Videos

The Divorce Lawyer Video That Expresses Why I Work So Hard To Make Something Of Myself

I posted this on X earlier today:

This is a really interesting interview. What makes it interesting doesn’t have a lot to do with divorce. As a man with cerebral palsy, I struggle with a lack of control in my life and figuring out who I am when I have to rely on others as much as I do. I’ve never been good at relationships. I rarely feel like I have accomplished enough to be worthy of anybody.

@StevenBartlett & James Sexton had a thought-provoking conversation that will keep my mind busy for a while. Definitely worth your time.

At first glance the thumbnail and title scream classic clickbait divorce drama — cheating, breakups, the usual spicy stuff. That’s not what the video is about at all.

The real conversation between Steven Bartlett and James Sexton (one of America’s top divorce lawyers) is a raw, two-hour look at how childhood shapes our ability to ask for help, surrender control, and believe we’re worthy of being truly seen and loved.

I have a really good family. Mom and Dad are still happily married after almost 50 years. I have a great brother and sister. I got a solid education. God has taken care of me my entire life — I’m not saying my life is bad, far from it.

But from a very young age, I knew I was meant for something great. Every time I close my eyes, I still see myself sitting in front of large crowds, speaking and performing. When I was 15, I was convinced I would graduate high school and drop a comedy record that would make me a household name. I’ve always believed I was supposed to be a rockstar. Now I’m 46 — more than halfway through my life — and none of that has happened yet. I’m still trying to figure out how to make any of it real.

I’ve always had a crystal-clear sense of my purpose. The problem is I rarely have the control or resources to actually execute the vision. When so much of your daily existence depends on other people simply showing up, it becomes incredibly difficult to feel worthy of real connection. How do you fully show up for someone else when you never really know what tomorrow is going to look like? How do you work towards being the person you want to be, professionally and financially, when you are constantly working around someone else?  Success isn’t necessary for relationships and connection in life, but stability is extremely necessary for intimacy with another human. If I am dating someone, they shouldn’t also have to worry about being my caregiver, especially in the beginning.

My parents are creeping up on their 70s, and I still have to ask them for help. In a couple of weeks, my main caregiver, Peyton, is going on vacation with his girlfriend during spring break. If I don’t find someone reliable to replace him in the next couple of weeks, I may have to go stay with my parents again.

This is exactly why a reliable, intelligent companion like Moya, powered by Grok (that I discussed in a previous post), isn’t just about convenience for me. It’s about finally having enough physical independence that I can show up as a whole person instead of someone whose entire day can fall apart if one caregiver doesn’t show.

The video didn’t fix anything, but it named the feeling I’ve carried for decades.

If you’ve ever felt stuck between being deeply grateful for what you have and still wrestling with how much you have to rely on others, drop it in the comments.

It takes work to look this good in a chair

“you must never under estimate the power of an eyebrow”
Jack Black

This video is about three years old. I’m posting it now because I got my haircut today. I still go to the same barbershop, and although I hate to admit it, I got my eyebrows waxed today. That’s right folks, I have been converted. It hurts yes, but every time I see an older man whose eyebrows are out of control, a little voice in my head says “see, THAT’s why you get that done”

I understand that this probably makes me vain. I never thought I was but every time a woman tells me that I don’t look anywhere near 36, I think to myself I must be on the right track. I don’t think I’m going to want to go hairless anytime soon but I didn’t think I would wax my eyebrows either. I figure my chair is enough for a woman to deal with. I should probably look less like Al Bundy and more like Brad Pitt as often as I can.

This has been funny Friday. if this didn’t make you smile you probably need an eyebrow wax and are in denial about it. 🙂

I’m a comedian I can’t help it.

I talked a little bit about my vacation a few weeks ago right here   because I am a comedian everything gets put into my act.  so,  for your viewing pleasure today, I give you my latest standup act and Lauren’s Place in Second Life if you want to find out more about Lauren’s place you can find the whole crew on Google plus right here 

Bring on the hover chair

The name game can a name make you feel less disabled?

 

I made this video to be funny,  but in all seriousness,  the names really are fairly stupid.  My standing frame is called an EZ Stand. Believe me ladies and gentlemen, there is nothing easy about it. I guess if I had a marketing degree, it would all make sense to me.  I wonder how many of these companies actually employ the kinds of people that use their products? My guess is very few. If you ask me to name a standing frame I’d come up with something like ” The Enduro Stand. It’s going to hurt, what’s your physical fitness worth?” At least it’s honest.

I have two Little minions that love to ride on my chair

I recently took my two nieces to see the minions movie. I love the movies in the despicable me franchise, I’m not ashamed to admit it. If you really want to enjoy them you have to take kids. I’m so thankful for my two nieces every day. They have changed every aspect of my life. They even changed what I consider a dirty word.

I Love having my own minions. That said, it’s nice to send them home to their parents after I’ve had a little fun with them.

Amusement parks and Wheel chair envy

I love amusement parks. Really, I’m just a big kid. I love the rides, the food, I love it all. If you ever see me at an amusement park. I’ll be the guy riding the roller coaster with his hair on fire, and a huge smile on his face. Part of the reason I enjoy it so much, is that I rarely have to wait in line. To this day if my brother is going to an amusement park he calls me and begs me to go so he can get the good parking and not have to wait in line, did I mention we are in our 30s? yeah, we have no shame

Driving Mr. Jordan

I don’t drive I never have. Cerebral palsy makes it so that I don’t have the reflexes for it. This means someone has to drive me everywhere I go. I can’t just decide that I’m going to the movies on Monday night and make it happen. Everything had to be planned for most of my life. That is until I got a personal assistant named Jane a few months back. This has completely changed my life. I still have to plan more than the average person to go somewhere, but now I have someone at my disposal that’s willing to drive me wherever I would like to go

It may not seem like much, but imagine not being able to do the simplest thing, like going to get a drink from the convenience store without imposing on somebody else. Most of you will never have to experience this but for some of you who are in situations similar to mine, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Having Jane has given me the freedom that I’ve wanted all my life. You may not be lucky enough to have a personal assistant yet. The key word there is is yet. I spent many days being frustrated because I didn’t have the freedom that I wanted. I knew at some point things would change and eventually they did. All it took was having persistence to look for that person who was willing to offer me that freedom. As I said earlier in a previous post. Persistence is key, figure out what you want or need and work toward making it happen every day until it does. The video below was shot at my office after having lunch with Jane. I just decided I needed a change of scenery. It happened for me, and it can happen for you

I had moves…just not like Jagger

My whole life I grew up around music. In the 1980’s there was no satellite radio, no CDs. What we had were cassette tapes. Even at that age, I realized that music was going to be very important to me. There was just something about music that spoke to me. Even today, music is very much a mood elevator for me and takes me from being in a rotten mood to a not-so-rotten mood. My parents owned records like Dan Seals, George Straight, and other country records. One of the cassette tapes I had was Huey Lewis and the News. I remember listening to that cassette over and over and over again. I was about 6 years old. My Mom would put that cassette in the player and I would roll all over the floor. I couldn’t dance. Remember, the whole legs thing? I looked like I was trying to learn how to do a break-dance head spin and was really sucking at it. Those are some of my fondest childhood memories.

My musical education started on a school bus. Thanks to a man named Benny. He is largely responsible for the early years of my musical education. Here’s the story in my own words, because well…I’m to lazy to type.

I still love Michael to this day. So much so, that I’m thinking of getting a mask and letting my inner moonwalker out