Future Endeavors
Before reaching so many of my goals early in my career, I thought I would be able to do only few things in life. Now that I have been reignited internally, I know there are things that I will master and incorporate into my life. I would like to share my future endeavors.
Currently I am 28 years old and on year 2 of my long-awaited golf career. When I was eighteen, I first thought of getting my PGA card as a cart attendant in Williamsburg, VA. I saw how great everyone else was, and I saw how bad I was, and felt I could only be casual the rest of my life. After a successful food and beverage career, I left the industry to learn Spanish more fluently in a family-owned Peruvian Restaurant. I took that money to start my website and selling my art. After I got that weight off my back, the only thing left to do, was to go for golf. I miraculously got a job as a shop assistant at one of the nicest clubs in America, and I have been trying my hardest ever since. Golf is also the task that will take me the most time and effort. Typically, it only takes me a couple of weeks to become superior at anything. I give golf the most mindfulness because it translates to life. The game is so humbling and rewarding. Simple, yet so complicated if you want to be. Once I master golf to a degree, I know it will make everything else easier. When my mind is sharp, so is my golf.
Second to golf right now is stock trading. My father was always heckling me to invest but never explained it or told me what to do. Plus, I was young, and the internet was not as advanced. I had a college roommate who told me to buy bitcoin when it was only one dollar, and I told him he was stupid. It was not until post-graduation, my friend Terion walked me through how to invest money. He is twenty-eight and a retired nuclear engineer who now lives off stock trading. He is just one of a handful of men who guided me and helped me do it myself. Now I trade individual shares, stock options, and build my retirement accounts. The current struggle I am having with this, is getting too impatient and wasting money doing too many transactions. Patience was the best ingredient to any recipe ever. I constantly try to remind myself of that. With a team of intelligent young men who also trade, I have been able to have a community of people I can trust and build income with.
Of course, my painting career is important, but people would be surprised as to how much of that is on autopilot. I will be doing this until my arms do not work. I try to draw or paint 1-2 times a week for a couple of hours, and I work on 3-5 projects at once. Only Alex has really seen me create in my own privacy, but I am extremely fast. This is another area I also struggle with slowing down. I envision everything in my head before I do it, so the creation part I speed through sometimes. I also feel like the art is my God given talent. And it is not the painting aspect per se, but I believe that communication is my best skill. I hate talking so the art is the way I will reach the world. I look forward to being able to highlight myself in the spring at all the local shows. I already know in my spirit that I will be a successful artist.
After I have made enough money in golf within the next 5-7 years, I want to spend more of my focus into learning to play the piano and start doing stand-up comedy. I never planned to demonstrate both skills at the same time as Jamie Foxx, but that would be cool. I just love the sound of a piano and I took lessons one summer as a kid. I always liked when Mac Miller played piano, but the straw that broke the camel's back, was when I saw how well Young Thug could play. I think it would be a great combo to learn piano the same time I practiced for stand-up comedy. I learn much better when doing more than one thing at once. That way I never get bored or waste idle time. The stand-up comedy idea definitely comes from Andrew Schultz. He is not my #1 comedian ever, but he and I both admire Patrice O'Neal. Once I saw Schultz stand on stage and slow cook crowd after crowd with the New York shit talking, I knew I could make people laugh if given the time. I am so witty and intelligent when I get the green light to act up, hence why I want to get my money up before I start comedy.
Another thing I want to deep dive into my late 30's, is physics, and astronomy. Knowing me, I will not wait that long, but I am so fascinated by that stuff. I want to start building things, sorts of contraptions, and upgrade parts of my home someday, myself. Home improvement jobs are fun to me. I feel like less of a man when I do not have the labor skills to complete tasks. I plan to read books on the physics behind how things work, and then put together adult sized science projects. If you are ever walking around with me outside, you will likely notice, I zone out looking at the sky often. Not sure if that is a Scorpio thing, but I am obsessed with the moon. I cannot fathom how people are not curious about the sky.
I was raised in a traditional Baptist Church, I believe in Jesus, and I think God is real, but I am not religious by many means. I read bible verses every day because it is a terrific book, and positivity is good for my spirit. My god mother is a November baby as well and we share kind words every morning to start the day and thank God. Gratitude has been a major key to my maturity and growth. With that being said, I prefer hiking over religion. Hiking is so spiritual and healing for me because I feel like God is somewhere in the woods, lost like all of us. At the peak of my hikes, I prefer to see a waterfall or a natural spring as a reward for taking the challenge. Years ago, Angie and I, spent 3 days camping in "Bear Country." It is where Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky meet. We were there to do the Virginia and Kentucky highpoints. When we camped outside, we did not see a bear. However, at night, the woods sound like Madison Square Garden, despite not actually seeing any animals with your eyes. We continued our track down the Appalachians stopping at waterfalls, and no other activity gives me more peace for some reason. The plan is continuing my hiking hobby and expand globally in search of Him.
It does not take long to discover how country I am at heart. Somewhat of a pretty boy at times, but I cannot help but want to fish by the lake or shoot guns in the woods. I come from a town named after a fish, "Croaker." We catch croaker, spot, catfish, Gahr, and whiting. When I moved to the Everglades, I had to switch from brackish water to freshwater fishing. Now I have been catching bass, redtail snapper, cichlids, snook, and tarpon. I have traveled the channel and fished on golf courses. At my job, my best friend Moe and I, caught 35+ bass in 4 days. In the future I would like to be able to take my Uncle Alvin on these fishing trips. He is the one who taught me how to fish when I was a kid. We took family trips every summer. I have started to get more of my fishing friends together, in hopes of building improved excursions. One of my fishing friends is also my best friend Seth Thompson. He is one of my first friend's I have ever had, and when I retire, I would like to be able to hunt with him every season. I have never been on an official hunt, but I would love to assess my survival skills. Also, I want to emphasize I take guns very seriously. I do not own any, because I wanted to wait until maturity to own one. I plan to take gun safety sometime this year.
With the money I plan to make from my artwork, I was going to take that money to pay for trips to do photography at HBCU sporting events and hockey games with Alex. I do complain about money like every other man, but it is 70% of a joke. I never have money because I always give it away. My grandmother and I used to laugh about how I was always doing a random favor. When my artwork starts to snowball and accumulate funds, I want to attend events where I can submerge among the people. The things that sit at the front of my brain are HBCU sports, PBR Rodeo events, and hockey games. I genuinely do want to support the youth of my people, and democrats defunding HBCU's does not help, nor does the NFL not drafting from those schools. I just want to show kids I do care about their future and have fun while I do it. The PBR thing comes from being with my best friend with Alex. It is something we enjoy, and it entertains us. Now that I live in Florida, which is a hockey state! I go to our semi-pro team games and have a blast. All my co-workers were hockey players, and it is the only sport on tv Alex and I, agreed to pay for. The hockey is a special treat for me since it is the last real sport.
This past year I have invested time and energy into my kitchen equipment. I would love to excel at being on the grill. I own cast iron pans, nonstick ceramic pots, nonstick metal pans, air fryer, griddle with a warming tray, rice/slow cooker, and blender. Once I buy my first home the first thing I am investing in, is a grill. I learned to grill working at Carrabba's as a prep cook and lunch shift grill guy. Since putting more time and effort into making my own meals, I have been able to stop taking all medications I used to take. My stomach issues have borderline disappeared and I even eat spicy food now. I want to build on this by expanding my menu capabilities behind the flame. I do not promote pork or sea critters who filter the water but anything else is fair game!
Hot yoga would be good for me because I need something intense to meditate and I am a stiff athlete who needs to be limber. I have done it twice and enjoyed it both times. The first time was the hottest and longest, making my face seize from sweating. I could not even drink water. The second time was less hot and comfortable. Both times I felt like a spaghetti noodle walking out and I take that time to deep think while under intense heat. Majority of the other people enjoy the communion or group aspect of it. I on the other hand, do not care for that.
My brother runs a car group, and we also love motorbikes. Growing up, Aj was not even in kindergarten yet, naming every vehicle in sight. We would drive down the road and as we passed cars, he would name every single one. Fast forward 28 years later he is doing his own car shows, and I am designing the logo for his car group! As kids we had bicycles, crotch rockets, scooters, motorcycles, and go-karts. Out in the country you had to have wheels to get anywhere. Once Aj and I got our license, we would race Camaros, Chargers, and Mustangs in the neighborhood with no shame. In the future we want to grow his car brand and get dirt bikes for when he buys a home. My friend who does tattoos, just rebuilt his two dirt bikes and I feel like that was the sign I needed.
It is a 50-hour course to get a real estate license and a skill like plumbing. I have attended one of the seminars that the realtors are required to attend for credit, and I feel like it is something I could easily dedicate two months to and learn. It is a ~100-question exam and 50-hour online course. To stay up licensed all you must do is maintain a certain number of credits for education every few years. Having the ability to buy/sell your own property is the final chess move if you want to win the game of capitalism.