Hello Guys 'n Gals! 

My Freinds from around the world.....

it's awesome to be here again....and I've done 

the recording lesson I stopped on...till I

found I had a voice recorder available.

Im still unemployed, although I've been marketing online

http://www.youtube.com/user/SmilinGBGuy

Ive been playing a lot of music and teaching

a bit, now Im in 3 bands. 

I gotta go teach right now, but I want you

all to know I appreciate and Liove aall of you, and that I want to get back here reguarly. 

Ive moved and gone through a lot....and suffered a lot since I left.....but I am so glad and inspired to be back again.....

Here are some REALLY INSPIRING videos

that I love very much. 

Especially the singer.....

I'll catch ya'll on the git back!

Smilinsteve

hello everyone!

I miss you all...think of you often.....and want to come back to Tools....although I don't know if I'll be as regular as I was.....

Well.....my financial situation has moved me out of my apartment, and left me unemployed mostly, although I'm working on the net. 

Ellie the cat is still awesome....so friendly and fun! 

I see I have 8 people in the group I started....

WOW!....I guess I should be here !

I will start getting up early and doing my Tools and blogging again.....I look forward to seeing my old buddies here again. 

I'll see ya later.....

Smilinsteve

Though I wrote the last blog

almost as soon as I got the call

about losing my only paying job,

I didn't give up, and I continued

to fight for every chance I thought

I had to muster more work.

Today....at the end of the day

I look back and see my Brother

has 4 houses for me to wash

with him an hour and a half away...

with my last money in my gas tank.

Then, I got a house to help finish

painting Saturday for $12.50 an hour,

and some paintings to hang Sunday

for an elderly freind of mine that will

pay a small fee...Bless her Heart!

Then...Monday I have the local

diner to paint for a Greek aquaintance

who I dont really like communicating

with, but I'm bearing it.

Also, I've found a lead company called

http://www.findmealocalpainter.com

that will send me 10 to 15 leads a

month for $35 apiece!

I just have to get liability insurance

at $305 to start and $35 to start

the leads coming, and then the

ball's in my court!

Amen People!

You know, when I got the call....

a thought came across my mind,

that the Universe had something

else for me instead of the job

I thought I had......

and as I went through the day...

I saw the proof of my faith and

I became more and more confident

that Everything Was Going To Be

Alright! 

As a matter of fact.....there's a

documentary on the TV about

9/11, and I realize that bad things

can and do happen to everybody,

randomly and worldwide.

Everything doesnt have to be

hunky dorey for me does it?

I guess it's not what happens,

but how I react and how much

"chin" I keep up, and Gratitude

I have for what I already have.

I feel sorry for my cat, whose

health could be better if I had

more money, and who will get

relief from me ASAP! I look at

her coming to greet  me when

I come in, and I feel so badly that

I might let her down and have to

return her to the kennel where

I got her.

I have Love for each and every 

one that stops, cares, and shares

support and heart with me.

I appreciate it VERY MUCH !

Still Smilinsteve

I just got a call that the only

paying work I had this month

fell through.

I simply cannot get anybody

to hire me for painting, wallpapering,

or plastering, even though Ive had

a 33 year career and many thrilled customers.

Im out of money, and it looks

like I might have to give up this

apartment and lose my cell phone,

cable and insurance if something

doesn't change.

Even if I got a job they wouldnt

pay me until a week or two.

I must try to earn something

somehow, anywhere.

Until then, Im probably going to

get shut off here on my cable bill...

so...its been awesome and heart

warming to have yall as freinds.

Im here until they shut me off.

CYA

S  

Im still around!

Its been a while, but Im trying

to find a tape recorder for my

lesson to make a tape to myself.

I dont have one of my own.

In the meanwhile....times are

tough, and my health is causing

problems....Im dealing with it.

I miss blogging, commenting,

and the freindly support of

fellow Toolers.

Not to worry, I'll Be Back!

Smilinsteve

Todays calming lesson was timely for me...

about meditation, breathing, and visualization.

Im under a tremendous amount of stress,

and havent any work or money to speak of.

I put an ad in Craigslist, and got

one wallpapering job to bid today...

in a bathroom. Not much but

something....I vizualize myself

getting the job.

I need to save my apartment and eat.  

I hope I do!

 Im back after all the gigs I had

during the weekend...it was

pretty exhausting....especially

since I cant stop waking up at

4:00AM without taking a sleeping

pill every night.

My main struggle is with the economy,

and not getting any good work

painting. I placed an ad in Craigslist,

and finally got one good wallpapering

job to price....Thank God ! Hamdulillah!

Ive had a breakthrough in my life....

I actually sat down and made a

budget, something I avoid like its a

death sentence..even though that much

money doesn't come in every month,

at least I know where I stand!

I met a nice person, a chat freind

from Algeria on Skype......it's been

fun to start learning Arabic......I

love languages. Ive already

learned Spanish and Greek.

OK......

Im off to another day....Im going

to make it a great day!

Inchallah! (God Willing)

Todays lesson was awesome,

and thought provoking....about

personal laws....thought provoking

and at the crux of everything,

isnt it!

Break your own laws, or dont have

any....and you find yourself in the

"Have Not " jail!

How true!

I've thought a lot about this before...

especially about people who have

savings...I can feel its plainly that

they have the "law" for themselves

that they will do it, its nothing special

feeling or with fanfare, they just do it,

and some dont.

Then theres the mess that broken laws

cause....just like the mess that law

breakers have in their lives. Lies all

over the place, less personal power

in life, and lowered expectations....to

keep things going.

The wages of my own personal law

breaking, or not having laws at all

are really what Im doing here at Tools.

This lesson is a turning point.

Deeper commitment.

Im suffering waking up every

night at 4:00AM because I have

high blood pressure, and I wake

with a pounding heart and a

viscious headache.

I stay up and do Tools, or take a

sleeping pill to force more sleep.

Im feeling lousy and groggy all day.

(I should be sleeping at a Holiday Inn

.....! lol)

I have bad blood pressure because

of a bad heart condition, and I'v

been given meds by my Doctor, but

cant afford them because Ive lost my

medical insurance....

I cant afford my health insurance

because I havent been getting any

work living out here in rural Western

Mass during a recession, and I dont

live within my budgetwhen I should

or can.

I cant get cheaper insurance

(which is mandatory in Mass) because

I dont have my taxes done. Another

personal law broken. I need my taxes

done to prove my income...

Each layer of trouble affects another

layer, making each situation worse,

and not easy to undo...because each

is dependent on another rule being

followed, and therefore intertwined.

Then I dont practice or do Tools or

whatever I should do at night because

I come home too mentally and

physically drained to do much of

anything. TV becomes my time

wasting babysitter.

Another night gone by wasted unproductively.

Real Consequences, Real Pain....

Real Need to start slowly following

the law so that the lifepolice dont

keep me in a jail of my own making.

The reason I came to Tools in the

first place.

Success can obviously be for the

same reasons....laws followed and

benefits realized.....each door in life

opening because if a law is followed,

the tumblers open in the lock, and

Im let out of jail one cell at a time,

till Im free.

Free to use the best power in life,

the power of Choice....the power to

do and act with Proaction instead of reaction....

THAT would be the best place I

could imagine being in.

Aaaah yes......the things I put off!

Im funny that way.....Coaches lesson on takin a sec to do the things that we know

we need to is very important for me....

One might look at me and say....He is very

productive....

He hooks his keys up every day...

He makes his bed daily.....

He does Tools daily....

He washes his dishes daily....

He vaccuums his rugs consistently,

He keeps his clothes folded and in order,

He cleans the cat box faithfully multiple

times day and sweeps the floor around it...

He cleans his car....

He plays in bands, and goes to practice,

He arrives weekly at students house

to teach, and teaches guitar....

He calls clients and keeps appointments promptly all the time......

aaaaah yes, I do.........

But there are things that are MY STYLE

of things that I put off....

I realize that they all have a huge

emotional wrapping around them....

a huge fear or frustration that

makes them ominous and terrible....

and I certainly would feel better about

myself and my life if I did them!

One by one, yes, I will....I am doing

them.....Ive listed them, and one by one,

I will crack the ice with a pick, and hold

these objects till they thaw!

Thats why Im here !

S

I had a great gig last night with the zydeco band Im in.....the people were appreciative

of the music, and it was alright. Truthfully, I wish the singing and soloing was better in this band, but it is sufficient!

Today I play in a new "unplugged" band at 10:00 AM...then travel and hour and a half to play at 1:00 PM with another band....my favorite guys I ever played with...two musicians, one drummer and the other a guitarist. He is one amazing musician!

If these guys were closer, I would be in a band with them. We play rock blues, like Texas style Stevie Ray Vaughan, (pictured above) Johnny Winter, Robben Ford type guitar slinger Blues.

For the next few weeks I play every weekend with the three bands Im in, and also teach later today and every Sunday at 6:00PM....at least the lady of the house also cooks me a meal....I'll probably be exhausted by that time of day!

I love music though...its very fulfilling and enjoyable...it gives me a fix that is like nothing else in my life.

Onward!

Checklist in hand.....

Smilinsteve

P.S. Stevie Ray Vaughan.....its hard to believe its been so long since his passing.....I cried for months when he was lost.

God Rest His Soul

Oct 3rd, 1954 - Aug 27th, 1990