Become a Trail Blazer not a follower

Life is an ongoing journey that many people take for granted. We live in a country where the opportunities to succeed are infinite, yet we close our eyes and walk not knowing in what direction we’re heading.  Today I’ve decided to sit, relax and let my words tell a story; why you might ask? Because I’m a leader, it’s been in my DNA since I was a child. As a soccer player I probably wasn’t the most skilled as I’ve had the opportunity to play with amazing players, my forte was being the most vocal. It wasn’t long ago when I doubted myself and my abilities to do great things in life, the exact same  things I had promised myself I would accomplish as a young boy. My biggest fear was to be that guy with a lot of talent who never made it. I wasn’t ready to be that guy, I didn’t want to be that guy, so I didn’t become that guy.

Therefore I took chances, I worked for free and sometimes I got exploited by those who said they wanted to help me in the sports  journalism world.

“Somewhere along the lines you changed, you stopped being you!!You let people stick a finger in your face and tell you that you’re no good! And when things got hard, you started looking for something to blame, like a big shadow!”

Rocky

At the end of the day, they did help me.  I gained more experience and met a lot of people that I look up to. I felt like a diamond who had been looked over several times. There’s a saying that says that when it rains it pours, that can be in both a negative and positive manner. I’m a Trail blazer creating a new path for the generations behind me. I’m not perfect, I constantly make mistakes, the difference is that I don’t allow mistakes to define who I am. Mistakes serve me as the stepping stones that will lead me to the promise land.

I was never fed with a golden spoon, I’ve had to work hard to get where I am today and I’m still not content or satisfied. There’s always room for improvement and growth. I believe in God and thank him for the opportunity to enter this competitive field where many young men like myself also seek an a chance to show their talent. All you need is one person to believe in you and the rest is up to you. You have to be able to look beyond the horizon, visualize where you would like to go and surround yourself with people that won’t allow you to give up. If you measure success by the amount of money you have, you’re yet to find true success. Love what you do and do it well should be the motto.  Three years ago when I lost my job, experienced a bad break up and had huge family issues, I adopted what today is still my motivation phrase;  I WILL MAKE IT!

I see myself doing amazing things in sports journalism and I won’t stop until I get there. I’m conscious that not everyone will like me, or my style. Nevertheless, that doesn’t change my plan. My motivation has always been to inspires my ENTIRE FAMILY and close friends. I’m not famous nor am I rich. I’m still that boy from South Central who grew up with African Americans and Latinos dreaming of one day making it in life. The older I get, the more I’m able to grasp how lucky I am to be on this earth and to have friends, siblings who care about me. Most importantly a mother  who’s been my number one fan from day one.  The person who’s sacrificed her life in order for my siblings and I to have food in our table. I don’t write for the compliments. I write because a great teacher by the name of Mr. Edwards once taught me the importance of expressing our thoughts with words. 14 years later, that advice  still resonates in my head.

“if you’re going to  be successful, you have to be willing to give up sleep!! You have to be willing to work on 3 hours of sleep 2 hours. If you really want to be successful, some days you’re going to have to stay up 3 days in a row! Because if you go to sleep, you might miss the opportunity to be successful! That’s how bad you gotta want it! Don’t Quit! You’re already in pain, might as well get a reward!!!”

How bad do you want it? I want it bad. Some of you say you want it bad but not as bad as you want to party. Like a performing enhancing drug, people want the easy and fast way. It doesn’t work that way. If you’ve made it this far, you’re interested in my thoughts and I can only hope I’ve inspired you in a small way.

There’s always light at the end of the tunnel.

Moisés Linares

Will you be my Valentine?

To many, today you remember scars of love, new fires and passion that you’ve never felt before. The pinnacle of what you think love means.

It’s finally here (again) and perhaps you’ve made plans for a romantic dinner or a vacation with your love one. You might be part of those 1.6 billion dollars that are spent on this 14^th of February. The day of love for all the couples out there and a day of friendship for the rest of us who are not in committed relationships (LONERS).  Yet this day isn’t all smiles for many, a lot of you have shed more than one tear, have said goodbye to people who make you unhappy.  I’m sure a lot of men will get drunk out of their minds reminiscing on an old love and mistakes they’ve made, because on this day they’re alone. For more then 24 hours you will be reminded and surrounded by flowers, chocolate and wine. People kissing, hugging and buying cards all over the country.

Why is it that on Valentines most of our friends feel like they will never find love?  For some reason we’ve let media dictate the way we feel and when to feel it. Love doesn’t only exist or should be recognize on February the 14^th.  On the contrary it should only be the highlight of what Love means to you.  If you’re alone without a soul mate, it doesn’t mean you’ve failed.  Don’t kick yourself in the head because you don’t have a partner to share this commercialized day with.

Valentines has become the day when most people like to show off the love they actually don’t have. “My love and I are so happy together,” reads the post on every social media site they belong too. “I’m so happy and thankful for my babe he/she is the love of my life.”  They say that gentlemen no longer exist and that chivalry is dead, you know what’s really dying? LOVE. The way we see it, the way we perceive it and the amount of respect we give love has diminished at the speed of light.

We’ve stopped respecting love and decided to throw the words out there like they are that unimportant, “I love you, I love you, and I love you.”  Where have you left your dignity fellow men?  Men will throw those words out like dollar bills in a strip club in order to get what they want. Quite frankly dinner and wine will get many men lucky this valentine. That’s how a lot of you define love nowadays.

Yea, those days that many of our parents lived are no longer in existence. A lot of people confuse sex and love. They fall in love with sex and believe they’re in love when it actually doesn’t work that way. The numbers of poems and love quotes on this day is very high and ridiculous. But my women want to hear it, they want it whispered in their ear on this specific day in order to feel wanted and acknowledged.  You can bet your bottom dollar people will also break up tomorrow; it’s just the way this day goes.

Before you assume or jump the gun, I do believe in love. I believe you should dine and wine the ish out of your lady. I don’t believe it should be on this exact day, it should be every day of the year (or once a week).  You shouldn’t have to wait till the calendar strikes 14^th of February in order to tell that special someone how you truly feel. Or to remind someone what they mean to you. Now let’s not confuse casual dating and real love, doesn’t hurt to be nice but you must be able to tell the difference.  Are we asshoes?  No we’re not, at least I like to believe that men can still be saved, that we can rescue love and truly show women that somewhere inside there’s a wall blocking that stream of love that is waiting to flow like a wild river. A romantic side of us that not many women get to see but that is hidden inside of us.  We live and learn in order to move and take giants steps in life.  On this valentine day perhaps you should be grateful to be alive and able to take another breath of air. Valentines day has never define what your love life is or will be, is just another day in the calendar.  You my friend don’t need a commercialized day in order to acknowledge love.  If you’re no longer in a relationship, I’m sure you’ve heard that everything in this life happens for a reason.  Love yourself and love the people most important to you.

Take care and don’t forget:

” Mama said: You can’t hurry love,  no you’ll just have to wait, she said  love don’t come easy, it’s a game of give and take…….remixxxxxxxxxx  I’m….I’m so in love with you!! whatever you want to do…is alright with me! Because you make me feel so brand neeeeeew.”

An amazing woman

I must admit that it has been a good minute since anyone heard from me via Word Press or any blog site. Yet today I come out of hiatus to write about one of the most amazing persons I know.

Without a doubt the most influential human being in my life is my mother. I didn’t grow up admiring Superman, Batman or any super hero. Since I was a kid I knew who my hero was, my mother.  To tell you this story correctly, I have to travel back in time and tell you about her and the things her eyes have seen. She was around ten when her life changed drastically.

She was a child working in a mill on the wrong day at the wrong time. That day  she lost three fingers in her right hand, an accident that changed her life forever. To that, add living through a Civil War as a teenager. It was a war that forced most of my mother’s family to migrate to the United States. The same ways millions of others have traveled to the “The land of hopes an opportunity.” My mother always said she wanted to give her future children the best opportunity at life they could possibly have.

I can say that’s exactly what a lot of us have had. I call my mother’s generation “THE SACRIFICE GENERATION” because most of the people who migrated to the US during the 80’s in their late teens and early twenties, have worked hard. They’ve worked to give their immediate families better opportunities than the one’s they had. In a way they live vicariously through our accomplishments. I speak for all of those who share a similar experience to mine.

Like any person, I have my moments of weakness, where I feel the world is coming down on me. It’s in those precise moments where I stop and replay my mothers words, “anything is possible.” That’s the way I was raised, the way my mother has taught me to see this world. To love others even when they don’t deserve your love. I see the best in people through their flaws because I’m not perfect myself. My family says it’s one of the bonds my mother and I share.

That sweet side that exists inside of me, that person that loves music and is detailed to lyrics comes from her.  That nostalgic side very few women get to see is a reflection of my mother. To love unconditionally when you love and to go above and beyond to show you care, is a characteristic she passed on to me.

All my accomplishments have been dedicated to her, the woman who’s stood by my side since I was born. But our bond goes beyond that, I’ve seen her heart and our hearts have been in sync since she carried me in her womb.

“You can have a million fathers but you’ll only have one mother,” she would tell me all the time. She’s less that four feet tall but her heart and love reaches infinity. I’ve lived my life knowing that I represent more than my brain can picture. I’ve become the trailblazer in my family; I’m blazing my own path because it’s the only way to move forward. I’m finishing what my mother started. I could’ve been a gang member or a criminal but I chose to be the person that picked up the flag and ran with it during war. I’m a leader that won’t quit. I learn from my mistakes everyday and when I fall, I pick myself back up.

It’s an honor to represent my family and my roots wherever I go. Although I don’t do it for public recognition, I do it in order for people to see that we can do anything in this life, why? Because the journey never ends, we keep learning and setting the bar higher. I’m 3000 miles away from home today. When I get lonely, I pause for a second and try to feel what my mother felt when she left her country to give me this shot. For me to live this exact moment that I’m living right now. All of that sacrifice was for me to grab the bull by the horns today. My appetite for success is fueled by a quest that began almost 30 years ago.

If you’ve read this far, now you can start understanding where my drive comes from. I won’t drop the flag, I’ll see through this war and on the way I will help as many as I can.  I know that some of my friends didn’t have the fortune of growing up with a mother; to them I say, “You’re brave, you’re courageous and your determination to overcome is not unnoticed.”  Happy birthday mom, I can only strive to be a better son and a better leader when leadership is required. In a way, I also hope that many of you reading this understand the importance of your actions, you my friends, also represent something and someone. Make sure you’re making those sacrifices count.

Thank you for reading and like always, this is Everyday life with Mo, stay tuned.

Get out the friend zone

Get out the friend zone

“You either go for it or you don’t but once you’re in the friend zone is over for life,” said a friend. Is it really over? Is there a way to get out of the friend zone? Coming from a guy, once you enter that “Do not enter “ zone, things can become complicated. If you ask me, having a high number of female friends is great. The problem is having interest in one of those friends who probably is oblivious to the way you feel. Perhaps she knows, therefore she decides to put you in the friend zone to put things in perspective.

What guy hasn’t been placed in the friend zone? I have, plenty of times even when you’re not interested. A self defense mechanism that says “I just want to be friends.” What is a guy to do? Well get the heck out of there. How? First you have to realize if you’re in the zone to begin with. This is completely my opinion; it has no scientific backing of any sort.  Do you like a friend but she has placed you in the zone? To begin with, grab your testicles and tell her how you feel, tell her you like her. You lose more by keeping it inside. I know it’s easier said than done.

I have a friend who is too damn nice, can’t close deals even when the “Sign here” is more visible than the Washington Monument. If you can’t take a chance than perhaps you don’t deserve to even be considered, I know it sounds mean and cruel but by now you should know that you can’t be too nice. That 1800’s attitude doesn’t exist anymore. You can carry the values but you need to adapt to the way we live nowadays, you need to find your blend.

How do I know? Well I’ve been rejected and placed on the friend zone plenty of times but I don’t like imagining “what if.” For that specific reason, I take chances and when things don’t work out, I learn, I adapt and I brush it off. Has she ever told you, “You’re such a great friend.” Repeatedly calls you friend?  Most likely you’re on the friend zone.  I had someone say that to me, therefore I had to make it clear, “Yes I’m a great friend but you should know I like you and even though it doesn’t change things, I’m interested in pursuing you.” Simple as that, I set her straight and she got the point, sometimes a little aggressiveness helps the cause.

My fellow men, stop being afraid of getting rejected, you think women love a weak link that doesn’t go after what he wants? No they do not, no one likes a scared Chihuahua. If you get rejected learn how to take a loss.

 

Friend Zone remarks:

 

You’re such a great friend

Aww friend you’re the best.

Ask for men advice

Always to busy to go out alone with you

Only goes out with you in a group

Constantly says you’re a friend

Say’s she’s not looking but goes out with other guys

 

If a woman is asking you for man advice, simply change the topic or say you don’t know but don’t become a personal counselor. When you invite her out, throw the word “date” out to let her know this is not “friend business.” Let her know you mean real deal. Now, don’t lose your gentleman stature, always be cordial and polite. Most importantly if she keeps turning you down you should definitely be honest before any possibility is out the door. The best relationships start with a friendship and if you’re serious, you won’t lose.

You might think that being there for every need is helping, it’s really not. If you’re a man who is in the zone trying to get out you need to become less available in order to send a message. You’re not one of the girlfriends, make that clear, I repeat, you’re not one of the girlfriends.

 

Now pay attention, don’t ruin a friendship because you’re a horn dog who can’t keep it in your pants. If you decide to go for it, remember why you’re doing it, because you really see yourself being serious.  Repeat it, “I really see myself with this girl.” Men have a tendency to simply try to fetch a piece of meat for sexual desire and that’s when things go south. Ask yourself how serious you are and what do you really want out of the situation. Going after casual sex and pursuing someone are two different things that are not meant to be confused.

Can you get out the friend zone? Remember this, you’re in that zone because you have chosen to be there in the first place. The moment you decide to go after what you want, things can be different. What women don’t know is this; we sometimes choose to be in the zone because they have other women around them that might interest us. Albeit we can appreciate a great friendship and women advice for that reason we don’t burn bridges. If she puts you in the zone, put her in the zone as well, she probably has a friend more adequate for yourself. If she acts conceited, than carry yourself with poise because it says a lot about you, a little dosage of her own medicine. I can sit here and tell you a million things, but until you open your mouth and say what you feel, things won’t change.

Like I said earlier, this is only my opinion. I was gone but I’m back and ready to make this interesting once again. Everyday life with Mo. 

Bring it back

Should we bring it back?

The lie women love to hear

Okay, I’m back because I’ve been gone too long that I started to miss this blog. I’ve been so caught up with life that I lost track of some of the things that matter most to me, writing being one of them. To be completely honest, I felt unmotivated for a while due to the fact that people are too lazy to even read anymore. Well my friends, I’ve found new ways to push this blog and they seem to work. I would like to talk about something that I’ve noticed trending amongst my female friends for a while. I call it, “The biggest lie woman love.”

Before I proceed, I would like to make one thing clear; I’m not talking about every woman, just a large percentage of them. I’ve categorized many of my female friends into three categories; the teen that’s in love, the wild girl in her twenties and the desperate woman approaching or in her 30’s.

It’s unfortunate to admit that relationships have lost value in recent decades. Yet women are in love with the title that states they’re in a relationship. Somewhere along the lines someone told them that once they obtained that title, all their problems and concerns would be solved.

Take it from a man when I tell you this is not true, it’s false, it’s a lie and it most definitely doesn’t mean you’re save from being disappointed. There’s a few things women love to hear even if they might not be true, “I love you.” Saying those three magical words creates this atmosphere that makes you believe you’re in a fairyland. But love doesn’t grow on trees over night; you need a foundation to even consider being in love.

Isn’t a foundation what most of these relationships are missing? I see new couples saying it within weeks, or a couple of months. I ask all my close friends and myself how can you even say you’re in love without even knowing a person. How can you be in love with someone you’ve never seen at his or her worse? I’ve never understood how people can go from relationship to relationship saying “I love you” like it’s that simple.

The truth is that women want to hear it and a large amount of men are willing to say it in order to get what they want. Men want to get in your pants and you don’t want to seem easy. Therefore a lot of women make their selves believe that if they have a title, it’s okay.

“Nothing is going to happen if we’re not in a relationship,” she said. Well, men thought of a better idea. Why not lie to them and make them believe a lie to make it that much easier. “Okay, you want a relationship? You’re now my girlfriend and within now and six months, I’m going to get rid of you.”

Some relationships are worth having right? To some women the title is more important than a solid foundation. Even when the relationship is completely garbage, they want to be able to tell the world, “That’s my man right there.”

If you’re mouth is open, I suggest you close it. This is the reality many women are oblivious too. I reiterate that this is not true in all cases, but if you pay attention, you will notice that I’m telling you the truth. This is the lie that many women like to believe and love to hear as harsh as it might sound. How do I know this? Well I’ve seen it around me a lot, I know guys that do it often. We’ve been through this before, you say all men, I reply not true. This is indeed the case when you force the issue, when you want to make someone property by force.

The teen in love is a girl learning about love, we’ll know that girl who was madly in love when she was in high school. She wrote all over her locker and binder. She had pictures of her boyfriend all over the place; it was kind of sickening at times. Despite of my opinion, it was her first love experience. A naïve girl who probably didn’t know that all things don’t last forever and in most cases has an imminent end.

This same girl got to her 20’s and decided to be young and wild, I call this girl the party animal that goes to Vegas every few weeks because she can. The last thing on her mind is a relationship. In her early 20’s all she wants to do is party without much care and pretty reckless. “Oh, he’s so cute,” says the sloppy drunk being carried out, barfing all over her dress as she stumbles outside of the club.

When her 20’s come to an end she starts to notice that everyone around her is getting married therefore she panics. She also wants to get married, wants to have a kid, starts to suffocate any man that enters her life. In her mind time is ticking, she’s getting old and the clock is running. All of this didn’t matter when she was younger and in the club scene. She wants a relationship; she wants the title, now she says she doesn’t want to play any more games because she’s not a kid anymore. Her smart friends chose relationships instead of the nightclubs.

Well, we can argue that this is true for a large amount of women out there. Each experience is different and every woman has a different story, but the one I’m telling you seems to be trending with my generation. “Use me as long as I can call you my boyfriend in order to avoid being judge by my girlfriends.” It basically tells us men, I rather be in a fake three-month relationship than in a dating stage where we’re getting to know each other. By no means does dating mean to sleep with anyone, that’s a decision you have to make yourself.

I personally don’t believe in jumping from relationship to relationship, I believe in being honest and upfront. Let the other person know what your plans and goals are from the beginning. Sometimes it might be the best thing to do, in other cases it might be the worse because living a lie might be more sufficient at the time. Am I lying? This is the lie most women love to hear.

Thank you for reading now share it on your favorite social media site.

Picture credit: Google.com

The hopeless romantic syndrome

If you haven’t noticed, I’ve been missing for a few weeks. Not by personal choice if you’re truly wondering. The feeling of being computer less is like walking naked in public, you can feel something is missing, (clothes in that case.) My fingers have been aching to touch a real keyboard, one that is not touch screen or on my phone. I love, love, love to stay in touch with the outer world. I couldn’t live without all of you who follow my blogs. Okay, maybe I’m taking it a step too far with all the sentimental expressions.

Have you ever asked yourself what a hopeless romantic is? Are you a hopeless romantic? You know, the type of person who is in love with being in love. Yes, I’m sure you have plenty of those friends. Nowadays there’s no way to hide from them, they pollute your social news feed every day. Well, at least they believe they’re hopeless romantics.

Many people argue that being a hopeless romantic is the equivalent of believing in chivalry. For some is a notion that no longer exist, for others is simply something you truly have to search hard and long for. Let’s be real here, the hopeless romantics these days have turned out to be a bunch of phonies. They claim to live a hopeless romantic lifestyle but their actions demonstrate quite the opposite.

If you’re wondering, yes I’m talking about the one’s that say and live different lifestyles on the weekends. This is indeed for all of them. The reality is that most alleged hopeless romantics are women; therefore I must be speaking of them in a grand majority.

Is very easy to alter an image with the words that best describe the person you are trying to portray. I’ve personally never considered a person that jumps from relationship to relationship a hopeless romantic. Quite the contrary, these type of persons are the ones I consider needy, the same one’s that need someone to validate their existence.

You think of a hopeless romantic and you think of a chick flick, the movies that always have a character that best fits the profile. It personally reminds me of a friend that actually reads my blog, one that fell in love across the world because she was tired of dealing with the unmannered, douche bags we have in the United States.  This friend fell in love in Europe out of all places in the world. She did the traveling thing every few weeks. Unfortunately her love story was cut short, it was one of those loves that couldn’t be. Although my intention is not to get into her story, it’s the actions that bring up the comparison.

The term hopeless romantic has numerous definitions, to be in love with being in love all the way to believing in fairy tales.  Love can strike at any given time (so they say) and for my good friend it just happened to be across the world. When I listen to her describe the emotions she feels by simply reminiscing on the memories, I can picture what a hopeless romantic might really be.

On the contrary of other people I see changing relationships every few months. “I’m in love with him, he’s the best.” That only last a few months while there’s a change and it’s a different person they’re talking about. “I’ve searched for you my entire life, thank God you finally came.” Yes, I personally think those are the people who are a little confused.

How can you claim to love someone you hardly know anything about? How can you say you love someone when you haven’t seen him or her at his or her worse? Yet again as long as some people get everything they’re looking for, it might not matter. Superficial love is the new hopeless romantic.  Well that can be argue in most cases, love seems to have lost valued the past couple of decades. It has become extremely easy to say, “ I love you.” Once upon a time the desire to be in love was at its peak, today all you need is a month or two in order to say you’ve found your prince charming.

If that doesn’t cut it, you now have a new generation of women who claim to be hopeless romantics but are in relationships with douche bags or machistas. Indeed this group of woman is hopeless, but not romantic in case you’re wondering. We can see that this group is hopelessly stupid. Every woman does have a prince charming, one that will treat her right, but is not one that you can fabricate. To be a hopeless romantic might mean many things nowadays, it should also include being a little smarter.

We all want to find that person that completes us or compliments our lives. We want that person that makes us feel like our search for a soul mate has ended. With that said, this doesn’t mean we have to fall in love with every person that comes in to our present. Who made that rule up? Shouldn’t a man earn your love before you hand it out like a lollipop? Well at least that’s my opinion and everyone is entitles to do and act as they please. In other words, “Follow your heart.” If you like to be disappointed often, than perhaps you’re taking all the right steps.

This is what I postulate; we’ll have a little hopeless romantic in us. Others simply believe that they know what love is when in fact they have no idea.  Most people that claim to be hopeless romantics on a daily basis are seeking attention. They’re extremely repugnant.  Despite all that, I can respect the courage it takes to pretend they know and understand what they preach to the world. If you guys open your eyes you will start to notice these people who declare their one-month love to the universe.

Nice to see all you guys once again!!! Feel free to share this blog on your favorite social media site.