Say Yes!

Say Yes!

Many years ago, I heard a concept from a man who described himself as a “Yes man.” Whenever any circumstance or opportunity presented itself, he would almost always say, “Yes!” I realized that I had done that on many occasions in my life, and my wife and I agreed that we should do this even more! As I pondered the many forks in the road that is my life, I realized that many of the “unique” twists and turns were the ones that made me better or otherwise improved my condition.

I thought of this again last night when my wife looked at me and yelled over the loud music, “I can’t believe my life!” We were, of course, at the first annual Acapulco Biker Week at the heavy metal concert. We were seated in the VIP section on a raised platform near the stage with friends from Chicago, London, and Sweden.

The friend that brought us had the VIP invitation extended by a friend of his, who has managed and owned various bars and restaurants around Mexico and has strong ties to Hollywood’s A-list. We came to the concert after having some of the best Chinese food I have ever had with a dozen friends. This dinner was after the first Non-Violent Communication (NVC) workshop I had ever attended.

After the concert, as our friend’s driver drove us back to the luxury resort in the Diamanté District where we had a room overlooking the ocean and pools, we learned from him of the cartel’s inner workings and the history of violence in Acapulco due to the US “War on Drugs.” In less than 24 hours, I had all the above experiences, along with many others. How did this happen to a boy reared in a Mennonite community in the back hills of Tennessee that then served the State as an armed agent for 10 years?

It occurs to me that my rise from poverty is in large part due to the “yeses” that I said. At age 16 when I was a dishwasher, I could have stayed in the restaurant industry and could today be a cook at a greasy spoon. I could have stuck with my taxidermist-assistant job and today could be a taxidermist. I chose instead to say “yes” to many opportunities and as a result, my life has expanded and been much happier and more fulfilling!

A week later? We enjoyed a party hosted by our good friend Michael Ninmitz, an Acapulco business & community leader. Two ladies in feathers and bikinis were standing at the door, with their only job being to greet the incoming guests. In attendance? Mear One (with whom I have become friends, along with his lady Janice), Jeffrey Tucker (My long-time hero, who had joined us the night before at our table for dinner and fun conversations about his horse-riding exploits in Jackson Hole), and Vit, the president of Liberland.

I rode beside Luke Rudkowski on the way to and from this party. Also at this party was Rick Falkvinge, who founded the Swedish pirate party which then prompted many other countries to also establish a Pirate Party. Yes, of course, Tone Vays is here, and the event that ended just before I came involved me taking the microphone from Roger Ver’s hand and handing it to an interesting game theory social scientist.

So, why am I name-dropping all the “fringe” folks I have been hanging around? I disagree with many of them on many points, as I do with some dear friends who are in the top 1/10th of the top 1% wealthiest in the world. I have never asked any of my contacts for anything for free, nor will I. We exchange value—either time, money, instruction, consultation, etc.—because we both get value from it. I said yes to opportunities which led to other opportunities which led to many future opportunities. Who knows how I might someday be able to help one of my friends? I say YES as much as possible, and it rarely hurts.

I suggest you say “yes” to more stuff. On my list of “to-do” new experiences are: learning to fly a tail-dragger, getting arrested and spending a day or two in a jail, learning to weld, trying medicinal plants, starting a business from scratch and selling it within 5 years for $5mil, inventing something and going through the patent process, getting a professional espresso machine installed within 30 steps of my home office desk, and much more. These things could also kind of be considered goals; however, with them in mind, my “Yes” responses are most likely to take me in the right direction.

Q: Will I accomplish this sampling of goals and much more?

A: YES!