  Absorb the information.  See how it applies to your life, if necessary.  The same goes with Scripture reading.  There are courses where one is tasked with reading the entire Bible in a single year.  It can be done, but how much are you able to learn by doing so.  In many cases, I've read a verse or two in the Bible and spent the week re-reading it and reflecting on it.  Reading for me is a marathon, not a sprint.  There are far too many lessons in the Bible to quickly brush over them.

Focus on your strengths / Happenings In The Outhouse 01-Nov-2019

What are you naturally strong at?

If you are more inclined toward mechanical skills and loathe books, tasks or occupations that involve writing may not be what you're meant to do.  If you aren't driven toward woodworking, building a deck onto your house may not be right up your alley.  If the extent of your drawing skills are stick figures, being an artist is more than likely not in your future.

I'm keeping this short today as I work through some financial/medical issues with my wife's health.  For my current work-in-progress, I am around the 9,000 word point.

Going back to strengths, I will revisit it soon as I feel it's an important topic.  I've touched on it before, but there is so much more to discuss.

Stay tuned . . .