Meandering out of teenage encounters into young adulthood beginnings had been a struggle—searching for answers after connecting with the past. It had been a measly two years since reconnecting with my birth mom, who I call Mami (sounds like “Mommy”). Time with Mami had been spent sharing memories of my childhood, from which she would complete my stories, which were memories—both good and traumatic. Mami then would take me to the locations where my recollections had occurred. Mami had addressed some tough topics: physical, mental, emotional, and sexual abuse and neglect. There are no secrets when truths are exposed, and everything comes out into the open.

Imagine years spent in the foster care system, followed by adoption into a culture and religion that were completely different from my own beginnings. All of this had transitioned me to a point in my life where I felt alone and insecure about being ready for my later life as a grown-up. Did I have what it took to make it in this life, or would today be the day that I would lose it and go off into the deep end and become psychotic? Or would I become like those in my past who made poor choices? Would I be ready for the challenges of an ever-changing world, its future, and all it had to offer? Exiting the teenage phase of life only left me full of questions and a robust desire to hunt for whatever it took to make sure I had what was needed to succeed and live life to the fullest.

It had been ingrained in me that “Time waits for no man,” and “Coasting through existence is just a waste of an able body.” Dashing forward, I was determined to embrace my destination with some goals and objectives, making sure that my existence was not in vain.

Then out of nowhere, there was that period of time; I was not quite twenty-one when something wonderful happened—a group of the most unlikely makeshift family tumbled onto my path. Over a large portion of the year in 1990, they taught me that I had my answers within my experiences all along. Hot damn, if the tools of life weren’t already in my possession and unleashing them through the stories that we shared with one another would soon make a world of possibilities become my reality! My military life was more than guns and war, which falls away when the human side of caring clearly becomes a part of the love I was to learn and grow from. Our close-knit family also taught me the lessons for the gaps that would surely come in handy as I connected with people, broadening awareness and the scope of what was to come. The bottom line is we become what we choose to shape our world with and fill our minds, and even when it all goes wrong, we have what it takes to push through and make life happen. We can evolve into having the best that life has to offer or become stagnant, waiting for someone to do it for us. I had decided my existence was too short not to try my best to attempt to live it with the most satisfaction and make every effort to burst through each day living my best life.

So if you are looking for a sense of something to hang onto that will allow you to move on with being, grabbing it by the horns, running with it full force, having the best life, and discovering personal success in a world of incoming chaos, then this book is for you.

Thus, we begin my tale…