beingcoreybayless

UNSELFISH!!!

The biggest problem with the reseller market is that people have become greedy… Yes, greedy!

“Is greed a good thing” -Gordon Gecko

So, this is what has been happening…
People are buying things cheap and selling them online on different platforms which is cool… Gary Vee got his start this way…It has been a bread a butter sitch for your boy for a hot minute. My uncle provided for his family doing the same… Few know but Kim K started the same way as well when she was only 16 years old. My homeboy even has 14 year old son getting in on it too… But back on point…

There is nothing wrong with this market. The flaw is in how people are handling it which has driven it to a challenging place. People get online and see these high prices when doing comps to validate the price they should mark their items at. These high prices are based on mostly nothing but random numbers people pull from their heads and GREED!

People see their awesome collectibles or read a random article that speaks to the value of something so people rush out to get their hands on it and then they aren’t satisfied with the high value it is already demanding and they try to pad their prices just a bit and so others pad theirs and so on… then you have random people working for Goodwill, thrift stores, Salvation Army Stores, etc…. that decide, “well, since these people are reselling their “donated” items, maybe they should ask for more…. which only drives the market to dictate the resellers to raise their prices if they wish to make a profit which inevitably causes the typical consumer to lose interest and then the items sit until everyone begins dropping prices to try and sell the inventory they have sitting around taking up space.

Key to being good at it when you do comps, don’t try to get the highest price. There is a reason there’s is still listed for sale. It’s listed for $225, list for $215 and then run a “SALE” in your store which will drop it just under $200… You will get slightly less but you will sell faster as everyone “LOVES” a sale….It’s psychologically gratifying if you believe you are getting a deal… It just is. From a financial advisor stand point, buying something just because it is on sale is stupid but they will never convince everyone and people love a sale and frequently refuse to resist.

Get inventory, list low enough to make profit but sell quickly and then get new inventory… Fast turn around is key…

Unselfish… Don’t be greedy or we all lose… Well….many do, but your boy always comes out on top… Get Cocky

No…. And I say that so incredibly lightly… This is not a new game for him.

And to those throwing shade saying he has changed his tune because he thought people buying into it before were idiots and now, the self-proclaimed ‘Crypto-Mastermind’… How could this be?

Simple. And he actually explains it himself. With it becoming more regulated, it is a safer and wiser investment. Period. Those who don’t understand that…well, grab a pad and pencil and start taking some notes. Love him or hate him, he is nothing if not consistent. The things he spoke so many years ago in the nineties, he doesn’t even contradict today. He has been a guest speaker on many major networks to discus finance and investments and the man is wise and incredibly smart. Yes, in the 90’s, he used his brilliance for wrong doing, but that doesn’t take away from the intelligence. That is why he quickly weighed in on the developments last year with Robinhood and all the little haters out there throwing shade at the hedge funds speaking that they deserved to lose their fortunes…So sad the ignorance in all of it. Jordan weighed in on all of this because he knew what was happening… Your boy knew what was up also, and that’s why Jordan explained it similarly to what I had told all my closest homies…those who wanted to listen.

So to clarify, he is not the new mastermind because he has been one of the big masterminds for decades and this is just a new platform. Investments based on people, economy, and our society is what he has been doing for years and this is no different. If you want to understand more about crypto, stop watching YouTube and reading about it on FaceBook and speak to some people who really understand what is happening and what is on the brink of happening next.

I offer business coaching, consulting, and mentoring as well as life coaching and brand development. I have particular skill in picking wise investments and have been doing so for some time now. While the world was upside down and the market was essentially sideways, my partner and I continued making stacks during the pandemic as we were careful and knew what to buy as well as what not to buy. It takes time to learn and develop. This will not happen overnight and you will not get rich from a tip you got from Reddit or YouTube videos. It’s much more complex than that. Stay tuned, your boy is developing my brand and platform more and more every day and we’ll get things off and poppin’. You want to get your hands on it, pay attention.

And as all the greats themselves do, read a book.

I leave you with one of my favorite lines… I ask you judge me not by my winners but rather my losers as I have so few of them.

“I don’t care if you’re Warren Buffet or Jimmy Buffet…. Nobody really knows… It’s a fugazy or foogazy…”

Everyone sitting at home wants to think they know… they don’t know. Haha…. they just don’t. And if you truly believe you do, put your bankroll where your mouth is and stopping flooding social media with all your endless critiques of the experts who are living off of their dividends opposed to sitting at home dreading Monday morning.

Now I got that off my chest, let’s rap…

It’s everywhere in blogs, Twitter, Instagram, and yes, all over Facebook….it must be true…

We are in a bear market… To truly enlighten those who didn’t know or whom have just forgotten, the market is dictated by the consumer.

Politicians want you to believe their answer is the answer…. Bloggers want credit for knowing the answer… And don’t worry, I am well aware of the irony that I am indeed speaking to the merit of the blogger on my blog… So you can choose to listen and be enlightened or move on because you find my method a bit hypocritical. I have no desire to convince you to hear me.

Now, to explain, the market is dictated by the consumer. Yes, these may indeed be trying times due to everything that has happened across the globe over the last two years… They are only trying because of people’s lack of understanding or wanting to adapt or outright refusal to adapt to what is before them. Survival of the fittest, my friends… Only the strong come out on top. It isn’t those who manipulate, lie or cheat, who win although social media would tell you otherwise. It is so much easier to believe those who are succeeding are cheating than excepting that you need to fight harder. The economy is in a time of “rebirth”… I give my homeboy, Sean mad props for the term rebirth as this has been a time I have struggled finding the perfect word to describe it. I’ve tried endlessly to explain to family and friends what is happening in the world and they don’t see it, and I feel my lack of the perfect word may have been a key contributor…maybe not, but I’m willing to take a little on myself opposed to just pointing a finger.

We are amidst a great rebirth in our economy right now as I write this. The market is yes a bear market but only because everyone is in a panic. During the pandemic, America was handing out money to everyone in efforts to keep our economic structure in tact and keep people from starving and such. This is not a political debate. I am not saying they were right or wrong… just facts.
The American citizen was sitting at home watching nonsense on Facebook and YouTube as they had already spent countless hours binging all they could on Netflix and needed something else to do… God forbid they pick up a book or a dumbbell… They began seeing these regular deposits in their bank account and then were placed in a place of security when a law was put in place for a temporary time that said no could be evicted for lack of payment because of the health crisis in our nation…. again, no comment on the government’s choices… Some people did the right thing and took that money and paid their bills, bought food, survived, etc. Others took their “free” pandemic bankroll and invested because that is what they heard on Facebook and YouTube that they had been missing the train on, so they ad “free” money to invest without guilt…what a shame. As they invested in things while stocks were literally rising no less… I had people that I haven’t heard from in years that knew I invested in things from my Facebook business page, they reached out and told me how they were buying into things that the stock was rising so they were getting in… Sadly there was no convincing them that some of these things were rising with merit and others were rising due to everyone doing this at the same time. This is similar to the “pump and dump” scheme of the 80s-90s…It operates the same way although without intent… No one is trying to make this happen because ultimately their is no winner in this situation without fluke.

So, what we have now is a market that was inflated based not on merit but on soccer moms and your every day Joe whom hasn’t taken any time to actually learn the stock market but rather invest based on memes and social media clips…. Not real information. We have finally gotten to a place where I believe most people know that Wikipedia isn’t a valid source because any one with a computer can edit it, but people still believe everything on social media… WHY?? Especially when it comes to your money….Oh right, they weren’t investing their dollars… and that’s why they never invested till the pandemic. They began investing when they were given “free” money.

When a stock is hyped up to the point that everyone is buying into it, it becomes increasingly more valuable…Then you have all these people thinking, “Wow, I’ve made so much money, I should cash out”. They then turn around selling their stock, thinking they have made this profit…as small as it may be, they think it is good because they don’t understand the market and cash out. They pumped and then dumped… It isn’t illegal because no one knew this is what they did…and there wasn’t a clear winner either.

And to so many who think the people with deep pockets and the hedge funds are crooks, they rejoiced on social media claiming “it’s about time they suffered and the little guy gets to win.” No, that isn’t what happened at all. The little guy won a little while the little guy next door sold his a day late and didn’t win. The hedge funds and investing gurus never bought into those stocks because they had NO merit. They would never consult YouTube or Facebook for an investment tip…LOL

So, where we are today, is that yes, there are many stocks dropping because of their inability to complete the things they are known for… Car companies that are unable to get their components because factories are backed up and such. This is a real thing. You have to ask yourself if this company has merit… Does it have the ability to succeed? Is it a dip because of the time we are in or is it a dip because of the companies failings and short comings? If it is a time, this is not the time to panic and sell… Stop selling and buy more. Now, if it is a company that is tanking and they do that sometimes, then sell off and get out before it’s too late.

Berkshire Hathaway just bought $22 Billion into new stocks for the first quarter which is the highest they’ve purchased in a quarter since pre-pandemic. Since the pandemic, they have not purchased more than $8 billion in a single quarter… Why is that?

Everyone was inflating the market before and now everyone is cashing out…They know better than to cash out so they are doubling down and leveling up. Your boy over has been doing the same. I don’t got the pockets full of guac that Hathaway has, but I’m in it to win it. This is only a bear market because people are scared and have no interest in learning how the stock market actually works. They are only interested in a quick buck and fast return and that ain’t the way. You got to play the long game if you want the million and billions. You have to educate yourself on how it works or hand your money over to someone that knows what they are doing and allow them to invest for you. This nonsense of social media being your guide…You either get lucky or lose. Period.

Your boy over here is a bull and I’m raging… I see the bears and take ’em out. They either learn to adapt to the growing (yes, I said growing) market or they lose… I win!!

Get Cocky!

“I ask you judge me not by winners but rather my losers because I have so few” -Jordan Belfort

Now, your boy has confessed to you on more than one occasion of my desire to write more and put more content out there for you and for myself yet find things consume my time and as many times as I say that isn’t going to be the case anymore, it always finds a way to happen…

Now I have different perspectives from time to time and that is because my perspectives are for different people… The idea that there is one answer negates the fact that God created us all uniquely different and special. Too many miss this…

So, I have been know to say keep fighting and get what is yours while also having said that you have to know when to take the L and learn from the experience. Everything is a learning experience.

I have a homie that we go back a ways and know a lot about each other as we’ve experienced a lot together and shared many experiences. She happens to be a blogger…or was a blogger. Quite a bit more successful than myself even though to her, it was just an outlet for her experiences. She wrote under a pseudonym and always changed the names of anyone else that she ever wrote about but just simply shared stories of hers from day to day about the life she lead and interesting encounters she had. She had a full time job and very devoted boyfriend who would later become her husband as well a having multiple dogs that she was devoted to. She was heavily involved with the company she worked for as well as contributing much time to dog rescue in her surrounding area and was always a loyal friend that many counted on. She had a full life and was extremely busy all the time. She got to the point in which she only posted a blog every other day and then every couple of days until it was once a week and then she decided that it wasn’t for her anymore. She felt she wasn’t devoting enough time to it and it wasn’t reasonable with the amount of followers that she had to not be able to put regular content out there…

Now, your boy being me and being Cocky all day… I was like, “This is your blog that you worked hard for and have built up a following…Don’t drop it”

She was adamant that it was time to hang it up. I spoke with her more than once to make sure she was sure but I also knew her well and knew if she was making this decision that it didn’t come without thought and that she isn’t a person that carries much regret…She knows what she wants and goes after what she wants. She enjoyed the journey and decided that chapter was closed.

I have much respect for those who fight for the things they want…but I have even more respect for those who know when the fight is over as you know longer desire the thing you’re fighting over. It took much experience for me to get to that point in my life and I hope I can impart some wisdom on others and help others to not find themselves in some of the situations I have seen and experienced…

There is honor in the fight but perspective is far more valuable. You must know what you want and what you’re fighting for and know when to walk away because that is no longer what you want. By fighting a fight you aren’t fully invested in, you miss other opportunities. Let’s not miss out, get in touch with who you are and what you really want and never forget that it is an everyday process as you never stop growing and learning. Don’t be so stubborn that you miss out on growth and change.

Yo! Yo!
Your boy is here and puttin’ it down. The reality is that it hit me today…well it hit’s me frequently but today, I just felt more compelled to put pen to paper and get it out of my head… Or I guess in this case, put my fingers on the keys…
Being a Dad, building a business, being involved, keeping up with so many people and so many things… All while looking as if I got it all together… Oooohhh…. That’s just part of the game..
Life be crazy for real.. It just keep you running. So any given day, I jump up, throw on my kicks, guzzle a redbull, put feet to pavement just to keep things flyin…Get my boys off to school only to get back to the house brew a pot of coffee…. Yeah, that’s right. Just like my Momma, I will drink coffee all day, not because I need it although it does help…hahaha… I drink it cause I love it! So we have a Keurig in the kitchen, but I need a pot not a cup… The Keurig is dope and convenient but I take my coffee serious… Anyways, back the grind… then with the post-its… yeah, your boy got post-its all over the place.
It is presently 9:34 in the am. I dropped the boys off at school in Texas for those who may not know and it is April but a bit windy today and they want their hoodies and forgot them at home. I flew back home after dropping them off only to grab their hoodies and take them to them. Granted I only live a mile from the school… I ain’t trying to get no Father of the Year medal or anything… Just putting it out there how things went down. The ladies in the office, all know me and the boys… even masked up, some of the ladies I haven’t even seen but a couple times know me as the Corey & Colton’s Dad and instantly saw me walking up the sidewalk and stepped outside to grab their hoodies. You fellow moms and dads out there know what I’m laying down is just perspective.
Head back home to finish off my redbull that I accidently left sitting on the counter…not ice cold anymore but just tipped and dumped it down my throat…not about taste at this point…no time to taste. Just get things crackin’. Then began the coffee pot, sent out my first 4 offers of the morning to potential customers and checked emails from potential clients. Reviewed the stats on the homes page of my 4 online stores and looked over my first two orders of the morning. And now to refill my coffee cup… The first cup, I always add sugar and milk and after that, I just never let it get empty, just keep it hot and fresh and less sweet over the next few hours. Whew… This takes way more time to write than it did to actually happen and I ain’t even adding all the random details… LOL
Went ahead and turned on Power in the background as I tend to have music or tv on somewhere so I can actually concentrate. I always have all these ides running through my head and I get distracted in my own thoughts which slows down productivity. Got to keep things moving. The hustle is real.
Amidst all of this, I thought that I was just rockin’ a t-shirt and some beat up jeans… and don’t trip, I ain’t throwin’ shade at anyone’s fashion choice, to each their own. It only hit me that I wasn’t exactly as fresh as I’d prefer to be. threw on a backwards cap that didn’t even match my shoes but shoes were comfy but time to hang these up too… We’ve all heard the stories and seen in the movies and tv how parents be struggling to get things done and look a mess…Now your boy never looks a mess. I don’t get down like that. I keep it clean and presentable at all times… I don’t care day or night, your boy don’t play, but I have allowed things to get a little less put together from time to time and the rest of the time, it is just part of the hustle… part of the game I lay down, is all in how I look and how I carry myself.
Now, you may have heard the phrase before “dress for the job you want not the job you have”
I actually believe I used to say it…. about 20 years ago… I have much better perspective now than I did then… hopefully we all do. Part of the growth and the journey.
Today, I would tell you to dress as you… Be sure that every day, out yourself out there… If you’re a backwards cap and tattered jeans, rock it and rock it well…. If you’re a suit wearing, limousine ridin’, …well, you may not be able to afford the limo just yet, but rock that suit well…as if you was already ridin’ in that limo. I think the key is to be you. Run your own game but don’t let it get away from you or it because another distraction. Allot yourself those extra moments in the morning to be you. To get yourself together just the way you want.

Another element that goes along with this is exercise…Now I could tell you about the health benefits and the mental, emotional, and psychological benefits of exercise but I know you’ve heard it and don’t care…. If you cared, I’m obviously not talking to you because you’re already exercising. I want to appeal to two things:

Your vanity and your sanity. Your vanity…That’s right. You want to look a certain way, more fit, smaller, thinner, different proportions, clothes fit better, want to buy different clothes that right now just don’t flatter based on where you are physically… So do something about allow yourself a little time EVERY day to get in better shape,..yeah, yeah, yeah, eat better…that’s a different talk. And if you’re overweight, eating right will not fix your appearance. It helps but for the sake of this conversation, not relevant. Eat better when you can, as you can. But DO exercise right now… I don’t care how out of shape you are. It will help you get your body looking the way you wish it to…Also, allowing yourself time to get this done on the daily, will give you peace and you won’t burden your thoughts throughout the day. You will feel accomplished and stay on track which will keep you sane and productive.

Don’t even think of telling yourself that you don’t have time… Lame excuse because as I just explained, this will help you to be more efficient and stay on track which means how could you afford to not do this.

As I finish this up, I will be filling up my coffee for the third time, checking in with some business partners so see where we are moving with a few things, see what’s next for today and make sure we’re all the same page. Then I will take a quick workout for myself and then I got a large lot of inventory to get listed in my store before getting in touch with my boy, Garrett and Z to discuss our next venture and get things developed in that area… Building an empire didn’t happen in a day and wasn’t by one person either… I got my squad to help build my empire… Are you building yours?

And I’m gonna comb my hair and throw on a different shirt and keep it poppin’ fresh.

Till next time.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is truly tired…
I’ve had enough already!

Everyone is just so entitled as of lately and I’ve just had enough. They constantly cry over “free speech” yet don’t even give it a thought to what the statement means nor do they concern themselves with other’s freedoms and liberties… They are only concerned for what they feel they are owed…

“Owed”??!!??

Yeah, That’s right, they feel they are owed certain things in life and I’ve kind of just had enough of listening to it.
Free Speech – Is an idea that is spoke on in the First Amendment of the Constitution

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

And there you have it…. Free speech only means that the government will not get in the way of your right to speak freely… Hmmm…. pretty simple.

Facebook has no obligation to allow you to post the things they don’t want on their website. Twitter has no obligation to allow you to post things on their website that they do not want on their site. Hmmm…

Dorsey and Zuckerberg are not the government and owe you absolutely nothing. They are building their businesses and have their rights, liberties, and freedom to run their respective businesses in the manner in which they choose.

We have all these entitled Americans all over the country whining and crying over their lack of freedom to do as they wish in other people’s house…LOL
Now, I use the word house referring to their place of business because as a business owner myself, my business is my house… The same rules apply to my house as do to my office. It is MINE! I built it! I own it! And NO ONE will take what is mine or try to enforce their ideals in my house! That plain and simple. Ya heard!

I’m not on Dorsey or Zuckerberg’s level, yet one day, I very well may be… wither way…regardless of how big or small my business is, I will always maintain control over it.

No one will ever tell me they have any right to do as they wish in my house

You want to speak “FREELY”, do it in your house!!

Look, the reality is that the Game has some serious points in his response and I respect it when he speaks on the continued issues with what many think to be fair within the Grammy’s. For Ye to be banned based on his online behavior… Come on, seriously, he has always had erratic online behavior and in light of everything going on in his life right now with his ex-wife and kids can absolutely take a toll on a man. Don’t get me wrong, I am not one to lay all the fault on one side. Kim & Ye both had faults which contributed to where things are. This is a man who has been 100% open about his mental issues and struggles and he’s put it all out there again and again to try use it as a strength and not allow it to be his weakness. I can respect him for his efforts. It does get the best of him at times, but he is handling it the way he knows how.

For the Grammy’s to ban him based on this is absurd. Rappers and artists have beef with people all the time. My man 50 straight up stirs up beef with someone if it’s been a minute since he had one. He enjoys it. It’s part of how things go…

The Game even compares what the Grammy’s is doing to gaslighting and I don’t think he’s reaching. I will however say that comparing him to Kaepernick really takes away from his argument. Ye & Kaep are not the same. Ye fought and fought and has built something from nothing. Kaep is ultimately a big baby.

I know those words are gonna hit a little harshly… Let me elaborate… It was one thing when he took a knee. It was another when he continued to change his story of why he took a knee… (Kinda discredits your movement when you can’t keep your story 100) It was a completely different situation when he claimed to have been training for months and the hosted his NFL tryout for coaches and scouts to come and watch his drills and see if they would sign him…Now those who haven’t truly been following the story, let me enlighten you… He claimed all over social media to be training so hard for these drills that the NFL scouts were coming to watch him to see he was still valuable and could be signed by someone even though his stats grew weaker and weaker every season after his rookie season… It actually made the news… There were so many that were covering the story that Kaep was gonna get signed and there were several teams that had representatives eager to check out his drills only for him to decide to cancel at the last minute and reschedule. When he rescheduled at the last minute, the teams lost interest… The fault lays solely on him at this point. He had teams ready to sign him. There are only so many teams out there and so many positions available. Everyone wants to make him out to be this victim. There are much more talented players sitting at home watching the games or have started their own businesses and such because there wasn’t an NFL team available to sign them for the money they wanted or need or whatever.
Kaep doesn’t work like Ye and has given many of his own opportunities. Ye has created opportunities when others said there was nothing there. When he was told his first single couldn’t be done, he said it’s the way I’ll go… When he was in debt and struggling to get Yeezy off the ground, he fought for every inch. When people have questioned him, called him crazy, mocked, ridiculed, and otherwise berated him on his every turn, he has continued to fight.

For me, the Grammy’s don’t have grounds for their ban on him. But, I’ll also say that The Game, I got mad respect for you, dawg… But bringing Kaep into a conversation about Ye only loses the momentum and discredits the stance that Ye is being done wrong.

No shade thrown over here… Just your boy’s insight. Till next time, keep getting it done.

Yeah, take that title in and marinate on it for a minute…

I know this is going to rub a lot of the entitled, privileged Americans the wrong way but this needas to be said…

I had a friend who drove for Pizza Hut for years and couldn’t make himself quit because he said the money was just way to good and too easy to let go of… Hmmm…. Interesting…
I, myself, was a head cook for a restaurant for a few years and even took a shot at waiting tables on my day off until the management said they needed me in the kitchen instead of the floor… Well, while on the floor, I realized that I made more in four hours on the floor than I did in 10 in the kitchen even being the head cook… With all that being said, there are things that people whom have never worked in the food industry know about. For instance, it is true that wait staff only get paid $2.13 an hour plus tips, which many know and this is why many feel obligated to tip regardless of service or experience. The truth is that it is against federal law for people to be paid less than minimum wage therefor when a server doesn’t make enough tips to hit minimum wage, it is required for the restaurant to pay them minimum wage instead of the $2.13 an hour…. Most do not realize this. Now, in all the years I worked in the food industry and all the different people I worked with, there was only one girl that I have ever known to not hit the mark. She was terrible and she knew she was… She completely did not care. She worked graveyard and avoided all the customers if she could and they replaced her as soon as they could but it did take a few months to get someone to fill this shift out in Oak Hill…

I was even working at a restaurant when it was audited because all the wait staff was lying about how little their tips were and they fell under the mark that drew a red flag to the IRS. It was crazy, they came in a watched the servers count their tips at any given moment for a few weeks…. IT was nuts.

One of the waitresses drove a new mustang and the another a corvette… All of them were far better off than the management. None of this is a problem… Don’t get me wrong. They worked hard deserved it.

The problem is that we are getting to the point that tips are expected not earned… So sad.

In the age of technology and smart phones, we can now order anything with an app and for convenience, you can add the tip in before anything has even happened. That tip isn’t gratuity. It isn’t based on any merit. What about the people who go above and beyond; don’t they deserve a little something extra??
What about the people who show up late and have a foul demeanor?? Do they not deserve less??

Now, I know that there are many people who base none of it on any merit at all… They simply give everyone 10, 15, or 20% …no matter what. On the surface, this may seem generous, but to me as someone who has worked for tips and having known many people who worked for them, it seems unjust that someone can do crappy work and get the same tip as the person who will go after everything with all they’ve got and be joyful about it the entire time.

What has truly brought this to my attention is the other day, I ordered Domino’s Pizza on my smartphone for me and the boys and when I went to submit my order, it popped up a message box that read, “Giving gratuity now will ensure our staff does the best possible job”
What the hell is that??? I have to tip you to get you to do your job? If I don’t tip you, I may not get my order promptly or correctly??

Our society has become a bunch of people who are owed things they haven’t earned. It is ridiculous and I’ve had enough. I’m just tired of all the nonsense and how people can’t just work hard for what they get. We are building a society of privileged, entitled individuals who expect everything and want to work for little. And then continue to criticize everyone else who has more than them…but that’s another complaint for another day.

In closing. be kind to the people who bring your food or anything else these days but also tip them appropriately… Let’s encourage more people to actually earn it instead of continuing to hand them things they haven’t earned.

Where are we…?? What is truly going on? IT has been so difficult to actually out into words all of the things flowing through my mind… I feel almost overwhelmed with thoughts, contemplations and everything swirling in my mind.

Grant Cardone always says if you are not overwhelmed, you are not truly applying yourself….

I am going to choose to believe that once I am able to unpack all of this that something trly amazing will be coming out… Let’s get it off an poppin’ though…

There is so much ugliness in the world right now and in our society and the truth is that all of this has always been here…. Oh yes, none of this is new. Some people are super excited that some of these things are finally coming to the surface. The sad things is that too many are fighting it… Not only are people fighting the information coming out… Others are using the light that is finally being shined to fuel a fire that has been burning for some time… While others are taking to social media…

Yes, your boy is over here on social media bashing social media…. and the reality is that social media isn’t the problem… it is the people. Social media used to be such a privilege… Now, our spoiled Americans believe it to be their right.

Mark Zuckerberg, Kevin Systrom, Jack Dorsey, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos….These guys don’t owe you anything…

People believe that because they have Free Speech protected by the Constitution that they should be able to say what they want where they want…. That isn’t rights… That is privilege…

There are magazines, blogs, newsletters that all have “letters to the editor” sections but it is still their publication and they reserve the right to publish or not publish anything they wish. Now, Instagram and Twitter are a little more aloof when it comes to their policies because the platforms are much more simplistic, Facebook actually has great lawyers and incredibly detailed policies which you click a button stating you have read and acknowledge when you set up your account… I know that most people never read these things… but it is there. In those policies, it is clearly stated that anything you post on their platform… Yep, I said that correctly… Their platform, you give them total rights to. This si the reason I have never chosen to post pictures of my little boys on Facebook. They own your pictures… Of course you still own them as well, but you have given them 100% freedom to do as they wish. I bet most of you didn’t realize this. Yep, every time you post a picture to Facebook, they can use to build ads and owe you no money because you signed over the rights when you clicked yes to set up the account. They can also choose to remove or delete anything they wish including your posts they dislike or posts that are disturbing other users or your account all together… This is not censorship… This is ownership!

Yes, of course it is a form of censorship but I choose to censor certain things in my house as I have children. I also choose to not have certain things in my house because it is my house…Period.

That is my right. You have no rights over my house or my business… Just because I invite you over and allow you to be pretty leisurely and help yourself to any amenities… I also reserve the right to revoke that at any point… Same thing applies to my office and place of business.

Facebook is Zuckerberg’s house…his business…his office… HE owns it… You have only the privilages, he allows you and he can revoke at anytime.
Many people also don’t know how he built many games and programs that all flopped before he built Facebook… You don’t like his, build your own…

Same with Twitter, IG, What’sapp, or anything else out there.

Trump became angry and decided after he lost the White House and was booted from Facebook for being a bad influence on the American people to build his own social media platform… Good for him!!
That’s America… That is Freedom!! He built his own! You don’t like what’s going on, build your own.
Stop being a baby and grow up already! You are embarrassing yourself… the privilege and level of entitlement in this great nation has become so sad…

Now, I veered off from where I wanted to be, so much more to unpack… Stay tuned!!

Let’s give some back story for just a moment to paint a picture of my particular circumstance….
My Corey…my sweet little 6 year old boy who by the way has only been sick twice prior to COVID… We have been so blessed with a little boy who has an immune system like no other… He is just so strong. Colton, his brother has been sick a few times, not many but a few….He is pretty string as well, but Corey in 6 years has been sick twice. Then COVID spreads across the globe and we have done everything in our power to protect ourselves and keep ourselves safe due to our little boys and Kimberly’s job as a nurse with patients who have compromised immune systems. We just want to be sure that we are being wise and cautious.

Even having done all these things to be cautious, we still get COVID….all of us…all four of us get it. I got it pretty bad…lasted 8 and a half weeks, developed COVID-induced viral pneumonia and swelled up as if I was 9 months pregnant. It was not pretty. I went to the ER twice and then had an emergency appointment with a doctor after I had swelled up…I still have some symptoms a year later. Anyways, back to Corey…

I sat with my boy while I was sick and miserable for 3 days. He couldn’t sleep, he was shaking uncontrollably, anytime he would dose off, he would wake up pacing in circles and not know where he was or where he was going. I have never seen my little guy like this and never want to experience it again. It was horrible. He bounced back pretty quick…but those 3 days were terrible.

I have friends and even family members who can’t seem to understand what I experienced with my family during this time. They continue telling me that because I am still being cautious that I am choosing to live in fear and no trusting God. Those who truly know me and some of you may be my readers and I love that some of you know me so well already… It’s awesome to know you pay attention. Those who know me know better than all of that. I haven’t lost my faith in God. Scripture tells us to be wise and not tempt God.

I am being cautious because of what I experienced. What I went through with my little boy. I don’t want to experience that again. I don’t judge others for their stances; I merely have a problem with others judging me based on mine. I am a sheep and gullible and obviously scared and an idiot because I want to be cautious with my little boys whom I had an extremely traumatic experience with.

Now, get this, these same people who are condemning me for being cautious for having my boys mask up and limiting their exposure to unvaccinated, unmasked people until I feel that the virus in under control in our community and society, those same people are telling me that I am clueless and unaware of what is happening in our nation. They claim I need to be stocking up on guns and food because our nation is in a war right now. At some point our government may come in an seize our home and if we don’t have food rations to go off the grid and we don’t have ample guns to protect ourselves we are doomed. Oh my gosh, I literally just laughed out loud while I was typing that sentence.

Please do not get me wrong, I am not against food conservation or guns. To stock-pile non-perishable food is fine and maybe even wise. Doesn’t sound like their could be a down side to that at all. Regarding guns, I am not at all anti-gun; I am however anti-crazy-person-with-a-gun… Anyone who can not wait to get their hands on one, is the last person I want to have one…just sayin’ but that’s a topic for another day. Guns are great! I am not anti-gun at all.

The point here is that the people that are close to me that should know who I am, have really no clue at all because they are too consumed with themselves. But these people claim that I am living in fear because I have actually experienced something traumatic and am taking action to prevent the same thing from happening again. But they are working so hard to prevent something they have never experienced and have little evidence of it’s possibility. That does not mean that their fears are not valid. Who can say what fear is valid and what isn’t. If people have fears, they should be able to handle them. It is when they impede upon their lives or other’s lives, that maybe they need to address them and seek potential counseling.
The idea of their fears about our government taking over is silly to me but I would never stifle their choices to protect themselves and their family as they see fit. But my concerns about facing something that I have already faced and wish not to face again, they see as dumb, misguided, and lacking in merit. Therefor I should get over myself and stop living in fear…

I need to stop living in fear while they handle their snakes to show their faith in the Lord and build bunkers filled with guns and food to prevent the next war that they claim will break out in within the next 3 years…. Let’s readdress this conversation in 3 years when it never happens. Talk to you then…