Chili's Choices Changing

Thursday July 16th, 2009 - Lake Villa, IL

The prevailing vibe of my entire life seems to be changing and I have to say I like where it’s going. There’s a positive rumbling in the distance and it’s getting closer all the time. I have consciously been trying to put out a better vibe and I feel markedly different results.

I’m not saying I’m ‘fixed’ or ’cured’ or anything like that. A dented can is pretty hard to undent unless a major push comes from the inside. I’m pushing hard and it’s working. I’ll always have that dent but at least I’m improving myself and I want to acknowledge that.

Case in point: I had lunch with my web person Shelley and her two daughters today at a Chili’s restaurant in Round Lake Beach, IL. It’s about halfway for both of us and we have met there several times in the last few months. The staff there has always been super nice.

I ordered a Philly cheese steak sandwich and it was one of the worst meals I’ve ordered in recent memory. The bun was like a brick and the meat was greasy and overcooked and pretty nasty looking all around. I happen to love guacamole and the order we got was just plain yucky for whatever reason. It had an aftertaste and I didn’t want to guess what from.

Shelley and I needed to meet up because she is going to start selling stuff on Ebay so we can raise some money. She needs it just like I do and we wanted to get it started. I also am trying to get my website current so when I’m on TV next week hopefully I’ll get hits from all over the place like I did when I did the Bob and Tom show. I got thousands from that.

Anyway, the meal wasn’t the most important thing. We had business to take care of and I always love goofing around with kids so I wasn’t really worried about one bad meal. It’s no big deal and it was my fault for ordering a Philly cheese steak at Chili’s at all. I should know better. The waitress came for my plate and saw that I didn’t eat much of anything.

She asked if anything was wrong and I said “It’s not your fault but this wasn’t what I’d expected. No big deal, thanks for asking.” I really wasn’t angry at all and was thinking of the business stuff rather than the food. The whole thing was a speck and I had moved on.

The manager came over and asked what was wrong and I told him not a thing. I ordered a sandwich and it wasn’t that great and I had some chips and salsa and life would go on. It was very nice of him to do that but he was very concerned and I assured him I had been to the restaurant before and would come back again and told him I wasn’t going to flip out.

We ended up having a laugh about it and he truly was concerned about the service and I have to say it felt great to be treated as a human being by another human being. That’s all I ever wanted in the first place and when I do flip out it’s because I feel like nobody cares.

I’ll go back to that Chili’s and I recommend you do too. The manager is Michael and it feels good to know someone in corporate America is on the ball. The few minutes it took for him to come to the table won my business forever. THAT’S how to serve customers.

I couldn’t help wondering all day what it is that’s putting me in this space. I’ve had a lot of cruddy meals before and sometimes I reacted like I did today and sometimes I didn’t. It could be that but it seems a lot deeper. It just seems like my whole life is starting to turn.

I’m not saying I’ll be whistling ‘Zippity Do Dah’ every day and all my steaks will be as rare as I like them and I’ll hit only green lights in traffic but I feel that I’m starting to walk on ground I’ve never walked on before. Maybe I had to experience the very bottom so I’m able to fully appreciate the top. I’ve struggled a long time but maybe it’s finally over now.

What’s really amazing is the overwhelming outpouring of good wishes I’m getting from everywhere. Facebook is an amazing connector and I put the link to the CBS website that lists the guests for The Late Late Show on it so everyone could see I’m not making it up.

Over and over and over again I’m hearing things like ‘About time!’ and ‘FINALLY the good guy makes it!’ and ‘I’ll tell all my friends.’ I’m getting calls and emails and people I haven’t heard from in years are wishing me well. It’s exactly what I always wanted to feel but who doesn’t want to be appreciated? After a lifetime of work it seems like it paid off.

One TV shot is not going to make me a superstar and I’ll still have to struggle with a lot of the same things I am now but it will be a major milestone and something to look at as a turning point in my whole life. Most people never make it this far. I did. It’s a huge thrill.

It doesn’t mean I plan on getting cocky. Far from it. It means I want to work harder than ever so I can keep going and growing and my main purpose is to give back more than I’ll ever take in this life. That’s what true success is and I know it now. I’m ready for this run.

Part of getting ready is putting a super team together. I’m weeding out the losers and am looking to find winners. I had dinner tonight with a guy named Bryan who approached me a long time ago looking to do some website work. He’s 32 and very sharp and was patient with me for months until we could set up a meeting. Tonight was finally the time to do it.

This is the guy I’m going to team up with to get the Uranus Factory Outlet website up. I had a very good vibe from him and told him what I was looking for and he shot back a lot of good ideas too and it felt right so we shook hands on it and made a deal. We’ll try it for a while and if it doesn’t work we’ll move on but at least we talked it through beforehand.

I also called Ted Perry at Fox 6 in Milwaukee. He’s been a major supporter of mine for many years and I can’t put into words how much I appreciate him. When I’ve been really down he’s always been an uplifting friend by either giving me a book to read or making a joke that lays me out. The guy is a major air talent but he’s also extremely funny as well.

Something told me to call him so I did. I also got a call from Tom Skibosh who used to be the P.R. director for the Milwaukee Brewers. He and I are going to meet up for a lunch when I come to town to play Giggles in Brookfield August 13-15. I also got mentioned in the Journal-Sentinel in Tim Cuprisin’s column. I can feel a positive momentum building.