Stories - FD Thornton

For someone beginning a new career path or planning to start a new business venture, there's nothing like "that new car smell" of starting. As an entrepreneur myself having started and ended several business adventures, there is nothing as exciting as planning and beginning a new project. Even at this moment I'm created a new website My Mid_Life  that I hope to use as a launch platform for a new venture I'm considering.  For now my focus here is on the nuts and bolts of starting a business. Like I said, I've tried my hand at a number of projects that I've taken to various levels of success and failure. Out of all the things I could discuss, the planning, product or service development, tax issues, my main point here is the working and struggling that occurs.  Much like getting a new toy it's fun to play with for a while, but then the predictability and routine of it sets in. A new business venture is all about the work and grid that you put in. It&

Over the weekend I worked on a new post about not giving up and not quitting. It still sits in my drafts waiting for me to drum up the drive to polish it up. So I was sitting here thinking, "man I feel like crap." I mean the weekend was a total bore, I had a lot of coursework to complete (QNT/561) and after that I was just drained. My eyes and my sinuses have been on fire then on top of that my belly is in knots. Rather it's stress or something just physical who knows. But those same feeling are carrying on into my Monday.  Now last night I slept pretty well, got up a little late. But the feeling of my this blah, blah has built up over the passing hours. Maybe the thing is I need to just sit quietly and clear my mind of some of the accumulated clutter? I've noticed over the past number of months if I ignore the stressful thoughts instead of facing them. They tend to hang under the surface and maybe that's what is going on now.  If you take a moment and quite y

Last night I was watching YouTube checking out a new music artist on the scene. While doing that I noticed another live video of Rush in concert. I sat here for about 45 minutes marveling at the musicianship of these three guys thinking to myself, "man I wish I could do that."  There is always something out there that we can't do that we wished we could do. For a number of years I thought I was a musician, even played a number of gigs. What I discovered was my musicianship could only go so far. But during that endeavor what I discovered was that I was a pretty good writer. Writing was something I had been doing as long, if not longer than playing the guitar. And even now, with the periods of not writing I've had, I'd always at some point go back to it again.  Now I'm not going to sit here and tell you how great I am at it. But I will say what Carlos Santana recently said about his playing, "if you're playing doesn't give you chills, then put t

Let me tell you what, since my last official post "The Mundane" I tried at least three times to write my next post. The problem has been either every time I got in the mood to write or started writing, I was interrupted or lost the inspiration. If you've ever done any type of writing, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. I mean every creative person goes through periods of nothing to say.  I've heard that professional writers usually make it a habit of putting something down on paper (screen) everyday. I guess that shows how unprofessional I really am, simple because I consider this a more creative venture than a professional one. Still part of me says you should write something. Now rather that's ego or a need to be heard, who knows. When you think of it, in some ways in our professional lives we demand the same thing. To get attention and to be heard. In the world of business most days can be pretty mundane . Routine can strech hours into days,

Recently I was writing a friend of mine (yes, a letter) and in my note I mentioned some of the new things going on. Normally something like that would excite and motivate me. But to be honest I must admit my motivation is lacking.  I'm sure that for a lot of you out there this is nothing new. What may have been an exciting adventure at one point, has turned into the routine or even mundane. For me this is kind of a crazy paradox, because one of the things I suffer with is anxiety. While I've been working hard to overcome my situation, I find it ironic that at this point I'd be complaining about being "bored".   Never the less here we are, looking to a new horizon yet not really feeling it. I'm not trying to over-analyse this, it could simply be me going through a funk or something, we all do that. I guess I could think of it like a long term commitment. Where passion and drive first motivate you, then maturity and establishment continue you.  I guess the

I work pretty hard to remain positive about life, although one of my coping mechanisms is to make very cynical comments about things. Still it helps in some weird way with my coping with the negative energies I face daily.  Life is about how we interact with one another, and despite the fact that some people out there love to throw their negative energy everywhere. It's up to us as to how we receive that energy and send it back. Do you send back negative with negative? Or do you take that energy you receive nurture it and make it your own.  I've been learning that we each have the capacity to be better. That we do not have to allow the arrows of life to define who we are. That within each of us there are seeds of faith, if you will, that can be nurtured and grown. But at the same time there are seeds of fear and pain that we cannot ignore. If left untouched they grow like choking weeds that can destroy your hearts garden.  To keep that from happening we can't ignore t

After another usual morning of going through my physical routine of just making it through to noon. I come back to my office exalted and tried before even turning on my computer. But as I have said on other occasions, you have to play with the hand you're dealt.  Fair or unfair, brought on by your actions or not, this is the way life is. Being chained to so many ailments and physical problems it would be easy to slip into the bonds of depression, which on occasion I do. Still, for whatever crazy reason there is something deep inside myself that refuses defeat. A life force that often reminds me you can make it.  You may ask where does this "life force" come from and how can I get it? Well as of now, I haven't been able bottle or package it in a pretty container and hock it on a shoppers channel for $ 99.95 in three easy payments, nor would I want to. What I can say about what drives and pushes me is that I believe it be a combination of life experiences.  Despit

Earlier today I made a comment on twitter on how my grandparents made it through the Great Depression of the late 20's and 1930's. Being in my 50's both sides of my grandparents raised their families during the depression.  Growing up they would tell us stories of the hardships of feeding, clothing, and providing shelter for their families during that time. Since going through the Great Recession, these past several years. Those stories told by my grandparents have really helped my wife and I in keeping our family together. Those were lessons I learned without really being taught. It was simply me and siblings just listening to the old "wise" tales passed down from one generation to another. I'm sure that each one of you out there has a story you can tell like that. Where somewhere in your life a wise sage passed down a truth, that you later discovered to be good advice. In our real lives life lessons are learned everyday. Rather it's something as ea

As usual I got up around 7 am, had my coffee and toast, then went out on the porch for a smoke. When a storm approaches you can feel a stillness in the air. The kind of stillness that I feel this morning with an impending rain that's coming. So knowing that, I have left my Sunday open to whatever happens. It's these kind of days I call lazy days. And while, you don't usually get a lot done on days like this, every now and then they are a necessity for me.  As someone that can be hypersensitive to my surroundings, having a day without a certain order can be challenging. But even I find that a day to focus on nothing gives my mind a degree of freedom. To listen to what's going on and not to be bothered with the cries of work or routine.  Like I said, considering the conditions I deal with hypersensitivity, feelings of dread, and immobility, you'd think lazy is something I shouldn't be practicing. But the secret is this, by clearing or passively focusing on my

Wow, It's 2015. A few decades ago when in high school we are discussing the future (turn of the century). And, of all the things we talked about the thing that blew my mind the most was that I'd be 38 in 2000. I know it seems funny now, but when you're 16, that's ancient, I'll never make it to be that old.  Since that time I've passed a few mile markers in my life. I lived through my 20's, married, got divorced, and married again (not to the same person, thankfully). Had kids, made to my 30's, moved to a another city. Plowed through my 40's, watched my children graduate high school, had a mid-life crisis, and buried my parents. Now I'm into my 50's without much fanfare, my kids are graduating college, and now making babies themselves. The old saying goes, "out with the old and in with the new" . But when I look at the figures, It looks more like, "out with the new and in with the old" . I guess that's how age works