My Attitude Determines My Altitude
My Attitude Is Still Getting Me Altitude!
The Autobiographical Philosophy is the love of telling your own story!
In 1971 Schlitz Beer commercials on my B&W TV depicted adventurous men diving for gold, sailing the 7 seas. This was the spark that ignited my philosophy of living boldly.
Go for the gusto! ... you only go around once in life
This simple beer commercial became a foundational philosophy. It taught me that life is precious and fleeting, and we must seize every opportunity for adventure and fulfillment.
The earth school kills all of its students. Life is like rowing out to sea in a boat that has a hole in the bottom. Success without fulfillment is failure.
This harsh reality check became my wake-up call. Go for the gusto: Have as much joy and fun and fulfillment. Yet doing the right thing at the wrong time equals pain - I would recommend that everyone who wanted to travel, do it immediately. Sooner rather than later. Gather no moss.
The digital convergence and celestial jukeboxes (Cell Phones, TV's, Computer Screens) are the soundtrack and sound bytes of our lives - But the content is somebody else's point of view. What is deeply personal is universal yet what gives our lives meaning and gravitas is our own Autobiography. Telling our own story is not something that we're taught how to do. If we learn how to mine our own experience, we can find answers to the great questions of life.
The universe keeps a perfect set of books.
We are unique just like everybody else - There is above all, the uniqueness of our own story. That's what gives us the sense of inhabiting our own lives. I think that the majority of people never get inside their own lives. That is the difference between living mythically (The American Dream) and living autobiographically (The YOUniverse) where your wishbone becomes your backbone.
That is what we are supposed to do when we are at our best – make it all up – but make it up so truly that later it will happen
Hemingway understood the power of authentic storytelling. Our imagination, when grounded in truth and experience, becomes prophetic.
We are all living holograms, and can find answers to the deep questions of life simply by telling our own stories.
Our lives are shaped — and occasionally misshaped — by the stories we tell about ourselves. The Autobiographical Philosophy is the love of telling your own story! I have been using my travels as a kind of mirror, a hologram of the age I am living in. The American psyche has always been based on glorifying the individual, but for the past few years it's been more about finding a community of people I belong with, discovering my connections with all life—human or otherwise!
Love is never about perfection.
In my years circling the globe, I've met countless people—some breathtakingly beautiful, others profoundly broken—and learned that no one is perfect. But love? It's not about ticking off a checklist. It's about learning to see the imperfect soul across from you with clarity, not fantasy. The real magic happens when you stop needing flawless and start recognizing real.
The order of your questions determines the direction of your life.
When I asked "Where am I going?" before I asked, "Who's coming with me?", I found myself alone, successful, and strangely empty. But when I flipped it—when I asked, "Who do I want in the room?"—everything changed. My travels got deeper. My love with Sarah got richer. You can course-correct a plan. But pick the wrong companion? That detour costs years.
Burnout isn't failure—it's feedback.
I've hit that wall on a cruise ship in the South Pacific, mid-sentence on stage in Dubai, and during rehearsals in Oslo. Burnout doesn't mean you're weak—it means your soul has exited the building. You're doing the moves, but your muse is AWOL. That's the moment to pause, not push.
If you don't belong with, you'll start belonging to.
I've taught English in war zones and danced in palaces, and I've seen it everywhere: when love is withheld, we start stockpiling—money, control, attention, addictions. The more we miss being held, the tighter we hold on. True love isn't ownership. It's welcome. It's safety. It's enough.
Nice won't move mountains.
A well-lived life demands fire—not just politeness. I've met kind warriors and ferocious empaths. Being "nice" might earn applause, but only truth wins hearts. If you're here to play small and keep quiet, life will reward you with mediocrity. I'm not here for that.
One part of love is surrender. The other part is strength.
Loving Sarah isn't always sunshine. It's showing up when the storm clouds roll in. It's finding new ways to open your heart to the same person—even when you're tired, annoyed, or just out of words. Anyone can fall in love. Few can stay in love.
Freedom starts inside.
I've crossed borders most people never will—but the most significant one? The border between who I was pretending to be and who I actually am. The exit visa from performance to presence.
Don't trade your soul for a salary.
A paycheck doesn't equal purpose. I've worked jobs that paid well but left me empty—and gigs that paid little but made me come alive. We're not just here to pay bills. We're here to make meaning.
We grow word by word, story by story.
I've built my world through stories—mine, and those I've been lucky enough to hear. Stories are how we make sense of chaos. How we connect the dots. How we create home.
Time isn't just clocks—it's cadence.
In the Arctic, I learned the difference between schedule and season. Some things ripen only in kairos time—in stillness, in rhythm, in readiness. Not when the clock says now.
To love well is to keep arriving.
Love isn't one decision—it's a thousand little ones. Some days you say yes. Some days you say not yet. Some days you walk away, only to return wiser. In love, we're always marrying and divorcing, in motion, becoming.
I'm not a Starfleet commander, or T. J. Hooker. I don't live on Starship NCC-170... or own a phaser. I don't know anybody named Bones, Sulu, or Spock, but I am boldly going nowhere now HERE fast.