Jul. 18, 2017

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Hello friends,

greeting and happy Monday to you all from my soggy, desert southwest city of Tucson! I hope you enjoyed your weekend, wherever you call home. We Arizonans always pray for rain, but especially this time of year, when it's terribly hot and dry. After weeks of failed predictions, the good Lord  saw it fit to finally release the water shed in the heavens, and give us our share of mositure for a change.

 If you're familar with desert living anywhere in the southwestern part of the country, then you can relate the joy and freshness a cool summer monsoon rain can feel on the people, plants and animals, who decide to dwell in this type of climate. Southern Arizona is especially fortunate to have the unique weather pattern called the Monsoon season, in July and August, which account for more than half of our yearly rain totals. But it can also be a dangeruos experiance for some, due to flashfloodings, high winds and spectacular lighting strikes. It also makes the desert bloom, dry washes run and creates plenty of oppurtunities for guys like me, with storm damage and landscape work.

 I need the work just as much as the next guy, but as you know, my focus has been the writing of my Gigs story. I have been contracting in this town for many years and have built up a large  base of regular clients to keep me busy all year long. Aside from that, I have been fortunate to have garnered a few more new folks who contacted me from my website and newspaper articles that I was featured in upon my return. I'm thrilled to blessed with such great people, who not only support me financially, but many of whom also followed me and showed their support the year I was on the road. 

 I suppose if I wanted to build my business up again, where it was years ago, I could certinately do so, especially now that the economy is on an upswing. But as you know, if you have been following my blog from the start, my tour was designed to lay to rest my skills at some point and transition into a full time writing career. As busy as I am at the present moment, most days I would prefer to stay in my cave and write the day away, with my faithful puppy, Kalani, by my side. But for now, I need to continue to juggle what I need to do, with what I want to do, as most people do in this world.

 I survived my journey by staying focused on the 50 state goal, but mostly by being driven with the desire not to quit. I learned the difference between motivation and drive. Although both are needed to succeed with any you take on, motivation relies too much on emotions, which can wain at times, depending on our moods. Being driven, I believe, comes from a strong mental dispostion, that only we can control and use to feed our desire to succeed at any cost. My desire to become a successful writer, no matter how long it takes or what I have to go through, is driven by my deep belief that I have a gift to share with my follow humans. I now feel empowered to accomplish anyting I put my mind to, something that was not fostered, or encouraged in me as a child. It has taken me a half a century to realize my full potential, and now I have the drive to set my lifes course to anything that I wish to do.

 With that being said friends, sorry for the lecture, I tend to talk too much at times. Now I have to put my money where my mouth is and say good bye for anothe week, and get back to my book! Thanks for checking in as always, and have a safe and enjoyable week!

Juanjohn