It’s easy to create a negative belief. They come from so many sources, like first impressions, disappointment, failure, embarrassment, fear, exhaustion…
Your default may be to think something happened (or might happen). Our bad feeling becomes a negative belief: that bad things always happen.
Our negative belief changes how we act. Soon the voice in our head sounds like:
🔹”They are always difficult to be with.”
🔹“I can never get this right.”
🔹“Nobody wants to buy my stuff.”
🔹If I fail, I’ll lose everything.”
🔹“I never have enough energy.”
Dr. Martin Seligman, the father of positive psychology, tells us that when we create a negative belief, our problem goes from a small thing that happened once or twice to…
🔹PERMANENT (It isn’t going away)
🔹PERSONAL (It’s my fault)
🔹PERVASIVE (It always happens)
HERE IS WHAT I KNOW:
🔹NEGATIVE BELIEFS filter reality and filter good news out.
🔹NEGATIVE BELIEFS stomp out good thoughts before they can grow.
🔹NEGATIVE BELIEFS kill dreams and keep us small.
How do people get out of the funk?
Find something TODAY that you can be positive about, just because you can.
Half a block from the pristine Medina River in the beautiful Hill Country is the quaint First Baptist Church of Medina, Texas.
Over the years I have been a member of the Bellaire Baptist and Thousand Oaks Baptist Churches in San Antonio (where my two oldest children attended Awana and Sunday services). In 1994 I moved up IH-10 West and joined First Baptist Church of Boerne, Texas.
My youngest children attended preschool, Vacation Bible School and church services in Boerne. I moved back to San Antonio in 2007. Because I traveled so much, often I attended services at different churches and denominations across Texas: Waco, Corsicana, Breckenridge, Del Rio, Harlingen, Corpus Christi, Houston, Austin and so forth.
When Dodie (who lived in Arizona almost 40 years) and I married at the Boerne First Baptist Church in 2019, we soon moved to Medina.
Most recently we joined the First Baptist Church of Medina after over a year attending regularly. We absolutely love the community and Church Family here. Dodie is even on the Praise Team and can be seen singing in front each Sunday.
If you ever find yourself out this way (motorcycling the Twisted Sister, hunting, visiting Garner or Lost Maples State Park) on a Sunday, come by and visit our church. Maybe, afterwards you may feel like buying Dodie and me an ice cream cone at the Apple Store Patio Cafe (Hint. Hint.)
Apple StoreMedina Apples
One of the reasons we love and decided to join the church is because of our interim pastor, Brother David Kimberly (pictured here between Dodie and me) who has been inspiring us with over 50 years of preaching experience and vigor.
Here is a recent devotional from Brother David:
Do you believe God gives divine appointments? Years ago as a student at Hardin -Simmons University I worked as a switchboard operator for Hendricks Memorial Hospital in Abilene, Texas. It wasn’t real busy that evening when a call came in that 3 men had been involved in an oil well explosion west of town.
The ambulances arrived with the men who were said to have been badly burned. As I sat there through my shift I couldn’t get these men and their wives off my mind.
Earlier I had seen the wives of two of the men, getting on the elevator going up to ICU, where their husbands had been taken from the ER.
As my shift was winding down God began to impress on me that I should go and pray with and offer comfort to the wives of the burned men.
Getting off the elevator I was uncertain how to proceed, so I introduced myself to the ladies. We talked a few minutes, I shared that God impressed me to come up and pray with them.
They told me that their husbands were burned over 50% of their bodies, and would not be able to be moved to a burn unit for several weeks.
I asked them if they would like to go down to the hospital Chapel and have prayer. They said “Yes.” We entered the Chapel and they walked down to the front. I had stopped about half way down when one of the wives turned looking straight at me asked, “Do you believe God will hear and answer our prayers?”
“Yes ma’am, because that’s why I am here.” Standing right where we were I believe the Holy Spirit took over as we prayed. After I had finished praying I saw the wives to the elevator and said good night, and they went back to the ICU waiting room.
The next day my shift began at 4:00p.m. and as I was coming into the hospital I met the wives and they said, “David, God answered our prayer and our husbands are being air flighted to the burn unit at Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio. We praised God right there and thanked Him.
Suffering hits all people including you and me.
Out of the suffering in our own lives we can offer comfort, encouragement, prayer, and our presence to strangers in the ICU, grocery store, at a locker in your school, or wherever God leads. I challenge you to ask the Father to guide you to a suffering soul today.
Read Matthew 7: 7-8. Bro. David.
‘Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.’ ~Jesus
Please note each Sunday at 11:11 a.m. (CST) CleverJourneys posts an inspirational devotional or “What Does the Bible Say About…?” article.
50th Anniversary will be on Sunday, Nov. 6, 2022 at John T. Floores Country Store & Dance Hall in Helotes, Texas. 3-7 p.m.
Admired by fiercely loyal fans, The Drugstore Cowboys have brought their electric energy to venues throughout the US and Europe.
The south side of San Antonio, in the neighborhoods surrounding McCollum and Harlandale high schools, are the childhood homes of many notable people in Country, Funk, Soul and Tejano Music.
Legendary Country Music DJ Hall of Famer and everybody’s “Cousin” Jerry King went to Harlandale in the 1960s. I can remember when King, along with other DJs and musicians, played with the likes of Willie Nelson and George Jones at a charity basketball matchup at the McCollum gym in the late 1960s.
During the 1972-73 school year Nashville recording artist Johnny Bush played on stage at the McCollum Auditorium. Country.
Down on Harding Blvd., a talented local newspaper country music and entertainment writer, John Goodspeed, served as an early inspiration for me.
The late Emilio Navaira, from the McCollum Class of 1980, was a Mexican-American musician who performed country and Tejano music nationally. His classmate from the year ahead of him, Yolanda Saldívar, is the convicted murderer of Latin music superstar Selena, and is serving a life sentence in a Texas prison.
Especially in the late 70s and early 80s many of us would go watch Horizon perform. Southsiders Charlie, John, and Geoff Boggess joined classmate Freddy Carrillo and others (T-Bo Gonzalez, Bill Dudley, Larry Scott and Sahara Greer come to mind) and actually opened for the Commodores. The story goes they were offered to go on the road with Cool and the Gang but turned them down.
Through the years, southsider singers and musicians continued to play venues and dances as far away as Europe, on television and especially throughout the Lone Star State.
Some of the more enduring included Rex Allen McNeil, Walter “Tooter” Ripps, Ray Morris, Randy Potts, Lonnie Castleman, John Marsh, Leonard Wong, and the rockers, The Toman Brothers, Randy and Russell—and who could forget R
1972
In the fall of 1972, 17-year-old McCollum senior Dub Robinson had organized a country trio and began playing around a little bit. He went to go see Willie Nelson at the John T. Floore Country Store northwest of San Antonio in the foothills of the Hill Country town of Helotes.
Johnny Bush, Paul English, Willie Nelson
Nelson was to perform as a trio with drummer Paul English and Bee Spears on bass. The steel player didn’t show.
“I watched Willie play that gut string guitar and it didn’t lose anything,” Robinson remembers. Since age 12, Robinson had played professionally across South Texas, but on this night he was particularly inspired.
He called his drummer, Robert “Cotton” Payne, and his bassist, Tommy McKay the next day and proclaimed that if they could be a hundredth as good as Nelson was, they might have a chance.
They knew their taste in music was a blend of country, rock, and blues. McKay suggested the perfect name for their new band. It described the kind of “cowboy” who didn’t want to get his boots dirty.
I’ve followed Dub and other fellow McCollum Cowboys classmates over the years. He continues to be a favorite.
At a ten year class reunion in 1983 at the downtown El Tropicano Hotel Ballroom, Dub and his band honored his classmates as we danced in memories of “old times.” I was particularly honored. I knew the band was good, but when I was called over during a break, he asked me what Elvis song I was going to sing later that evening.
I suggested “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Hearbreak Hotel,” and “Hound Dog.”
He grinned, and with guitar in hand, said, “Okay. Let me hear you sing them.”
1983 McCollum 10 Yr Reunion. Dub (guitar) was the ultra-professional. What an honor for me.
I only had to belt out a sentence or a few words of each. He immediately knew what key and chords to play.
Later, when some of our classmates were literally pulling my pants off while singing, I looked back at Dub. He was grinning big time. He and his band never missed a lick. I tried my best not to also. It remains a fun and wonderful memory in my heart.
In 2011, while interviewing George Strait and Ray Benson at a fundraiser for wounded veterans at Tapatio Springs outside of Boerne, Texas, Strait said something that reminded me of Dub.
“When everyone thinks of Asleep at the Wheel, they think of Ray.”
That’s exactly how I feel about the Drug Store Cowboys. When I think of them, I think of Dub Robinson.
Dub Robinson on the left.
Dub just announced the band will be celebrating their 50th anniversary with a new CD. What are his thoughts?
In his own creative words, the songwriter, musician and singer posted:
Originally, McKay lasted about a year and a half and Randy Toman, (who now performs with his brother Russell), became the bassist for 13 years.
They became the touring band for country stars Gary Stewart and Stoney Edwards. The Drugstore Cowboys also backed Johnny Rodriguez, Freddy Fender, Johnny Bush and Gene Watson.
Other artists they shared the stage with or even backed up include Nelson, Merle Haggard, Mel Tillis, Frenchy Burke, Greg Allman, David Allen Cole, Charlie Daniels, the Mavericks, Jerry Jeff Walker, and even Asleep At The Wheel.
“They joined Stewart, who was known for such hits as “She’s Actin’ Single (I’m Drinkin’ Doubles),” when his backing band could not make a gig at the old Kicker’s Palace,” Goodspeed once reported. “The owner told Stewart they knew all his songs and he gave them a try. Stewart hired them and they toured coast to coast. Robinson quit after four years.”
“I didn’t want to be somebody’s backup band the rest of my life,” he said. “I’m a songwriter first and wanted to do my own thing.”
In 50 years, at least that many musicians have played in The Drugstore Cowboys.
Some of the members went on to play for the Bellamy Brothers, Janie Fricke, Bill Anderson, and Judas Priest.
“I believe it’s all about the song. It’s a lot of work running a band, but I do it just to play my music the way I want to hear it,” Dub said.
Here are the same guys with the exact same car 50 years later:
Only Baby Boomers understand.
In the 1970s, I changed the oil, set the timing, cleaned the carburetor and installed Jenssen speakers for the 8-track player (also self installed) in my car.
‘Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else. You are the one who gets burned.’
Powerful Winning Hacks That Take Venom Out of Angry People
During a job performance review in the 1990s, my boss, H-E-B Food-Drugs Vice President Ralph Mehringer said something that I remember to this day.
“You have the unique ability to take the venom out of angry people,” he noted. “You quickly de-fang them.”
I liked that.
Ralph is a keen observer and calls it as he sees it. His words were motivating, so of course, it reinforced my learning and practicing.
I became interested in studying Neuro Linguistic Programming, or NLP for short. Eventually I became a certified NLP Practitioner.
It helped immensely in leadership and dealing with others through powerful techniques such as “anchoring,” reading body language and facial expressions, “reframing thoughts” and building rapport.
As the years progressed, “de-fanging” became natural and automatic-like.
Here are some tips I learned along the way and continue to use today:
1. When someone is angry and confrontational, stand next to them, rather than in front of them. You want to appear not to be much of a threat, after all you’re physically on their side, and they eventually calm down.
2. Slow the pace of speech.They are likely to be yelling or talking rapidly. It’s critical not to engage in a like manner. When it’s your turn to reply, do so in a deliberate, kind, quiet and slower tone.
4. Rephrase what the other person says and repeat it back to them. In that slower, quieter voice, this helps you understand their concern. This makes them feel you care and are listening to them. It shows your genuine interest in them. It validates them and helps you. Note: Don’t overdo it. You don’t want to appear condescending.
3. Open with “I need your help.” Most people don’t like the guilt of not helping someone out. When asking for a favor from someone, begin with “I need your help.” It GREATLY increases the chances of getting the favor done. But best of all, it can be used as an opening line to someone very irritated about something. Usually I act innocently not knowing why they’re upset. It’s a good precursor to leading them out of their anger towards a better outlook.
5. If you want someone to agree with you, nod while you talk. I learned this as a door-to-door insurance salesman in the early 1980s and discovered it works well with group presentations too. When you notice them beginning to change their attitude, or better yet nod back, you’re on the right track. They are beginning to subconsciously agree with you.
6. If someone doesn’t like you, ask to borrow a pencil or pen. This is called the Benjamin Franklin Effect. It’s just a small favor that actually helps nudge them to like you. Not as effective, but still good, is to subtly touch someone’s upper arm when you ask for a favor.
7. Mimic them without them realizing it. It’s called mirroring and takes some practice. It has to be subtle and with finesse. If you don’t feel comfortable doing it try folding your arms in a non-threatening way. It helps to determine their interest. If someone is observing you, they will likely mimic you.
8. Repeat a person’s name many times in the conversation. Don’t overdo it, but it helps you remember their name, and makes them like you more.
9. If the person is a child, bring bubbles. Hint: this can work for adults too. Bubbles are magical mood changers.
Please note this article begins a series on posts offered to help our readers understand how NLP can not only help you in everyday life and business practice, but reveals the ways politicians, propagandists and others can manipulate your thought process to change your beliefs.
In June 2022, down in Texas, a Mexican-born Republican Hispanic woman, Mayra Flores, won a special election to replace a Democrat who retired early. It’s becoming more common.
Many Hispanic Texans firmly believe Democrats stole the 2020 election from President Donald Trump. After all, one of the most surprising outcomes that defend this thought was the very high Hispanic support nationwide for Trump.
This historic political phenomenon is in spite of mainstream media mockingbirding the Democrat Party playbook narratives: “Trump is racist, his immigration policy expanded holding children in cages and separating them from parents.”
Especially on the southern Texas border, Mexican-Americans know the truth. They lived the horrors of the Obama-Biden-Pelosi immigration strategies. It is not the propaganda version portrayed in media. They see through the lies. By now, all Americans should understand this.
HUMOR UNITES US
“Have a joke and a smile…” my childhood friend Rene says as we bump fists and laugh at the world.
“…in perfect harmony,” I respond with a grin.
Having grown up in south San Antonio, Dodie and I were blessed to be immersed in the Mexican culture. Through the years, our friends and relatives have shared a smart sense of humor, knowing it helps us build resilience to stress and improve our overall physical and emotional health.
Humor bonds us. We look at things in a different way than what’s being spoon-fed by media and indoctrination. It is what keeps our relationships strong. It unites.
With the stolen 2020 election and politics rapidly going even more dangerously corrupt, one of the more passionate trends shared is THE MEXICAN WORD OF THE DAY memes and jokes.
These are far more than just jokes. Many use them as a coping mechanism. Yes, it bonds and unites our blended cultures.
“Yesterday during my Daddy’s funeral procession, led by the United States Marine Corps, my family noticed the man in this photo pulled over on the side of the road,” posted Rona Wallace. “His hat was in is hand and his hand was over his heart, honoring my father and our family as we passed by.”
“His respectful act touched my family and the entire procession so deeply,” she noted. “We passed many other cars along the way that simply went about their day.”
“Since his license plate showed in the photo, my daughter did some digging and we found him!!!”
“His name is Ernest Boerlin and he is also a veteran – US Navy,” she continued. “When I messaged him privately to thank him for honoring my father, he said:”
“It was an honor to show my respect for a fellow serviceman and their family. Please accept my prayers and condolences to you and your family for your loss. Fair winds and following seas. God bless.”
“Thank you, Ernest. Your act of kindness and respect touched our family and friends very deeply and we are grateful. May God bless you and yours as well,” she commented. “Let’s thank Ernest for his service and show him some love, y’all!”
During World War II (1945), a Japanese boy stood in front of a funeral pyre and waited his turn to cremate his little dead brother.
The person who took the photograph said, in an interview, that the boy was biting his lips so hard to keep from crying that blood was dripping from the corner of his mouth.
It was then that the guard asked him for the body and said, “Give me the load you are carrying on your back.” And the boy answered:
“He ain’t heavy, he is my brother”. He handed over the body, turned around, and left…
In Japan, even today, this image is used as a symbol of strength.
In college during the mid 1970s, I had the opportunity to meet and interview some music entertainers of the times. As the Fine Arts Editor for the Southwest Texas State (now Texas State) University Star, it helped me go backstage for artists like Freddy Mercury and Queen, Willie Nelson, Jackson Browne, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Alvin Lee with Ten Years After, and more.
One of my classmates was a young fellow who would sit out in the hall before a business class trying to catch up because he had been out singing late into the night before. You may have heard of him–George Strait.
A special moment was meeting Kenny Loggins and Jim Messina backstage before their San Antonio Municipal Auditorium (now the expanded Tobin Center) concert. I secured autographs, asked a few questions and was allowed to watch their sound check.
From the side of the stage they sat on stools, side-by-side, singing to an empty auditorium that would soon be filled to the brim.
The song was “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother.” I had heard the recordings by The Hollies and Neil Diamond, but this one time “personal” performance remains in my heart and memories to this day.
It was written by Bobby Scott and Bob Russell. They only met three times to collaborate before Russell died of lymphoma.
A guy name Reginald played piano on The Hollies’ version which was released in 1970. It was a worldwide hit. You likely know the piano player by another name–Elton John.
The title actually didn’t come from the Japanese picture shown above. It came from the motto for Boys Town, a community formed in 1917 by a Catholic priest named Father Edward Flanagan.
Located in Omaha, Nebraska, it was a place where troubled or homeless boys could come for help. In 1941, Father Flanagan was looking at a magazine called The Messenger when he came across a drawing of a boy carrying a younger boy on his back, with the caption, “He ain’t heavy Mr., he’s my brother.”
Today, there is a statue with that phrase that serves as the symbol for Boys Town.
In 1938, actor Spencer Tracey portrayed Father Flanagan in the movie Boys Town, which also starred Mickey Rooney. In 1941, they made a sequel called Men Of Boys Town, where they used the phrase “He ain’t heavy, Father, he’s my brother” for the first time in a movie.
Sometimes, if you are capable, it is a good idea to know where you stand.
Those of us who know some history tend to understand (where we stand) versus those who skip the historical lessons.
Those who spend their time on less reading, more television propaganda, lots of video gaming, and indoctrination activities have no clue where they are standing.
A lot of times, you’ll get exactly what you put up with, no more and no less.
Once you start catering to people’s pathologies, it seldom ends well or at a reasonable point.
One of the best rules to live by is if you realize there’s something you should do, but you’re afraid to do it, you MUST do it. It’s hard at first, but after you overcome your fears enough times, you learn to live a life without fear.
Not that you feel it, you do, but once you believe you can force yourself to act even though you’re afraid, fear isn’t that troubling of an emotion.
Unless you understand both sides of the argument, you don’t understand the argument.
If you listen to God when He whispers, He won’t have to lead a whale into your life to swallow you in order to get your attention.
If someone couldn’t tell what your priorities are by watching you for a week, maybe you’re fooling yourself about your priorities.
It is time. Honor those who fought and advocated for our freedoms. Do your duty.
Vote in person. Share wisdom, truth and real history. Less TV (far less). Read. Walk. Smile. Defend freedom. Pray.
Today, many people are suffering just to make ends meet. Once, I was considered somewhat wealthy compared to most. Life experiences changed that.
Not many know this, but I was actually homeless for a while. I took a retirement job at a golf resort. This allowed me to sleep safely in my pickup, shower in the locker room, eat healthy and make wonderful friends. Homeless was only temporary, but I learned plenty about life and happiness. Each day at work for 9 years my goal was to make 100 people smile or laugh. I counted them daily.
For many years it has been a personal ambition to make others feel better about themselves and have a positive outlook when they walk away. It makes me happy.
After a long successful and busy career, I counted on my investigation and writing skills to earn more money. It became natural to just look around for every little thing I could be grateful for in my life. The main secret to happiness is to appreciate what we have. I became rich in my own way.
There are many ways to live a happy life. These are things that make me the happiest I have ever been:
🔹Stay creative.
🔹Help others.
🔹Do free or low cost activities. For us it means enjoying a walk, swim, bike ride, library, community center, attending classes, hiking, camping, gardening, and picnics. We don’t watch TV or spend hours on social media. It is similar to being a child again, full of wonderment and discovery.
🔹We made changes. Instead of spending every night in an expensive hotel, we take our tent and gear to ocassionally camp out overnight. It’s healthy and beautiful outdoors. We have no Internet at home. I don’t even know what internet and cable/satellite TV costs these days. We take our garbage to the local dump less than two miles away. We average $18 a month. Our nearest neighbor spends $45 to have someone pick their trash up.
It’s a simple and awesome existence. Less stress.
I learned that you can be happy when you don’t have the means and money you once had. In fact, some of the saddest people I know have plenty of money. They pay taxes on their homes and real estate. Their lives are complex. Ours is simple and cheap. We don’t spend and accumulate “things” much anymore. We survive and accumulate memories. We laugh and smile a lot.
Clever Journeys 