Preface
This autobiography is an accumulation of over 15 years of writings. I’m 71 and have experienced many wonderful, beautiful, educational, and enlightening moments. I’ve also endured the dark night of the soul where nothing means anything, all hope is gone, unrelenting loneliness and extremely deep re-occurring depressions. Two faces, one life and the journey within. I’ve slowly come to the understanding that all the answers to the countless questions are within our mind. We just need guidance on where to look. Especially concerning the issue of spirituality, the old adage that one can lead a horse to water but cannot make the horse drink is more than true. This manuscript might make you laugh or cry as you read of a life that may mirror your own. The best I can hope for is at least these words help you think things through.
I’ve experienced impossible accidents that I should not have survived. I was crushed with a thirty-ton, fifty-thousand horsepower overhead crane in a steel foundry, a foot more, and I would have been cut in two. Mary Jo, my wife of 20 years, died suddenly in front of me while we were on our first cruise celebrating a second honeymoon. She was only 43, a blood clot hit her heart. I’ve filed bankruptcy twice, losing half a million dollars of real estate. No car in 10 years, rent a furnished apartment and all I own is a cell phone, television, and computer. I’ve had 20 different careers, starting with pumping gas when I was 16. Naming a few, I’ve been a foreman in a steel foundry, automobile salesman, district manager overseeing a 15 million dollar territory, owner of a television/appliance retail company, store manager responsible for 80 employees, retail manager in the cellular industry, store manager in the retail dollar business and a dealer for one of the largest casinos in the nation. I guess I’ve never figured out what to do for a living because I’m somewhat lacking in common sense. Some of the wise decisions I thought I was making turned out to be really ridiculous. When writing these down, I wondered how on earth could I have possibly been that stupid. You’ll find many of these wise decisions hilarious and somewhat sad in how asinine they were.
If you happen to be in a management position, you’ll read solid advice on how to improve your employee's performance and have fun doing it. I’ve worked for managers who used fear as the prime motivator. This never has and never will be an effective supervisor’s tool. I used reason, logic, empathy, and humor. I used to explain to a new staff member, if Bill has a problem with Sue don’t go to Alex and talk about Sue, go to Sue. If Sue and Bill can’t resolve their differences, come to me, and we’ll discuss the issue in the strictest confidence behind closed doors. If employees dread coming to work, it’s management’s fault as well as the resulting organization’s poor performance. When everyone is enjoying their job, helping one another, laughing, and communicating well the metrics will improve. Guaranteed.
I started jotting down thoughts on a cell phone memo pad years ago. This diary of sorts has turned into five manuscripts, quite by accident, I’ve developed into a writer. I’ve acquired the knowledge that we are entering into an era of magnificent beauty, perfect harmony, perpetual joy, growing wisdom, pure truth, unending peace and unconditional love. You’ll read of miracles that I and others have personally witnessed, there are no other logical explanations for what occurred. I’ve documented everything as accurately as memory permits. Read with an open heart and mind and develop your own conclusions. Our awakening transcendence is occurring now. Bob
