Tag: Story

 After my recent request to raise funds to help Kirk — the seven year old boy who had a stroke shortly after birth — we managed to raise over $17,000 so he could have the Quadriciser, the machine he needed to help him train his body and mind on how to move.

Kirk has his machine now and that’s him using it.

Note his smile.

Note that you helped make this possible.

His mother wrote the following to me the day the machine was set up:

“The Quadriciser is all set and ready to go…

We put Kirk in, made sure he was comfortable, and we turned it on!

What happened next was so funny!

Kirk’s eyes got really BIG as his arms AND legs moved then he looked at me and his eyes said, “WOW! So this is what it is like when everything works!”

He watched his legs then he watched his arms (he was very quiet), then he would look at me and then he would watch his body move and move and keep moving!

Then, the unexpected happened.

The stimulation of having his legs and arms move put a smile on his face and he started to respond to the movement!

We have LOTS of work to do, but now all the tools are in place…thanks to YOU :-)”

She later sent an email saying, “Kirk says, ‘Look at me move, Joe!!!!! Thank you Joe! Thank you everybody! My smile says how much I love you !!!”

I hope you sense the love coming your way from a little boy you helped.

He loves unconditionally.

He’s a model for all of us.

I am grateful.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS – My original post about Kirk is at http://blog.mrfire.com/health/kirk-loves-you/ and my follow-up is at http://blog.mrfire.com/secret/kirks-gift/ You can still contribute to Kirk’s healing fund at www.amazingkirk.com Thank you. I love you, too.

A few weeks ago I spotted a dummy in a shop window in downtown Wimberley, Texas.

Not a dummy as in ‘stupid person’ but a ventriloquist dummy.

When I was a kid, I wanted to be a ventriloquist. It shouldn’t be too much of a surprise because I also wanted to be a magician, and they’re kinda sorta in the same field.

Anyway, seeing the dummy in the window awakened my childhood dream. Every time I would drive by the shop, I would peek to see if the dummy moved, or waved, or winked, or in any way signalled “Come get me, Joe.”

Nothing.

So I mentioned it to Nerissa, saying it would be a great gift for somebody.

She got the hint but she’s no fan of “dolls”. Apparently she’s seen one to many horror movies as a child where dolls came to life and chased you to your death.

So I forgot about the dummy, at least during the day. But every time I went through town, I looked for it.

Two days ago I drove through town, looked for it, and it wasn’t there.

I screamed, “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

I had no idea how much I really wanted that dummy until I didn’t see it in the window.

I accepted my loss and went on with my life.

But something interesting happened yesterday.

My dear friend Mark Ryan — the man behind the www.subliminalmanifestation.com DVDs — came to visit.

We were eating at a deli in Wimberley. We were wondering what we were going to do for the day when I remembered the dummy.

“Mark, I have a crazy request,” I began.

Mark leaned forward as I told him the whole story.

“I saw a ventriloquist dummy in the window across the street and I want to see if it’s still there.”

Mark stunned me by instantly saying, “I not only want to see if it’s there, I want to buy it for you!”

Buy it for me?

Turns out he had been racking his brain trying to come up with a gift for me. When he saw the light in my eyes as I described wanting to be a ventriloquist as a kid, he saw his opportunity.

“I don’t care what it costs,” he said. “I’m getting it for you.”

How many friends would instantly jump at the chance to give you a childhood gift?

How many people would you do that for?

We wondered across the street, went inside, and found the dummy. He was still there, just hidden behind some clothes and purses.

The young lass working the store didn’t know if the dummy was for sale. Apparently she had never gotten this request before. She had to make two phone calls to locate the store owner (in Arizonia), ask if it could be sold (it could), and to get a price on it ($150).

Turns out the dummy is a collectible from 1962. His name is Danny. (He says hi.)

When I brought him home, I sat him on the kitchen counter. I then positioned him in such a way that as Nerissa came around the corner when she got home later, she’d see eye to eye with Danny.

I thought it was funny.

 So did Mark.

Nerissa didn’t.

(Danny didn’t comment.)

I don’t know what your childhood dreams were, but there’s power in reawakening them…if only to complete a story begun long, long ago.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS — Danny wants to say something: “If I could type I’d say more but remember, underwear is best worn on the outside and not taken off for a week. Pass it on.”

Note: The picture of Danny was taken with my new Blackberry Curve phone www.blackberrycurve.com, which went on the market yesterday and arrived here today. Danny likes it. So do I. I bet it’s better than the iphone www.apple.com/iphone/. We’ll see.

 Because of fear, I almost didn’t do something at the Panoz Racing School last Sunday.

It was the end of the day. I was hot, tired and dehydrated. I was ready to get out of the sun and out of the flame retardant sweat suit I was wearing and find AC and water.

But right then the lead instructor announced a “special offer” for anyone brave enough to accept it.

“You all signed a waiver and you all have insurance so if you want, you can ride with an instructor while he drives the Panoz race car the way he would normally drive it on the track.”

I didn’t know what that actually meant, but it frightened me.

I admit it.

I was scared.

I decided I would pass. After all, I told myself, I didn’t need to sit in a race car while a gonzo driver risked car and life for a thrill. I had already had a whole day of driving, anyway.

Everyone else, though, wanted the wild ride.

They got it, too.

The drivers roared onto the track as if chased by alien space ships, and they zipped around the road like bats out of hell.

When they blasted around corners, half the cars lifted on their sides. The roar of the engines was almost deafening. I felt like I was watching the Indy 500. It was scary even from the sidelines.

I’m glad I chickened out.

I’m sure I would have gotten sick with such reckless driving.

But as the first four cars returned from the track, and the passengers crawled out of the cars, I noticed that each of them was beaming.

They had broad smiles and big eyes.

I wanted that experience.

I wanted to know what they were smiling about.

So I swallowed my fear and got into a race car.

The instructor assured me he would stop driving if I asked him to. I nodded agreement and he ripped onto the track.

His speed was astonishing. I felt like I had been driving like a baby compared to his calm confidence as he took turns, ignored dangers, chased other cars, and kept screaming and screeching around the track.

I loved it.

When I got out of the car after a few adrenaline rushing laps, I, too, was smiling big.

Facing fears is exhilarating.

Ao Akua,

Joe
www.mrfire.com

PS — Breaking news: Amazon just put up a special page for me on their site. It includes video, a personal letter, pictures, books news, and so on. It’s at www.amazon.com/vitale I think you’ll like it. Go see. 

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The Panoz family are fascinating.

They are passion driven people who succeed at car making and racing, wine making, spa and resort making, and more.

The only Panoz person in the above picture is Melanie, the Irish redhead to my right. She’s a hoot. She taught me to swear in Irish. (Don’t ask.)

The gent to her right is John Leveritt, one of the most wonderful people I’ve ever met. He gave us a tour of the assembly line where Panoz cars are assembled by loving hands. He also showed us unusual Panoz race cars, including a Hybrid, and a car that refuses to be photographed because of the mystical nature of its paint.

Beside me of course is Nerissa and then our friends Rick and Mary Barrett. Mary did the all day spa with Nerissa while Rick and I learned race car driving.

The thing I noticed most about the Panoz family is their passion. They trust their gut, and they take risks. Good reminders for you and me, too.

Ao Akua,

joe

www.mrfire.com

PS – Panoz is pronounced “pay nose.” Their auto site is at www.panoz.com My site revealing Francine is at www.mrfire.com/francine

I discovered a great life lesson while learning how to drive a race car yesterday.

We just returned from a terrific weekend north of Atlanta. Nerissa was pampered all day at the Chateau Elan spa, owned by the Panoz family. I spent all day at the Panoz Racing School, also owned by the Panoz family.

While zipping along at warp speed, dressed in helmet and heavy flame retardant clothing, sweat beading on my forehead as I concentrated on driving the hot monster I was in, I learned the way to drive with power, passion and control is to always be looking past where you are, toward where you want to go.

Race car drivers have to be focused on where they are while looking toward where they want to go.

As they approach where they want to go, they then look past it to the next goal, and so on.

With this emphasis on vision, they can move around the track at blurring speed and break all known records – all while having a blast.

The way the instructors teach this to newbie drivers like me is to place bright orange cones at strategic places on the Atlanta Sebring Race Track.

As we whip around a corner, we aim for the cone, but as we see we are approaching it, we look away from it to the next cone.

As we approach that new cone, we look past it to the next one, and so on.

This method of using your vision to move down the road makes the rest of you follow.

If you look in a particular direction while driving, the rest of you starts to go in that direction. If you are “one with the car” – a term racers actually use – the car will follow.

This is a life lesson.

When you state an intention, you naturally start go toward it. Unless you stop yourself, you’ll head to that goal.

But the way to keep your momentum up is to have another goal or intention (or cone), to go for next.

This is one of my secrets of productivity.

I’m able to produce so much because my eyes are on the next intention while I’m rounding the bend on the current intention. As I’m finishing a book, I’m beginning to think about the next one.

I’m being here now while looking toward the next now.

Ao Akua,

joe
www.mrfire.com

PS – The Panoz family made Francine, my 2005 Panoz Esperante GTLM exotic sports car. Francine is actually more powerful than the race cars I handled yesterday. So the next time you see me driving her, you better pull over and let me pass. I’ll be looking for the next cone.

Note: If you want to know more of my Secrets of Productivity, see www.secretofproductivity.com