Life has a funny way of working out, but finding certainty in the midst of hardship never seems to come with any near-term assurance.
Or at least that’s been my experience.
Because up until now, it’s always felt like a giant Pac-Man was two gumdrops behind my ass and gaining ground with every pixelated bite.
And now, well, times ain’t much better, because the amount of zeroes in a person’s bank account doesn’t do shit to help a mental patient who’s still on the struggle. The mind don’t care about money, and neither does society, especially when it comes to a habitual offender like myself.
Truth be known, I’m scared to death I’m one manic episode from an eternal date with a straitjacket. And that’s the main reason I keep writing. Because I’ve actually written myself out of three consecutive pickles now, and the first came while working as an operator at a coal-fired power plant that was being shuttered by the EPA.
And to make matters worse, my wife was pregnant with twins.
Everyone was worried, and work was slow, to the point where 10 hours out of each 12-hour shift was spent obsessing over the seniority list, resumes, job applications and real-estate agents. Still, I knew none of that hoopla was going to do anything to help the situation, so while others bit their nails and stressed about all the shit that was out of our control, I did the one thing I knew was within mine—I brought a laptop to work, hid in a little broom closet we called, “The Goat Shack,” and wrote a novel about my childhood mentor, Henry Clay.
[HENRY CLAY](https://preview.redd.it/sjvp6ilnefcf1.jpg?width=333&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=464ed0e118ce2f400674e59f2bb41a050f846f4b)
Hell, I didn’t know how in the world I would sell it or where I would start with agents and Hollywood scouts. But one night after a work, I was flipping through the channels when I came across the *West Texas Investors Club*. And as dumb as it sounds, I cried, because my mentor’s reincarnation was on the screen in front of me. The man was chewing on a cigar and drinking a beer while he talked business with desperate entrepreneurs who were down on their luck like me.
https://preview.redd.it/cmfpbeppefcf1.jpg?width=2400&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8680edfa7b3b921cdf07abe09c1fa6a94e011415
The man’s name was Rooster McConaughey—a Texas oil man who happened to be the older brother of a movie star.
And how did the story end?
Well, I mailed handwritten letters and my manuscript to Rooster, [**Bill Wittliff**](https://www.reddit.com/r/CountryDumb/comments/1hsy1ub/a_late_mentor_for_countrydumbs/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button), Sam Haskell and a billionaire fraternity brother who I knew owned a major motion picture studio in Hollywood that had just helped produce the Steven Spielberg hit, *BFG*.
They all responded.
Some with phone calls and others with friends and editors who gave me a crash course in “Story.” And so, armed with recommended books and how-to instructions from a movie executive and a Ukrainian film scout, I returned to the Goat Shack and reworked *The Adviser*, which helped me get the lead journalism role at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Communications headquarters in Chattanooga.
In short: I lost a job, got a job, sold a house, bought a house, moved, and had twins—all within a 45-day period.
But during what was probably one of the most-stressful times of my existence, Rooster was kind enough to read my manuscript and give me a call too.
Nothing ever came of my first attempt at commercial-grade art. I didn’t win a Pulitzer or land a movie deal.
Hell, I didn’t even get published, but I do remember Rooster’s encouragement to keep going. And when I called a second time a few years later with a different manuscript, he answered again.
I guess the point to this long-winded story of mine, is that neither my childhood mentor, nor all those Hollywood hotshots gave me any money. Instead, they gave me a commodity far more valuable—their time.
I know this blog is a poor comparison, but I do hope a few book recommendations and some how-to articles can help you on your journey toward financial freedom. And if you do happen to find some value here, and you ever get the chance to return the favor, I hope you’ll choose to pass along the gift of time to a perfect stranger.
\-Tweedle
https://preview.redd.it/hdvjzbpsefcf1.jpg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b37e7f9dcd16902a792d3c00b09ff211a819b58a