Here we are in a new year…2025

A new year filled with hopes, possibilities, and wonders.

Yeah, right! Just who do you think you are kidding?

We just completed another circuit 584,000,000 miles (or 940,000,000 kilometers for the rest of the world using the metric system) around the sun. And you think that just because we completed one revolution around this massive ball of nuclear-powered ball of gas and plasma, it is going to make your lives more Hunky Dory?

C’mon….give us both a break here!

Recently, we just had an election where we went from 4 years of a brain-dead, morally corrupt, poorly designed Disney animatronic to a person who some call an “Orange Man,” “The Teflon Don,” “A Fascist,” and so forth.

So, that being said, never mind what side of the aisle you are on. Be you a Democrat, a Republican, or any other political party that can’t get on national TV because your budget is even smaller than mine, I just have one question for you: What has Joe Biden, Donald Trump, or any other national or world leader done for you personally?

The answer is most certainly… Nothing!

The world is still in a free-flowing shit show, and January 1^st or January 20^th was supposed to have made it better?

What brand of crack are you people out there smoking? (And do you have any extra?)

It seems people plan on making “New Year’s Resolutions” every year. Goals and plans to “better their lives” to grow personally and/or professionally. Guess what, guys, it doesn’t work.

Research has shown that 88% of people who set New Year’s resolutions fail before the end of January. Only 25% of people stay committed to their resolutions after 30 days. So to say that your “Hopes, Dreams, and Aspirations” are dashed before you even get started would be an understatement…or at least a given.

Many of you are out there saying, “Well, Thanks for putting things into a depressing perspective for us…you anti-ray of sunshine you.”

Hey, no problem. That’s what I’m here for.

Let’s face it, there is a grip of things we all want to change in our lives. We want to be more productive, prosperous, and powerful, have a bigger house, a faster car, and, for most guys out there…get laid. So, allow me to share a little-known secret with you all.

Your life will not change unless you do something about it.

That sounds like a brutal thing to say, but it’s true. And here is something else: Life does not give out Participation Trophies.

Change requires effort. It requires us to get up off our collectively massive fat asses and to use a famous Boomer saying, “Roll up our sleeves and get to work.” Trust me, it is not easy. We all want to remain in our comfort zone, eating pizza on the couch while playing pirated copies of Call of Duty. Change requires experiencing pain and suffering and stepping outside the box where you feel comfortable.

Oh, and if you think you will master the changes in your life the first time you try it, think again, Buckwheat. Because with every success you earn, there will be countless failures you will have to go through just to achieve that one triumphant moment. Another thing about success you need to understand is that you can’t stop and settle for that first triumphant moment in your life. You have to keep pushing, keep driving, and, yes, keep failing.

So, you don’t think I’m one of these guys who is just blowing smoke up your ass, let me tell you, I’m also going through the same issues in this column that you are.

Recently, I’ve started walking again for exercise. But with my work schedule, I have to get up at 4:00 to walk my 3.25 miles before I start my day. Well, there are times I say, “Screw it,” and roll over and go back to sleep. And here is another thing about my walking you need to know: I absolutely fucking hate it, and I hate it for a variety of reasons.

First of all, I’m up at what my daughter calls “O-Dark-Ugly,” where the only people I see are Dracula making his way home from work and the coyotes out looking to snack on a passed out “Street Creature” who is passed out/or dead in the gutter from too much Fetenol. I see some people in my neighborhood driving to work or from their side chick’s house before her husband gets home.

Next, I hate it because I have to deal with the weather. It’s friggen cold at 4:00 in the morning when I leave my house. I’m dressed in a hoodie, sweat pants, t-shirt, thick socks, and shoes. But then, once I start, my body temperature goes up, and I start getting overheated. You can’t win exercising like this.

Then, there is the pain. I start walking from my house, and it’s an immediate, uphill battle. Now, one would think that if one came directly from one’s bed, got dressed, left the house, and started walking, one would think their muscles would already be loose from being in bed all night.

Nope!

In my first 10 minutes of walking, I am in such excruciating pain in my muscles that it is not even funny. I often think of just giving up and heading back home. But I don’t. And why? It’s because I know I am accomplishing something good for me to do. Thanks to walking, my blood pressure and heart rate are phenomenal. Don’t take my word for it. Ask my doctor.

I also have to make professional changes, and they aren’t easy to do either.

Since I have to continue to work for the Mega Government/Corporation to pay my bills, I need to come up with a new way of making money so that I won’t have to up with my employer’s bullshit anymore.

That is why I’m writing and trying to create a podcast.

However, I know that there are certain things that I will have to give up to achieve these goals. Things like sleep (which I think I need more of), watching TV (which I hardly ever do), reading as much as I do (which is a lot), and given the fact that I’m also working two jobs, finding the time to anything is becoming a huge problem.

I’ve figured out that I need to find a schedule that works and then do it. There is another Boomer saying that goes, “Plan Your Work and Work Your Plan.” Well, that is what I’m in the process of doing. The trick is to balance 2 jobs, walking at 4:00 AM, getting enough sleep so that I’m not exhausted, spending time with family, and doing the chores the girlfriend seems to think that, if not done, will cause the end of Western Civilization and reading all the books in my “To Be Read” pile, in addition to writing a book, this blog and trying to build and write material for a podcast.

(Did you see anything in the above paragraph about me getting laid? Yeah, Me Neither!)

Look, people, all I’m trying to say is that if you really want to change your life, YOU have to make the change. Nobody said it would be easy. Nobody said that you would be successful. But I swear to you that you will regret it if you don’t try now.

Because there is nothing more sad than regret. Nothing is more pitiful than being on your deathbed drowning in regret that you at least didn’t try. Who knows? You could have made it, but you will never know….Until you try.