Whenever I hang out with new people, it’s not long before I start explaining ways that I work the system. To be honest, I’ve done it all my life. But one of my favorite ways to do it is with credit cards. I’ve booked a whole lot of free travel lately…all because of working the system…
I’ve begun building a Facebook page for me as an author. Like it while you’re at it. It’s a weird thing, because I’m trying to build my fame. In a sense, I’m trying to build my own kingdom with people who follow me. As I was driving to church last Sunday, the oddness of that…
Complete honesty, folks. I’ve been struggling with my latest book. I’ve written it once, done a pass of edits, and even re-written most of it. But now I’m thinking of scrapping all 32,000 words and changing the whole focus of the book. I haven’t shown any of it to my agent yet. Frankly, I’m still…
I got my first book published in September last year. I did it without an agent…and in a bit of an atypical way. It was an exciting experience, even though it took over a year to happen. In the mean time, I started working on my next book. I actually finished the first draft around the…
Competition is a brutal thing. It’s likened to a pie, with everyone trying to get a piece—and a piece that’s larger than anyone else’s. If you grew up in a large family where pie was scarce, you can relate all-too-well to this analogy. You grew up understanding competition. But if competition is everyone trying to…
I was hanging out with my friend the other day when he got a phone call. He looked at the caller ID, scowled, and ignored it. I laughed and asked him who it was. “It’s the volunteer coordinator at my church. I know they’re going to ask me to volunteer this Sunday, but I don’t…
I talk about this often: If you post bitter political links in your Facebook profile, I’m going to hide you. My goal with social media is not to have a bunch of angry people yelling their dogma at me. And guess what…I’m not the only one. The sad thing for those people who I hide…
I saw a headline post on my “Trending” news section of Facebook. It said, “Man with concealed handgun license takes down shooter.” That worried me. It worried me, because it sounded somewhat biased. Surely different news outlets would have headlined that different ways. So I researched it. Sure enough, Fox News had that headline. Then outlets…
Want to know the quickest way to get on my good side? It’s not exactly hard, but very few people are willing to do it. It’s to make your yes be yes, and your no be no. That means, if you agree to do something, you follow through. You don’t make excuses, you just do…
I’ve always loved borrowing friends’ trucks. For one reason, it makes me feel a bit more masculine than my baby blue Chevy Spark makes me feel. But the other reason is that I love the sense of community you feel on Texas roads when you’re driving a truck. I haven’t experienced this phenomena elsewhere. But…