I Shoulda Learned Better

But… as a young man WHAT was I learning?

As a young man WHO was I learning from?

As today’s EMERGING MAN… WHERE is the gap I have identified, and how can I communicate that to Emerging Men [and Ladies]??

Here is a common comment I have heard from some young men…

“My mom and dad never taught me anything about that.”

THAT… being, taxes; how to act appropriately in public; how to take care of my car; math!; and THEE biggest one, which as you may gather is my biggest pet peeve, is that most… if not all of those “men” have a distaste for READING… being taught, and shown at an early age that “reading is dumb.”

My question to those young men, when they complain about not knowing something, “Did you read about it at all?”

And like clockwork, the standard answer of… “I hate reading, it just puts me to sleep.”

I went from being just a dumb little kid, to a “know it all teenager” [who didn’t know anything] for those six years, then right into being a dad at 20!

Looking back, I’m always amazed at the fact that I made it through any of it.

If you did have a mom and dad, who did take the time to actually teach you about yourself and how you fit into the world… what a blessing!

There are a lot of young men who did not have that opportunity.

I had a mom and dad.

I learned a lot directly from my mom.

I learned a lot from my dad… in-directly.

Looking back, do to my experience with poverty, I had to learn how to wait.

Looking back I waited a lot.

My thought was… “I’ll pick up what I need to know, along the way, as I need it.”

Looking back I shoulda added, “When I have time.” Life responsibilities popping up can make some choices for you.

Going from little kid, to teen, to dad… I never really took on a subject that I could learn and grow in.

The only subject I had on my mind, was an ambiguous idea of WORK.

I didn’t have a specific IDEA of what kind of WORK I wanted to do… as an older teenager, I was just waiting around to finish high school.

I did know that I could work. I wanted to work. Chomping at the bit just a little.

BUT I never stopped to think it through.

It seemed then, looking back now, my only option would be to try and sign on at one of the local factories.

And back then they weren’t as frantic for workers as they are today.

It was late summer, August actually, before I would catch on with one of those plants.

To be truthful… I was getting worried.

If I couldn’t GO TO WORK… what the heck was I gonna do?

I was a blank slate for ideas… I wasn’t thinking school; I wasn’t thinking military; the only other idea that came up was Diesel Mechanic School, in Houston Texas.

Two friends and I went to a recruiting seminar together… they ended up going to Texas.

Their options and knowledge base INCREASED.

I… waited.

I’ve learned quite a bit since that first summer after high school… but still nothing SPECIFIC… never having delved deep into some kind of a CAREER.

One of those things that I have learned; not from any one person specifically… is the fact that for a lot of things… it truly is… never to late to start.

Unless… you’re dead, it’s never to late to set sail.

The last five years has seen me… start 2 websites of my own; operate a 3rd site started by someone else; author 5 books; with a 6th in a beta read stage, awaiting feedback; acting on an anointing from God and becoming a pastor; discovering my EMERGING MAN brand; and recently looking at filling a gap I see coming in the small engine repair market… looking ahead, and specifically looking at a “tent making skill” that I can take into my twilight years… as a man; dad; and granddad.

Now you might be saying, “Geez Dave, that still doesn’t seem very specific.”

On the surface… it may not.

BUT… what is the one thing an author needs for his craft?

Ideas… right?

Where do ideas come from?

New experiences.

Utilizing THE EMERGING MAN as the umbrella, all of my other endeavors have to fall under the standing orders of moving that forward… specifically.

Whether it is performing a pastors duties at a funeral; authoring one of my “gap” books; or using my garage-to-shop project to capture the thoughts a messy garage shares with a disorganized mind… all these are part of my “PURPOSE.”

Which is becoming clearer and more defined every day… allowing me to carry out very specific actions that keep me marching forward.

As an EMERGING MAN yourself… do you have a plan that you are working, or are you feeling like that verse in the book of James?

“for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.“ James 1:6

Looking back… I was being driven and tossed by the wind… my only anchor being, was being a dad.

And now… having charted a course, one set to ENCOURAGE, EQUIP & ENGAGE with the world, the waiting is now over… and THE ACTIONS I need to take to stay on course… are becoming very specific… and very clear.

I have to say, “it’s quite ENCOURAGING!”