Ok, so, you’ve just read the title of this blog.  What the hell does “Lottery” mean to you.

I  know when I made less than $30,000 per year I thought, MAN, if I could only make $50,000 one day, that would be sweet.  It would be soooo much money I’d be set!

When I  graduated in 1995 with my bachelors I was only making $8/hour as a part-time over-night & fill-in DJ on a local San Diego radio station, 92.5 The Flash at the time… Magic 92.5 now.  And I had an internship as the radio station’s second engineer, read as: I worked for the chief engineer for FREE so I could learn what radio engineers do; short answer: you do everything from toilets to transmitters.

But, since I was about 13 years old, it was my dream… My Fantasy… to be a DJ at a top-25-market radio station AND be a Radio Engineer.  Well in 1996: Mission Accomplished!!!
At that same time, I landed a full-time gig as a radio engineer making $24,000/year!

I Had “Won the Lottery”… well maybe not financially but certainly emotionally.

Was I lucky?  Was it what I deserved because I worked my ASS off to get a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering?  Or was it simply because I was a member of the Lucky Sperm Club (i.e. I was lucky enough to be born in the USA, to wonderful parents)

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX9QNE3ZzLM?rel=0]

I believe in working HARD.  I really like the feeling of accomplishment I get after a “job well done”.  I also Never look a gift-horse in the month so anything that I am simply lucky enough to have, I rarely take for granted and if possible, I like to share.

Some things I can share:  My knowledge, my smile, my experience(s), my time, my talent, my treasure… etc… my videos… my perspective…

Some things I CANNOT share:  My liver. my passport, my sobriety… etc…

I was walking down the beach the other day and it really hit me that *I* am THE LUCKIEST guy in the world.  I hope you feel the same about yourself.  I hope you are able to focus on the positive and see all the blessings your are lucky enough to have.

If the only kind of luck you feel like you have is Bad Luck then I invite you to CHANGE THAT! Start Now!  Do something about it…

What ONE THING could you do today to improve your situation??  Just one thing.  If all you can do is think about some poor guy or gal that his it worse off than you… well… fine.  Let that be the one thing.  Maybe you need to see a girl in a wheelchair with no legs to be grateful for your legs.  Fine. Start there!  Next, think about the other things you are grateful for without having to compare yourself or your life situation with someone else who *doesn’t* get to have something they probably should.  Dig?

Go Look In The Mirror.

YOU ARE FREAKING AMAZEBALLS!!!!   ACCEPT IT!

The “lottery” you just won is that you are reading this blog.  At a minimum, that means you GOT to wake up and somehow get to the Internet.  I bet you can do ANYTHING you want… *IF* you want it bad enough.

once again, I *do* hope you’re Living the Dream.  If you’re not, you’re doing it wrong!  DO Something About it!

Now, go Live YOUR Ass Off!
Please check out my YouTube Channel. Like, Subscribe, Share.  BLAM!

~mikes

I absolutely just HAD to share this YouTube link.  it is a series of heart-wrenching Thai Ads.
I’ve posted this several places with a description:

“its not If or When you’ll cry, its how many times!”

I invite you to take a few minutes and watch it to possibly add to your perspective of “helping others”

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6jcJD50X0k?rel=0]

Now, I also fully acknowledge that these are Ads that are designed to manipulate you by appealing to your human side… the Ad company’s fantasy is that  you walk away thinking:

“OH MY GAWD, that was soooooo touching… I should totally buy some MetLife insurance and get TrUE for my cell carrier!!! Now!!!”

yeh, I get that.  I was in radio and TV for over 20 years so trust me I KNOW that you use TWO things to sell:  Sex and Emotional manipulation (e.g. tears or humor).  It sells.  Try and ignore that part and just view it with an open mind.

I dig a good cry.  Hope you do too.

Live the Dream!

~mikes

I’m sure you’ve heard someone reply to the ever popular greeting,
“How u doin?” with,
“tired.. but it’s a Good Tired”

I was thinking about what makes me respond this way AND why or how the hell that relates to Live My Ass Off.  For me I think I get to that point after I feel like I’ve Worked (a.k.a. Lived) My Ass Off.  I have been judged with,
“you work too much”… while at the same time
“Dude!, you are freakin awesome” — based upon very favorable results or outcome.  My goal is to exceed expectations.  I like to Live my life at 110% @ 80 mph.  A mentor of mine refers to his version as “9 grand, hair on fire!”
F*%@# YEAH!

But maybe a more important thing to ask myself is WHY did I work (a.k.a. play for money) to this level of possible exhaustion?  Unpacking this a bit more, I then ask myself,
“What motivated me to do this??..” furthermore – trying to be proactive –
“What will motivate me, in the future, to fully engage in some similar behavior or task with such commitment and intensity?”… especially if/when I might NOT be motivated?

Aaaand going a bit further What Motivates Me?  How do I stay motivated? For this post I’m going to focus mainly on how I stay motivated and use another post to discuss getting motivated.
Why?
Well, because, while I acknowledge that LACK of motivation is a killer and simply stops most people in their tracks, never even getting to “Step 1”, I think that I need to get clear and acknowledge the tool(s) I use to STAY MOTIVATED and on the path to AmazeBalls.

Again, Lack of Motivation for whatever reason (mainly rooted in Fear, in my belief)  is definitely a show stopper BUT I think its easier for me (maybe you too) to identify or reflect on times when I’ve  “quit”… “Quitting” involves starting, at least a little bit.

For example, I understand all too well what it means for someone to Relapse from a successful (be it long or short) period of time clean and sober from drugs and alcohol.  BUT to RE-Lapse, you had to first Lapse at some point, right!?

I’ve heard it said, that “Quitting is Easy.. it’s staying quit that is the real bitch!!”  Ok. Maybe so. This is one of those “your mileage may vary” scenarios BUT lets say we buy it… HOW do I stay the course??

I don’t want to just Live My Ass Off for a couple of hours, or a few days, or a weekend, or a holiday break… I want it ALL the time… and I want it “my way”  (more on that on my post about Only Child Syndrome (HA!).  It’s like I’ve always said about cocaine shortly after quitting. “If I could use cocaine normally, I’d use it everyday, all day long…”  yeh, there inlies the rub.  You see the irony I’m sure.

OK so, here’s the simple solution I’ve found to have wild success with sticking with it.  Have an Accountability Partner. Have a *true* friend.  My definition of Friend is a person who I love and care about who feels the same way about me.  BUT the quality that really differentiates them from an Acquaintance is the permission that a Friend has to possibly or maybe even intentionally, hurt my feelings because the agreement is that they *will*, above all else,
save my Ass before they will save my face.

I made a YouTube video on my YouTube channel *ThaiMikes” about how I’ve really embraced having an “Accountability Partner” or “Sponsor” or “Mentor” or “Friend”… or… whatever label you feel comfortable with that will be THE person that is a huge reason for your success at Staying Motivated:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNtYUBriXVk?rel=0]

I wanted to share this idea in both written (blog) as well as video (Vlog?) form as I am starting to think that one complements the other.

Naturally, I hope it adds value and makes you think and/or identify THE one (or seven..??) people in your life that you could easily enlist in your wild success. Especially if/when you feel a lack of motivation.  Its a lot like the scenario I hear people describing about working out at a gym.  “I meet [him/her] at the gym every morning at 5:00am… it gotta tell yah, if it weren’t for them an me promising them I’d show up I’d probably just sleep in…”

Now, go out and Live the Dream… if you’re not, you’re doing it Wrong!

To your Success!

~mikes

I think it’s important to share Good news, IN FACT I believe it is 10 times more important to share good news versus bad.  I’ve heard a bunch of guy’s who’s Blogs and VLogs I follow recently state that “Bad News Sells!”.   They too agree that Good News is kind of news that needs focus.  One specific version of this was “I stopped watching the news as its all negative… you know CNN?, the Constant Negative News network…”

Indeed… sigh.

SO, here’s your little hug of GOOD NEWS:
I have been coming to Katy’s Cafe in Imperial Beach, CA for over a year and on a scale of 1 to Mikes it definitely deserves a High Five, a big hug… and a LiveMyAssOff.com (chest bump).  BooYah.  Kahblamovich!  Yeh… its THAT cool.

I bet that when Howard Schultz walked into a place this cool, while at the same time warm (…you know what i’m saying), intimate, homey (homie?), community engaging, minimally iconic, welcoming, happy and respected, he thought, “I Gotta do THIS!”  I bet places like Katy’s were what he envisioned Starbucks would be like.  Spoiler alert, it’s not.  I literally drive past 3 Starbucks to come down to Katy’s.  Their Vietnamese Latte is my favorite.

Don’t get me wrong, I like Starbucks.  I’d probably like it a Hell of a LOT more if I have bought their stock 20 years ago… and held on to it. No regrets though.

When I was here last weekend, it was Katy’s birthday.  I asked her for a Katy’s Cafe Postcard letting her know I’d be sending it to Mum.  She smiled.  Today, I was able to report that I got an email from Mum thanking me for the post card and to wish Katy happy birthday.

BLAM. Good News.

So, if you are ever wanting a great cup of coffee, awesome home made sandwiches, EPIC cinnamon rolls, and an atmosphere that makes you feel like you are hanging out at your family’s summer house for a great breakfast (any time of day) then cruise over to Katy’s Cafe in IB:

Its at 704 Seacoast Drive Imperial Beach California 91932 and you just follow Palm Ave all the way West from where ever you happen to get on Palm Ave (i.e. I-5 or maybe if you are coming down the silver strand from Coronado).  Take a left when you get to the end and park right there on your right.  She’s got free WiFi which as you know, makes the couches That Much More Comfortable.

I know you will Enjoy it. Its all part of my plan for a full-scale, global  LiveMyAssOff.

Now, go Live the Dream! Cuz if you’re not Living the Dream, you’re doing it wrong.
(chest bump)

~mikes

If you read blogs then I am going to assume you are hardly “under a rock” and thus the term Identity Theft is (sadly) not new to you.

Additionally, unless you are totally delusional, I am also going to assume you are aware that there is at least One person or system (more likely) or database that has some form of your identity that you did NOT give them (e.g. your birthday, full name, address… maybe the last 4 of your SSN… maybe your full SSN…)

The point to this post, and a theme that I believe is necessary to Live My (your?) Ass Off, is:
Be Proactive.

I realized (after my identity was stolen in early May of 2015) that I *thought* I was being proactive.  Until I started getting numerous emails about weird charges on a credit card.  A hallway conversation with a buddy where he just mentioned, “yeh… bummer, maybe you should check your credit [rating/score] with that free credit report thing…” prompted me to do just that.  I first contacted the credit cards in question and reported fraudulent charges.  The cancelled the cards, and got new ones (with new account numbers) issued.  Additionally at this time most companies were switching to the “chip” cards.

So, I thought, OK, the cards that were compromised seem to be the ones that don’t have the chip… Coincidence?  Yeh, maybe but it was a simple pattern to label to three cards that were compromised.

THEN, about a day later some jackass bought $600 worth of paint from some paint store in northern California.  Fine… called AMEX, charges reversed, new card issued. Done.

Hummm… what’s the pattern now?  AH HAH!, I’ve got it.. these are all cards that I’ve used at a Home Depot in the last year or so..!!!  Whatev.  Ok that explains it.

As part of my “checking my credit reports” they made it quite easy for me to agree to pay them $19.99.year for some monitoring and notification service.  Fine.

About 24 hours later. Blam! Notification.  A credit card had been opened in my name for a gas card.  Sigh.  At the time I was on my way to meet friends in Las Vegas for a convention.

Two things to note:  1) Dealing with credit card companies and Fraud prevention services means spending time on the phone.  2) There is no place in Vegas that is quiet enough to be on the phone to take care of business like this EXCEPT in your hotel room.
Since I did not go to Vegas to spend time in my hotel room, I cut the trip short and headed home to deal with this.

I wanted to share this link to a great post my friend Colette shared with me from the NY times.

On this page you’ll note that if you click on the buttons for specific credit card companies or businesses (e.g. Home Depot) the left hand side of the page will highlight the type data that was stolen.  Click on HOME DEPOT and EBAY and viola:

Address, Birthday, Credit or debit card, Email, Employment history, Password (encrypted), and Phone number…

Click on “..applied for a job with the Federal Government..” and WHAMMY, add Social Security Number to the list.  Ugh…

So, because ID theft is so common, sadly, I didn’t have to tell but 2 buddies and one said,
“Oh yeh, that happened to me… it sucks.. do {this}…”

The {this} for me was:
1) put a Fraud Alert on your accounts with all three credit bureaus.  (lasts 90 days then you have to re-do)*
2) put a Credit Freeze on all your accounts with the three credit bureaus (this costs $10/agency and lasts 7 years).  This is pretty thorough and not ever YOU can open up a new credit account… unless you remove the Freeze before hand.

* you can also subscribe to a Fraud Prevention type service and they will renew that for you… like every 89 days… and I would submit this should be your Minimum level of proactive credit protection.  If you need to open up a credit line (e.g. buy a car) the credit inquiry will be halted and the fraud prevention service will contact you (e.g. call your cell phone) to verify that you authorize this.  if you agree then within a minute or two, you’ve got your approved credit.

3) There are actually FOUR credit reporting agencies.. Yep!  INNOVIS is another one.  They are around to provide mailing lists for those “you’ve been pre-approved” offers.  Contacted them too and put a credit Freeze on that account.

4) Speaking of “pre-approval offers”.  Here’s how you opt out of those:  https://www.optoutprescreen.com and it lasts for about 5 years.

So… NOW, I guess I feel like I’m being proactive.  There are NO negative NOR (probably more importantly) unknown items in any of my credit reports.  I have excessive monitoring and reporting on all of my credit files as well as a service that continuously scans “the Internet” to make sure there is no published information about me that could be used to compromise my identity.  I’ve notified my local police department and the opened case is very close to finding the bozo that used one of my cards to charge $44 on a UBER ride in San Francisco…. SPOILER ALERT you moron: UBER drivers have cameras in their cars… (rolls eyes)

I’ll keep you updated but the NY Times article that was sent to me prompted me to want to share with ID Theft / Cyber Security story and hopefully a fairly simple, step by step solution to proactively preventing any credit card fraud or ID theft from spiraling out of your control.\

Finally I wanted to make sure I share another GREAT resource for ID theft victims:
The ID Theft Resource Center.  It was started by a good friend here in San Diego and offers a TON of free advice; not just in the form of a PDF document but also humans who answer phones or Live Chat to help you through the sometimes frustrating phone tree credit card companies can often force you to wade through before getting to a solution.  They provide Many tips with one simple one being always make sure you are talking with the RIGHT PERSON… seem simple but I can tell you, leading off the conversation with a customer service rep by saying, “I need to speak with your fraud investigator / fraud investigation department” can save you from wasting a TON of time talking to someone who is not qualified to help you.

Hope this helps!

Now, go Live the Dream!  Remember, if you’re not Living the Dream, you’re doing it Wrong!  Being proactive about protecting your Identity and Credit… that’s Dream Living!

~mikes

Of the 12 or so words/phrases I know how to say in Thai, Mai Pen Rai is a great one.  Loosely translated into colloquial US english I suppose it could be the equivalent of our “whatever”… the more proper translation I seem to here is “whatever will be, will be”… Pretty Buddhist, eh?

Here’s a cool site and description of some other Thai phrases and a bit more discussion on Mai Pen Rai

I went for a walk this morning at a beach south of where I live in San Diego: Imperial Beach and I started really appreciating the simple content that is available when I (maybe you too) are in acceptance of “whatever will be”.  Its comforting.  Powerful almost.

As with most posts, I try to share some of my experience, strength and hope so just wanted to do a quick check in after my walk.  I’m posting and uploading from Katy’s Cafe in Imperial beach.  I love this place.  I *highly* recommend the Vietnamese Latte.  When you come, tell Katy, Mickey says, “Aloha” 🙂

Welcome to Saturday morning.  stay tuned…

Live the Dream!  cuz if you’re not Living the Dream, you’re doing it wrong.

~mikes