Four years later, at the age of 23, taking my best friends to a George Thorogood concert in my brand new Jaguar XJ6 sedan was certainly a high point for me. This was 1987, I had received my first gold record in sales, I was making $50,000 a year and I had fully absorbed American materialism, the "Think and Grow Rich" mentality and the "you can (and should) have it all" attitude.
I was investing in cassette programs to the likes of Zig Ziglar and other Nightingale Conant "self help" guru programs - for self improvement purposes; to learn how to reign in even greater amounts of material wealth and success for "me, me, me." I had even hired a certified financial planner at the time whom incidentally, had been thoroughly against the Jaguar acquisition.
Having moved to San Antonio, TX just a year few years earlier, I rented my first apartment next to Churchhill High School, and started buying guitars, amps, and effect pedals again - all on a "door-to-door" salesman's commission income.
I was doing sales training in the field one day with a deeply religious guy name Moses (his real name) and we came across this distraught older gentleman, tearful and obviously overcome by grief having just lost his wife to a terminal illness. Rather than do our sales pitch, Moses led us to our knees and commenced to offer a prayer to God for the healing of this man's heart and for the well being of his wife's soul. As strange and awkward as this was for me, I never forgot it nor the look of momentary peace and gratitude that came across this man's face.
Amidst the Catholic sex abuse scandal, the Jimmy Swaggart scandals, Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker debacle of the 80's, etc., I had become thoroughly disgusted and indifferent towards any sort of organized religion whatsoever. In my ignorance and selfishness I was of the opinion that it was all just one great big money making scam and perhaps even a method of controlling the masses. "They" weren't going to get any of my money. Besides, I totally subscribed to doing good for others as one wants them to do onto oneself and I had always "loved my neighbor." I really thought of myself a good person, loved everyone, and worked hard to make sure everyone loved me.
Meanwhile, the feeling of invincibility continued to grow within me; I could do most ANYTHING if I just set my mind to it and kept a positive mental attitude while pursuing it. I even envisioned a way to get back to Austin and rejoin my brothers who were taking it up a notch now with the band, The Titans! I would do it by starting my own company, a house cleaning company called Prime Concern Maid Services.
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| The ID badge that I would wear on customer visits and inspections. |
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