I’ve spent the original time in this blog writing for my audience to educate and occasionally inspire and looking back, the element I left out is the funny side of my life in this business.  It’s so easy to take yourself too seriously and want to sound so much like a professional or expert in dishing out advice that you become a robot at writing.

I’m done with all of that. I’m still going to inform, but I’m also dedicating a category to what my daily life is like while juggling my contracting business, marketing business, and keeping the family at the top of the priority list. Everything that got me here is a story and all parts of it built and continue to build my character.

I’m grateful for the experiences in my life that I’ve had. I’ve grown up in the south and left after college. One of the best experiences I had was that my father and I rode horses since I was age five. He had a quarter horse and I had a black and white pony that just wouldn’t quit. Thinking back, I feel like I learned about being competitive and strong from that pony because we were connected to each other until I grew so tall that my feet were about the drag the ground. I remember that my dad had to punch extra holes in the saddle so the stirrups would go longer than they were originally made.

I spent the better part of at least one day a week in my childhood on the weekends riding horses alongside the adults in the 80′s. I’m grateful for a few things; they weren’t easy on me when I wanted to whine and they listened to all the chattering that came out of my mouth all day long. Even though I was around eight years old, a few of the guys in the group, one in particular, would play pranks on me that ultimately tested my riding skills and improved them. The guys would run up and smack my pony on the butt when we were walking and he would take off and a race would begin. On other occasions they would take the bridle off my pony and run off so I had no control of him while he took off in chase. Like I said, my pony was competitive and sometimes it meant holding on during unplanned racing.

The funny part about all of this is that some people these days would have reported my parents to social services for letting me be around that kind of crazy behavior. In the long run, it’s the glue that made me tough. Sometimes I would fall off but I learned to cry it off and keep riding. People spend thousands of dollars on riding lessons and still never pick up on the balance and positioning that you learn when you are riding with no reins at a full gallop. The races would end and even though I had been scared crazy I felt a little tougher inside and earned respect from the adults. I also learned how to take a joke and get over myself.

The crowd of riders we rode with were a big part of my life and they were humble fun loving people. That’s always been the crowd for me and whenever I’m around people whose lives are built on status and seriousness I sort of feel sorry because they likely missed out on that balance of humility that makes us genuine. My life and business have always felt more in tune as I’ve chosen to build a network of friends and customers that were of a like mind instead of opening the door to everyone who seemed like they would be a financial benefit to me first. I’m glad I had a great childhood with great parents who gave me the best experiences in being real since day one.

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