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“I believe in everything until it’s disproved. So I believe in fairies, the myths, dragons. It all exists, even if it’s in your mind. Who’s to say that dreams and nightmares aren’t as real as the here and now?”
—John Lennon—

Today/night is Thanksgiving, November 28, 2019……. The time is 10:24pm….. and where am I at this moment? I’m at the club in the ATX.

Max here,

Funny thing about life…. If only we humans came with an instruction manual that was easy to read, decrypt and understand.

So how is Max feeling?….. Internally I’m upset, at least that’s what I think I’m feeling. Now why am I feeling this way? I am feeling this way because again, I am again having to pivot. I am having to pivot mentally, pivot physically, pivot financially, pivot emotionally, and most of all pivot my schedule. Painfully, and sadly I found about a few days ago that I now need to work an extra day at the club. And I guess for some people this might sound like a good idea because it would add income to my life. Which is true, but it adds income in a way that I consider to be negative. Remember, the goal is a journey to a million…. But NOT by working at the club (at least NOT by primarily working at the club) . And although it is extra money from the club, it takes away from my personal time, from anytime that I could have to meet people that could help me with moving my real estate business forward. And even more it really fucks with my sleeping clock, Which means that my body will now be an even larger challenge than before (Concerning health and vitality)

If you remember, I have been really adamant about trying to get 7 hours of sleep. This has been an uber big challenge for me. And having to work a 4th day on a grave yard shift from 8pm to 5:30am and then drive an hour and a half home, really just fucks with my ability to wake up early on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Sooner than later, I must get to a point where I can make money in real estate, which will allow me to go to bed early and wake up early. I have these visions of myself waking up at 5am to get my day started…. Then in time waking up at 4am. To be awake and ready before the world even gets started would be uber cool.  It would be my quiet time before the start of the day.

so yeah, I’m just not happy about working this extra day… And to top it off, It’s Thanksgiving and I am having to work. But like I said, I must pivot. If I can’t pivot then I can’t grow or evolve. And I must evolve. I must kill the person that I was so that I can emerge from the cocoon of where I am to be in life.

So what else has happened to Max lately? Well…. Taxes, taxes, taxes…. I finally finished my 2016,2017, and 2018 taxes. And DAMN! It hurts. To see what I owe, and this doesn’t include the fees or interest for paying late. And about 2 weeks ago I saw a letter that the IRS sent me, and they said that they are going to inform my employer to change with withholding status of my W2. This is not good. (The truth is that I already don’t get a paycheck from my employer) but the fact that the IRS is now going to my employer is a big issue. No one, not even you needs the IRS contacting them, or bugging your employer. What we all need is the IRS to stay far away as possible. (At least that’s my current thinking) When I was young and felt that the IRS should give me money, is when I wanted to hear from the IRS. It’s funny how we like the IRS when we don’t know that they are giving us “our own money back” and then we don’t care to hear or see the IRS when they want our money. I have a lot to learn about this subject. In truth, I really don’t want to learn. Maybe I don’t want to learn because it scares me. I just never got taught how to understand money. And I must change that mindset of mine. I must learn how to UNDERSTAND and manipulate money in my favor. Money is just a tool. And for my whole life I have not held or controlled that tool properly. This WILL change.

So the IRS sent me that letter about contacting my employer, and when I finally saw that letter, I went to my accountant, but it was about a week ago, and when I went to my accountant about this issue, I was told that they guy who would contact the IRS for me had just left and that he would not be back until December 2nd…… Holidays! Turns out that he owns a nonprofit organization and he sells turkeys to fund his nonprofit, and he sells hundreds of fried turkeys. several days before Thanksgiving he gathers a few volunteers and then literally deep frys hundreds of turkeys, (16 at one time), and so for that reason, I won’t be able to speak to him until December 2nd. So needless to say this coming Monday, I am going to call him to get this process started of getting the IRS off my back. And more so, not only do I owe the IRS a ton of money, but my accountant is going to charge me a large dildo to do the work for me…. What work you ask? the work of talking to the IRS and setting me up on a payment plan. If I am lucky he will set me up on a 6 year payment plan with monthly payments in the $200 to $300 range. And truth be told, this worries me, but I know that I must have faith in God that I will come out stronger, smarter, better, and get to my goals faster, after dealing with all of this. And if I can hold onto that mindset then, I will be open to the universe working in my favor….somehow working in my favor.

Now let’s see, what else has been happening in my life…..

In mid November I went to Bogota, Columbia. I went there to meet up with my brother from the island. It was my first time seeing him. It was actually very deeply emotional and joyous for me. And oddly enough, it was one of my best trips of my life.

Was it one of the best trips of my life because it literally rained everyday that I was there? Was it one of the best trips because the plane to Bogota couldn’t land and had to detour to a different city that I had never heard of, and then flew us to Panama,and I had to spend a night in Panama, only to sleep 3 hours then catch a plane at 6am in order to get to Bogota by 2pm? And did I mention that the traffic in Bogota is horrendous? But yet why was this still one of my best trips of my life in spite of all these setbacks?

I would have to say because it touched me in my heart and at my passion level. For me to meet my brother for the first time and knowing that I would be doing something that my father would have wanted me to do, just touches me deeply in ways that words just cant truly convey. And not to mention I get the opportunity to see the commonalities between me and my brother. And on top of that, to have a younger brother is also kinda cool. I have a couple of older brothers here in America, but sadly they never put themselves in a position in life to be people that I could positively learn from in a way that would help me attain any of my goals or positive life skills. As a friend of mine named Jason would say……”Nothing to see here, move along”

And so for me, I find it deeply important for me to be someone that could be beneficial to my brother and sister on the island. And when I say beneficial, I mean in a way that can help to elevate them in all aspects of life, mind, body, and soul. Sadly this was something that didn’t really happen to me with my older brothers. I can only assume that my older brothers have their own demons to fight.

But so that trip to Bogota…… Not only was it emotionally satisfying in a family, connective way…. But it was also satisfying in a “goals passion way”. While I was there I was wanting to meet with a man named David. David is someone that owns or runs a small nonprofit there in Bogota. A woman named Consuelo had turned me onto David. She had told me that while there in Bogota that I should meet with David. She said that in Bogota there are women that have children and then throw them into the streets. And she said that David helps those children that don’t have families. And when you put it in those words or at least paint a picture with those type of words, it definitely makes me want to meet David. I told myself, that maybe there is something that I can learn from David about how to help people. Plus I can also give David a small donation to his nonprofit.

And during my trip there, I was only there for about 4 days, and remember, one of those days got cut because of the airplane diverting to a different city then making me stay in Panama. So I was really just left with 3 days to capture the world in Bogota.

Did I sleep during my trip? not much. I think my longest duration of sleep was about 5 hours. And on my last day I didn’t sleep at all. But back to David….. So during my 3 days I was trying to coordinate a time to see David, for some reason this was very difficult. And add to this issue, the fact that Bogota has so many people driving on their roads that they have some law called “pica placa” It’s the city’s way of distributing traffic in such a way that it helps lower the congestion during peak hours…. But while there, I could see that this wasn’t working!

Again back to David…. So things weren’t looking good for me to meet David. It was the last day, and even after several texts back and forth, things almost fell apart, but somehow while I was eating, I just about gave up on meeting David and told myself, “well, I guess that just how it’s gottta be”… And then somehow, out of the blue, we were able to meet up, we met late. We met at coffee shop in one of the million malls that Bogota has “I swear it felt like Bogota had a million malls”….. At my meeting with David there was Me, David, my brother, and my guide for the day (Diego)… We stayed so late talking that we actually closed the mall down. We were some of the last people leaving the mall.

So what did I learn from David? I learned that David did not take kids that were thrown in the street. Although it probably looks and or feels like that to some people from the outside of poverty or those that have a deep passion to help. Instead David gathers with young children every Sunday. (Where exactly does he meet with them? I am not sure. I wasn’t able to go to his place because of his work schedule and traffic and my time constraints to get back to work in America. But during our conversation, I got a good feel about what he does. David has been in this phase of “giving” for about 7 years. And did I mention that David is 27? To me that is very young for someone that is trying to help people.

So what has David learned during his short tenure in the space of “giving/helping” and what does David do (in terms of helping the children?) Well… David said that the children he helps are all impoverish children. Some of them have parents that care and emotionally support them but lack the ability to give to their children in a financial and financial surroundings type of way. Some children have parents that only semi care or are too busy trying to work to truly be able to care (Side note: That was my life. I was a latch key kid. When I wake up in the morning my mom had already left to work, and when I got home my mom was still at work. And even then there was still not enough money. So I deeply connect with these type of children) And David also helps the children of parents that could care less about their own children. (I tend to think this is what Consuelo was talking about when she said that women throw their children in the street)

So David helps the deeply impoverished children… How many does he help, he says that currently there are about 20 children that go to his Sunday meetings. David had said that when he first started in this field of giving/helping…. That he worked with a nonprofit organization and he said that there in Bogota, there are multiple organizations that give aid to the families in that area, but he said that after several years he saw a pattern that he didn’t like. He said that these organizations would come around 2 or 3 times a year and that they would give things to the children and or families. They would give clothes, food, you know physical items. David said that it has gotten to the point where in those neighborhoods the children would recognize the the cars/vehicles of the organizations and that as the cars drove down the street that the children would run after the cars and behind the cars because they (the children) knew that they were going to get something for free.

And this for me is where I find what David does to be uber important, because for me, as someone that grew up extremely poor (in one of the richest counties in the world) I have realized so much of what has held me back in life. I still have many layers of this onion called my life to pull back and learn from, but what David then told me allowed me to really connect with him. David said that he realized that the children weren’t learning to better themselves or better their lives. Instead that by just giving free things to these children, just teaches them to become adults that expect handouts from life. And without knowing, this is so true about human beings. Remember humans at our most basic level are still just animals. It’s a reason we still have a basil ganglia at the base of our brain. And for most humans we easily become Pavlov’s dogs. And it becomes worse when we are taught things that keep us in a “needy” state of life.

So if David doesn’t give food or clothes to the children, then what does he do? Well…. David does exactly what my mom did. Which if it weren’t for what my mom did, I probably would not be here chronicling my journey to my first million. What David does is that he spends time on Sundays teaching them stronger morals and does it thru different forms of games and by making personal connections with the children, then he gives all of them the opportunity thru small tasks to win the ability to go on a field trip to places that they have never seen or maybe only heard about. Now this might not seem like much, but in reality, it is EXTREMELY important for the young mind. Science has proven what a child experiences in his/her young life has a deep impact on what that child (adult) does in life. It really goes very deep because what a child experiences (or lack of what a child experiences) will either make that child become an adult that gives to life or will make that child become an adult that will only take from life, and a person that only takes from life internally and mentally lives in “survival mode” most of their life and will usually always think negatively about life and be more resentful about life and those around them…. and ultimately, that child (adult) if not shown new things in life will more than likely just repeat the cycle of their parents and then only life to have more children born into poverty…… And if you have never lived in poverty, then you just can’t understand the stranglehold that your mind will have on you when all it sees is despair.

So David does these trips and gatherings with the children. I wasn’t quite sure of all that is available to David as far as his ability to take theses children to see new places and new things that can inspire them to grow into better people. Poor children NEED to see the doctors, lawyers, politicians, and business owners that help to shape the city, these children need to not only see them but they also need to meet them and know that they can also become them. The children also need to be allowed to dream. They need to be in places and environments that help them to feel safe, and safe enough to know that they can dream without anyone stealing their dream or telling them that dreaming is useless. (God I connect to this so deeply. It makes me emotional as I write these words)

I believe that David said that he might take them to places like the botanical gardens and other places (again I am not sure of what is available as I was only in Bogota for 72 hours and was deep in my own family business during that time). But to me and in my opinion, if it wasn’t for my mom taking me to a church where many of the people were doctors, lawyers, teachers, judges, CPA’s, etc….. And if I didn’t go on those trips with their children, then I probably would have never remembered what is possible for me in life. We did things like camping trips, we went to other churches to see how they do things, we even went on trips to other cities to see the beach, basically we went and explored. And most poor children only explore an area of about 1 mile of where they live.

So to me, to meet David, and know that he wants to help the children where (in my opinion) it can impact them the most (at the mental growth level) to me means that he stands the largest chance of ensuring that those children will be armed with the mental capability to not repeat the cycle of the poverty that they came from. And even better, most of those children that escape from poverty will also probably be humans that find small ways to help others out of poverty…. (totally cool in my opinion)

So as our night at the mall came to an end and the barista at the coffee shop began to close shop and told us that we would need to prepare to leave, I found it immensely beautiful that David was kind enough to be able to find time to talk to me…. Remember, David didn’t know that I even existed on this planet until about a week before I met him. And even then, he didn’t need to spend his time talking to someone that he may never see again in his life. David has his own life apart from helping the children, so meeting me was definitely not a priority, but because David was kind enough to move mountains to meet me, I found it important to give a small donation to his cause.

Now this type of giving (making a small donation) is very new to me. Remember, one of my goals is to be someone that can easily give to what I consider a “worthy” cause. And to me things that help the mind of a child be able to see possibilities is worthy to me. So as we were walking towards the exit of the mall, we were still talking but at the same time wrapping up our conversation, and I wasn’t sure when the proper time is to give the donation, nor was I sure of how to give the donation. So a few minutes before we walked out of the mall I told David that I wanted to give a donation, but that I wasn’t sure how to give it? Should it be transferred via some digital electronic way? should it be in cash? and if it is in cash, then in which form? Bolivian or American. And in the end we decided that American cash would allow him to carry the most weight to his efforts.

Now our conversation was actually very deep. Even my brother and Diego got into the conversation and I have left out many parts of our conversation… Like the fact that I asked David what ages were these children. He said that his youngest is 6 months and that his oldest is now 20. I was actually taken back when he said that his youngest was 6 months. I asked him how could this be that his youngest is 6 months? He explained that many parents will tell the child that if they want to go to this Sunday event, that they then have to take their younger sibling with them. David says that he welcomes this…..When he said those words, my heart smiled and filled with joy. And as for the 20 year old. David said that the 20 year old is really one of the children that used to come when they were young. And that now this 20 year old comes back to help David give back to the children. To me, that in itself is a success story. I love it!!!

So yeah, my trip to Bogota rained EVERY DAY,  my plane to Bogota got diverted and I had to land in a different airport, stay there for 4 hours only to fly to Panama and spend the night only to wake up at 5am to be at the airport by 6am, and because of that I lost a day in Bogota, and traffic in Bogota was super difficult, and the initial purpose of my brother visiting Bogota didn’t go as planned, And I consistently only got a few hours of sleep but…. in spite of the weather, the loss of a day, the loss of sleep, the loss of time in Bogota, and the difficulty in getting around…. The trip was still worth every moment and maybe even more…… To meet my brother for the first time, the hug, the emotions, the time to talk with him, the ability to connect with a part of my family that I never knew existed, and then to meet a man named David that is touching lives in ways that I only hope to be able to do in my own city…… was all very beautiful. It makes me smile as I think about it. I look forward to more moments of creating connections like that in my life. Thank you David!

As for my mountains of challenges here at home. these things that I deal with on a daily basis… taxes, health, workers, real estate (or lack there of), money (and lack there of), and all things personal and goal related, I can only bend on one knee and tell god that I have faith that I am not alone. Instead that he is at by my side at all times. And that somehow thru all these things that he will move me closer to my goals….. My job is to figure out how decrypt the messages that he sends me so that I can learn as quickly as possible so that I can make the largest impact possible with the time that I have left on this planet.

Wish me luck,

Love,

Max.