Woke up later in the day. Hit the gym, showered, dressed again, went shopping & now cooking. Also, playing one of my style icons on my stereo, Barry White. Came to the realization that as a single man, I can do what I want; whenever I want. I'm trying a bake chicken recipe at 10:30pm... YES! 😆 WOTD - Dad's Seiko 5 SOTD - Tom Ford Tobacco oud

Just a quick note and a word of thanks for all the support in helping me reach level 7. Not because I reached this level that I am grateful, but because I know the type of induvials that helped me reach this level. Your friendship and support is the main reason why I am honored to be a part of this society. I will continue to uphold the honor and reputation of this society not just in the community but in my everyday life. Again, thank you each and every one of you.

Good morning ladies and gentlemen, As we are on this journey of growing and becoming the best version of ourselves, we tend to get lost not only in finding ourselves , but in trying to be everything to everyone. I want to share a personal experience and testimony about myself in the hopes that it will help you. There is a theory that I learned the hard way unfortunately it’s called the lighthouse principle, even though nobody teaches it like this. A lighthouse doesn’t chase ships. It doesn’t scream, it doesn’t move. It just stands where it’s built to stand and shines light. Here’s the part that missed me up, ships that need direction will find it, ships that don’t care will crash somewhere else. For a long time I wasn’t a lighthouse, I was a rescue boat. I chased people in storms they kept choosing. I explained myself to people who already decided not to understand me or I had to prove I was worthy of staying. And every time I did that, I thought I was being loving, understanding, and loyal; but what I was doing was abandoning my post. See there is another theory that nobody talks about; the more available you make yourself to people who aren’t anchored, the more they confuse access with value. They don’t love the light; they love the convenience. So when I finally stop chasing, when I finally stop overextending, and when I finally started staying, who I was becoming was something uncomfortable and some people drifted away. At first that felt like failure, lost, and it felt like rejection, until I realize something powerful. The people who disappeared weren’t rejecting me, they just never came for me in the first place. They came for the rescue, and in that moment when I stopped rescuing the truth showed up. You don’t lose people when you grow, you lose roles; you lose the role of fixer, you lose the role of savior, the role of emotional supplier, and when those roles fall away. The only real connection remains is your life it’s quieter, cleaner, sweeter, more aligned. Because the right people don’t need you exhausted to stay. They don’t need you over giving to feel close. They don’t need you shrinking to feel secure. They’re drawn to who you are not what you provide. So if you’re in a season where people are drifting, where things feel lonely where you’re questioning if choosing yourself was worth it? Hear me clearly, you’re not losing your way. You’re finally standing in it. Stop chasing ships. Be the lighthouse. The ones who meant to find you.

If I’m gonna preach fire and brimstone than this is the suit to do it in !!!

I warned Scott in a comment, and I know we've had our share of rants about "modern fashion", so I'm taking my turn. When waiting to pick up my daughter from school, while I have noticed more men showing up more often to pick up their kids (which is a good thing), I can't help but notice they look so much like most people I see out and about. Basically, like homeless ex-convicts. Ill-fitted clothing, dirty, torn, faded graphic shirts, covered in tattoos, pajama pants, faces like they just escaped the Dust Bowl (no skin care routine or attempt to be clean apart from maybe a nice haircut), sometimes with piercings bigger than a pencil or sharpie marker, etc. Even when I was a kid/teen/20-something, I never saw the appeal in dressing like a slob. Sure, I was into the Goth style for 12 years (from high school until my late 20s), but I made sure it looked good/refined. Even James of GentZ was Goth once upon a time. The closest AI-generated answer search could give is it's just "trendy" to look like trash (partly thanks to the fashion industry). That, in some weird way, it's considered "more masculine", and the worst excuse yet, "showing solidarity to accept ex-cons back into society". While that last one seems well-intended, I think there are far better ways to be supportive than to dress like shit. Sure, it's the first thing we see, so "normalizing it" seems to reduce stigma, but it's detrimental as it overall lowers society's bar for standards. At least with "Lumber-sexual" (as opposed to the metro-sexual trend of 20 years ago), they tried to have kempt beards, neat haircuts, and their style aesthetic made sense. At this point, even athleisure-wear looks more appealing (and I'll never do that to myself). The "homeless ex-con cosplay" as I call it, just comes off as fake and a sorry excuse to "be comfortable" or "give up" in the face of an unfavorable economic era. Personally, I'd rather be intimidating as a well-dressed man with manners (or even seen as "a snob", "judgmental", or "trying too hard"), than some pseudo ex-con you'd approach for a toilet wine recipe and wonder if you'll get shanked. While sadly many end up in prison for totally unjustified reasons, many DO end up there for a good reason.