Welcome to my blog

Welcome one and all to my inaugural blog. Thank you for taking the time to visit with me. I know you are busy, so I will very briefly introduce myself with the hope that one or more of you will see something in me that you see in yourself, and this will inspire you to return and visit with me again.

First and foremost, although I am a professional and hold an advanced degree in business , I am far from wealthy in the traditional sense of the word. I shunned a lucrative career in corporate governance in favor of the comfort of working from an office in my home. I drive an old truck that has close to 300,000 miles on it, and during slow times I sometimes struggle to pay my bills each month, as many of us do.

I have many hobbies and interests. Currently, I spend most of my free time cycling and participating in endurance sports, such as running events and triathlons. I enjoy photography, golf, fishing and just about anything outdoors. I hold a black belt in karate (Taekwondo), but haven't practiced the sport in years. I watch CNN religiously and listen to talk radio on a daily basis.

I confess to having redneck tendencies. I drink beer from a keg that rests inside a refrigerator I ganked from the curb on trash day. Many of the things in my life are held together by rubber bands and silver duct tape. I watch Nascar on weekends and drink Shlitz beer whenever I can find it.

I have been married to the same woman for thirty years and have a son who is studying to be a chiropractor, and a daughter who recently graduated from dental school. My wife's parents moved in with us thirty years ago and never moved out. Even though they are in their nineties, I am confident they will still be living here long after my demise.

Although I have benefited from much formal education in my life, it is the lessons I learned away from the classroom that have been most informative. Some of my friends and associates are literally millionaires, and others barely have a roof over their head. Some of them are winners, but a lot of them struggle each day to just make it to tomorrow.

Because of the nature of my business, my clients share intimate details of their lives with me. And it is from these interactions with diverse people from different stations in life that I have matured. I have many stories to tell and many lessons to share with you.

This is a blog, not a television talk show. I can't lure you in by giving you presents like Oprah, or satisfy your thirst for psychobabble like Dr Phil. There will be no interviews with celebrities here. I am somewhat of an acquired taste, so you might have to give me a chance to grow on you.

But this blog isn't about me, it is about you. Hopefully, you saw something in my brief resume that you can identify with. I am anxious to hear the stories you have to tell.

So let me go out back and chop some hickory for the fire. I'll smoke some ribs on the pit. We'll cook them slow, southern style. In the meantime, pour yourself a cold beer and pull up a chair under the shady oak tree. Lets talk a bit about life, politics or whatever is on your mind.