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Sometimes I Turn Into Lieutenant Dan

Posted on November 9, 2015December 10, 2023 by Paul

I get angry at God. I yell. I scream. I demand answers. I flat out reject everything. And then I come to my senses.

The truth is, I'm human. I get as frustrated as anyone ever does or ever can - and it happens way more often than it needs to happen. At least, in my view.

After all, if life were perfect, why be frustrated? There would be no need.

I'm Lieutenant Dan on the top of the mast yelling at the top of my lungs about the injustice of everything.

"WHERE ARE MY OPEN DOORS AND OPPORTUNITY?!?!"

It's at these very moment I am reminded how petty and silly and downright stupid I am.

A lot of people have it a lot worse than I.

I mean, count it up - I am truly blessed. Unbelievably so.

That's not gratitude porn as James Altucher would say - that's just me being real.

--

A good friend of mine just passed away the other day.

I loved the old man. He was like a grandfather in a way. In another way, just a great friend that always cared.

He wasn't a believer. A Christian. He was, by all intents, the most heathen person I may have ever met.

But he was always fun. Always funny. Always caring. Always asking about me when I wasn't where we'd meet and hang out.

The guy genuinely cared if I were okay or not.

That made him special. Because we only have a few of those over a lifetime.

He used to tell the most sexually perverted and vile jokes. I mean, these would make everyone blush - not just this person or that person - I mean, everyone.

I want to tell a couple of his favorites here - but in good conscious I can't in a public forum.

We all laughed.

But that made him something no one else was.

The truth is, he wasn't scared or afraid to just be himself. He was him, you be you.

--

I know someone else who just today was checked into hospice. She's going to die.

She lived an exceptional life. God filled. Full of love. Humble. Dedicated to love and family. A person of true character.

Impeachable.

She's had cancer. She beat it. It came back. She almost beat it. And then she couldn't beat it again.

I yell at God for things like that.

I get high and mighty. I get frustrated. Angry. Angry to the bone. Downright angry.

"Why does this Hitler get to live and murder 6 million and take another 14 million in his path and this sweet soul have to be taken so soon? She's a new mother!"

It makes me angry.

--

A few years ago a friend of mine was losing her father. I was angry about it.

I prayed, "God, take me instead". I loved her and her family.

They were good to me. They didn't need to lose a husband, father, lover, friend.

They could afford to lose me.

He died. I lived.

We never speak anymore.

--

There is no real justice. No injustice.

There just is what is.

No one can tell from moment to moment or day to day what is going to happen.

Last night I was literally yelling and screaming at God. Angry down to my very fiber. From 2:30 am on, it was on.

Why is He doing what He's doing?

I don't have enough information.

I don't know enough.

I can't see the bigger plans - His plans. I can only see my frustrations. My seeming defeat. The closed doors all around me.

I need to roll over and float on my back for a little while.

Grab some air.

Start breathing.

Then roll back over and start swimming until I'm about to drown again.

Let go of the rope I'm holding onto.

That's the only way to cope with yelling at God.

That and saying sorry when it's all said and done.

And I am sorry.

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About

Open Doors and Opportunity – it’s what we wake up each day hoping to find.

We need Open Doors and Opportunity in order to move forward, become healthier, and live better lives.

Spiritual, emotional, physical, and financial improvements can only come from finding and using Open Doors and Opportunity to your advantage … (more)

Welcome to Open Doors and Opportunity!

My name is Paul and I’m the owner of this blog.

The picture of me above was taken by a very famous photographer who has also photographed Presidents of the United States, numerous celebrity actors and various sports professionals, as well as other business professionals like myself.

I was supposed to have a feature article written about what a great marketing professional I was in GQ Magazine, or Fortune Magazine, or Forbes, or Playboy … one of those … but then, things went sideways.

Really sideways.

The article was never written, the photo was never used anywhere, I was fired from the job that made that photo possible, I lost my home and ended up traveling all over in my pick-up truck (known as Unit #4)  and staying in various Wal-Mart parking lots (what I like to call the Wal-Mart Condo Association) for 2 years.

In the meantime, I’ve done everything. I’ve been a partner in the largest nightclub in SWFL, written songs with Grammy Winners in the Songwriter Hall of Fame, started as a public relations grunt and worked my way to Chief Marketing Officer of a restaurant group, and much, much, much more and many things.

It’s been a crazy life – with highs and lows not experienced by anyone who ever “played it safe” — but I was born to live, and so, that’s what’s I’ve done. These are just some of those (all true 100%) stories.

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