Living life one day at a time

So since I recapped my last cross country adventure I've since begun another one. To catch you up (assuming someone is actually reading this) the company I helped out by driving across the country to the opening round of the ATV AMA national races offered me a full time position. Its amazing to see how the Lord works and opens doors in a particular order and at just the right time. It would take too long to recount how my journey into this industry over the last three years has lead to this opportunity but I believe whole heartedly that God has had his hand in it every step of the way.

My first task with the new job was to fly back east to attend round 2 of the racing series. As of right now I'm slated to attend all of the AMA Nationals for 2011. The tour schedule will take me all over the eastern US and give me an opportunity to visit numerous states I've never been to so I'm VERY excited.

Two weeks ago I stopped into the office to sign paperwork and gather the necessary things I'd need for what I thought would be a five day trip to Alabama. Little did I know they had other plans. Ty Zimmermon, one of the several people who was pulling for me to get this job asked if I would mind extending my trip and hitting an event in Texas the weekend between races. Fortunately my life is rather flexible at this point in time so I said sure and went home to pack my suite case for my three week trip.

My first stop was in Pell City Alabama for Round 2 of the AMA Nationals. From there I headed to Jacksonville Texas for an event known as the Mud Nationals. This is basically an excuse for around 15,000 people to get together and party, southern style, in the backwoods and mud holes of east Texas. It was certainly an eye opening experience and for how crazy things tend to get, I'm thankful I was able to miss most of the mayhem. I was on hand to display our product and help get our company out and in the minds of the people.

Currently I'm spending a couple days off in Kilgore Texas before I head back to Alabama to pick up our teams race rig before heading to the next national in Bowlingreen Kentucky. I am so thankful and continue to be amazed at the doors God keeps opening. We're going to be spending a couple days midweek at a former national champions house before heading to the races. Jeremiah Jones was a top ranked professional racer when he was tragically injured in a race and is now a paraplegic. He's still actively involved in the industry running a race team and supporting his wife who races in the women's class. Just another awesome opportunity to get to meet some of the people I've only ever seen in magazines and in media.

This is about the midway point of the trip so hopefully I'll get some free time to write another post before heading back to California and on to the next adventure. Thanks for tuning in.

The Saga Continues...

Welcome to the chaos and craziness that is my life. Ha ha. I'm now on an airplane headed back to California after yet another experience I never really thought I would be blessed with. Many of you know that I've been obsessed with the world of ATV racing for most of my life. Unfortunately the biggest ATV racing series is held on the east coast and I've never had an opportunity to attend a race. All that changed last week though as a team manager for one of the biggest race teams in the country called an asked if I could drive their racer support vehicle to Washington Georgia for the season's opening race. Turns out their usual guy had injured his knee and was unable to drive. So, whats a guy that has no real commitment or responsibility to do when an opportunity like this is dropped in his lap? Drive 39 + hours across the country in 3 days of course!!!

I made the trip from Oregon to Illinois a few times in college but it was always with other people and I was to solo this trip. Thankfully I could break it up and didn't have to drive straight through. I made it to El Paso the first night, Monroe Louisiana the second night and on into Georgia on night number three. An unexpected surprise was making a brief stop in Fort Worth to visit one of my lovely nurses from my extended hospital stay there last July. It was great catching up and much nicer chatting without my head ringing and leaking fluid everywhere.
In Washington I met up with the race team and helped mount and dismount tires for dozens of racers throughout the course of the weekend. I had an awesome opportunity to watch the pro race and afterward, even connected with a local member of the Fox news crew who was milling around the track. He was the weekend sports guy who happened to show up because he heard there was an event going on but he didn't really know anything about it. Being the rather shy fellow that I am, I offered to take him around the event and explain how things work and even helped him get an interview with the top two pro racers.

I continue to be amazed at how God works all things together and knows SO much better than we do, what He is doing. So many of the experiences I've had and people I've met over the last two years were always just hopeful thoughts and not something I really ever thought I would get to experience. Even more so over the last months as life has been challenging and work has been scarce. But isn't it just like God to make us wait, grow impatient and then just when we feel we've had enough, He lavishes something so new and exciting upon us.

This trip has been an unexpected blessing and I'm not sure what my involvement will be in the future but I'm hoping for good things. Everyone I met seemed happy to have me around and it was an awesome experience to be able to work in the thick of the industry I love. I even made some new friends that promised to bring me real Tennessee Barbecue if I make it to the next round. I can only hope.....

The Rearview Mirror

So often we speak about forgetting what is behind and moving forward. It's true that in dwelling on things of the past - mistakes, choices, relationships -we often see things that we don't like. Focusing on those things can impede our ability to move forward and into greener pastures. While I agree whole heartedly that it's not about what is behind you, but more so about what lies ahead, I can't help but peer over my should every once in a while to remind myself of where I've come from.

So often along the path of life and the pursuit of a dream we can get bogged down. We become discouraged when things aren't happening like we thought or we just seem to be pouring out and pouring out while receiving little in return. I heard Mark Sanborn speak recently and he comented that "successful people find themselves discouraged more often than unsuccessful people." Successful people set the bar so high that they often times become discouraged along the way, but the important thing is to keep trying.

I find it useful every once in a while to peer into the review mirror for two reasons. One, it allows you to truly gauge how far you have come. Things seldom happen in our lives as quickly as we'd like them to but it's important to step back and see the big picture. This should show you that despite what you may feel, you are moving forward and you continue to gain ground.

Secondly, peering into the past can help us through those times when faith is in short supply. "Look at your track record" was the encouragement my dad gave me to get me through my senior year of college. He was trying to remind me that I had ended up at college because I believed that's where the Lord had called me. He lead me there and He would lead me to wherever I was suppose to go next.

Look at your track record. When faith is in short supply, recall times from the past when God provided a friend, money to pay the bills or a cool drink of water in the middle of the desert. He has seen you through storms before and he will see you through whatever lies ahead.

Just remember as you move forward and walk through this life, every once in a while, peer over your shoulder to remind yourself of how far you've come and to assure yourself that the God who was with you then, is with you now.

Moving forward

Soooo.....Its been a little while since I've written on the old blog. Chalk it up to spending time looking for a job and the rest of the time worried about not having a job. Things have been up and down quite a bit over the course of the last few months but they are finally starting to look up.

A quick rehash, about mid October I suddenly realized I didn't have a job and the things that I was doing to generate money were barely cutting it and they were slowly vanishing. So after applying for jobs on craigslist and a day spent making cold calls as a part of the interview process for one company, I finally took to the streets to try and find a job. The day was bitter sweet.

The second door I knocked on was a film company called Endeavor Production Group. I talked to the owner for almost an hour and basically left with a job. It would be entry level and only part time but I was energized and continued my rounds to see what else I could find. Later that afternoon my truck died and failed to restart. That began about 2 months worth of recurring truck problems, which are still not settled to this day but its running and for that I'm thankful.

Fast forward to today, I'm still working with EPG and I'm in charge of a little branch we started called SpecSpot TV. I'm producing 60 web videos for business to promote themselves and their services online. I really like the work but its slow going. Everyone seems to want video to promote their business but no one wants to pay.

I also have another part time job working as a marketing assistant for the Stromsoe Insurance agency. I actually found and applied for the job on craigslist. It was an interesting interview process but after meeting the owner Mike and learning how he does business it made perfect sense and the system really works.

Outside of my "real" jobs, I'm continuing to pursue the motorsports world with everything I have. I've had some INCREDIBLE opportunities lately in terms of getting my name out there as an industry insider. I wrote a story for ATV Rider Magazine that should be on stands now, and basically just told my story of how I got to where I'm at and some of the exciting events that have happened along the way. That was a huge blessing because the story turned out to be 6 pages in the magazine and I've received a lot of great feedback from people about it.

I've had some other AMAZING opportunities recently that I will share in my next post but for now, it's late, I'm tired and this is the first time I've posted since November...you'll have to check back :) I always love hearing from you so please feel free to comment below or on facebook.