one of the smartest things you can do for yourself is

But, one of the smartest things you can do for yourself is, not to become your own worst enemy. Charlie completely changed the direction of his aggressive personality. An "attitude" that is daring a door to even look at your rear-end like it wants some of it. Remember, the cesspool of liberation is always waiting to welcome you if need some friendly persuasion. As fate would have it, Charlie got paroled and got a job as… guess what? Yeah, a janitor. Hehehe. Then all of a sudden the cycle turned and it was like coming back from a thirty point deficit in a New York minute. He gambled, got involved with drug smuggling, was captured and sentenced to prison at twenty one years old. Change is a universal law. I felt that success was only inches away. And, I knew that door was behind me, I knew what I wanted and was determined to get it. Yep, that's all it took. He met the challenge to change with a dogged determination. I have learned to anticipate the downward cycle that will inevitably come, and to prepare to go upward and outward to avoid that door. He could feel changes taking place inside of him that he couldn't explain. There was this problem that was crawling all over me like ants. He quit hating the Judge that sentenced him, he forgave the federal agents who caught him and brought about all his troubles. And, I know from personal experience that it often only takes the willingness to change to turn failure into success. He was born in poverty. I say, "I have a problem, that's good". You know, it's funny, but some of my most outstanding successes, I have ever made, came while I was in the cesspool of liberation. A Feather In His Cap!Because of these changes, he began to get the favorable attention of the prison officials. While in prison, Charlie had a lot of time to think. A Rose By Any Split Flange Clamps Other Name Would Smell As Sweet!Something happened to Charlie one day while in the cesspool of liberation.Some people say, "I have a problem, that's awful". Oh, yeah, he was a "janitorial engineer". No pun intended. And, you know why? Cause he learned he didn't have to let the door hit him, where the good Lord split him." So, guess what?I'll tell you in a bit. He said before he died, those early years were a time of rebellion and refusing to change. He found out what it was like to cut off his nose to spite his face. I also knew that the proverbial door back there was just waiting to give me the "big pain in my neck". I'm going to see the change, accept the change, not refuse to change, and come out of this on top. Ants In His Pants!You remember where I left you in the first paragraph? I do. And you know; it was really exciting watching the circumstances concede to my desire, and the door not hitting me in the rear, "for a change". Well, I guess it's better than a slap upside the head with a wet fish. After he quit school he got involved with hoboes and derelicts. Not too much fun. There's just something about that place that brings about an amazing willingness to change. He took a very good look at the Charlie of the past and resolved to avoid even the very appearance of evil. I have learned that every time I "blow a test", by refusing to change, , I get to go through the test again. Same old test, getting a zero every time. Isn't that amazing? Yeah, right. Why? Charlie, , lived to be 79 years old and died in the mid 1950's. And, things are going to change even if you refuse. But, anyway, Charlie had a changed attitude, so slopping around in a toilet was not going to chap his rear. :>) hehehe!Well, as fate would have it, Charlie, with his new attitude, worked for this company for many years before he died and finished as the president of the company.I knew precisely what I wanted. And that refusal to change brought the problems he encountered. Then one phrase that came to mind was all it took to see the light and cause that door to begin fading away in the horizon. Every living organism, be it people, businesses, nations, nature, whatever, every thing goes through cycles. :>)Richard Vegas ©2002. I guess so. I began to think about the story of Charlie.This change in Charlie's attitude also brought about a remarkable change in his behavior. Change And Conquer!So, being the humble student of the "test" that I have so often failed, I told myself, not this time. He began to read books that gave him inspiration, guidance and help. Watching the events, as they unfolded, from the prevailing conditions my spirit was screaming; "Don't let the door hit you where the good Lord split you. I was doing everything I could to brush them off. Yeah, an ex-con convicted of drug smuggling. But, he knew something good was happening. The excitement in my body was beginning to feel like electricity surging through my veins. Change is a part of life. It's like H20 making water. "Blow this, and you'll repeat the test". If you will make a decision to accept changing cycles, and you change when the cycle changes, you can then play with the big dogs. If you learn to anticipate these, look for them, not be afraid of them, then you can meet the challenge of change with new ideas, new blood, new energy, and a new attitude. In elementary school the sold newspapers and shined shoes. They grow to a point, sometimes maturity, then levels off and dies. But, I'm sure none of you have ever been that stiff-necked, have you? Yeah, ok, right. It's like gravity. Sometimes it's hard to let go of an obsession and accept the fact that "something" is changing. And, a guy named Charlie did it his way for most of his early life-Wrong! Refusing to accept the cycles that come and go and cause change, will undo the best laid plans of mice and men