Wednesday, February 15, 2023

A Season of Building

 Hello there. It's me again. It's been a while, a very long while, since I've blogged.

When you last heard from me, I think I was working in baseball, had passion projects in writing and speaking, and lived in East Village San Diego. Well, I left baseball in 2015, have published ten books now, spoken all over the country, but still reside in East Village, albeit having moved twice within my building. More on that later.

Since it's early in 2023, I'll catch you up on the most recent happenings. A couple things have not gone my way recently. So my buddy Sam from Local Church SD - the best thing in my life - noted that I have been both working out hard and assembling my new studio to be great for work and play. "You, my friend," he said a few days ago, "are in a season of building."

This was appropriate because a month ago I was in an elementary school in LA, as part of a two-day tour speaking on disability and kindness. At that point the main highlight was rushing through lunch at an Armenian joint in Glendale on a slanted floor and forgetting my third talk of the day was at 1:15. We arrived at 1:30 because of my forgetting the schedule. My bad.

After an hour of showing how my arms work, plus preaching the importance of kindness and inclusion, a kid finished the assembly by asking in a squeaky voice, "Mr. Alex, what are your dreams and goals now?"

And you know what? I didn't have an answer. I muttered something about growing my business and that I wasn't married yet but to tell their big sisters and single moms I was accepting resumes. Then a little girl came up afterward and asked for an autograph. She had no paper or pen so I tore a corner off my notecard and signed it.

Then two weeks later I was in Escondido, CA amid a torrential downpour and spoke to kids again. Another one asked, "What is your dream now?" And you know what? Again I had no answer.

So we're using this as a starting point. We're going to build for short-term and long. In addition to building up my body, which is also a matter of losing weight, I aspire to:

- Grow A-MOtivational Communications

- Grow the Alex Montoya Foundation

- Turn our story into more books and a movie

- Get married. Start a family.

- Own a home.

- Change the world

But I know all of this has  to come within God's will and put Him first. As the song Make Room for You goes: Your way / is / betteerrrrr. 

Which reminds me. I moved to East Village in 2014, shortly after Mom was diagnosed with dementia. When I looked at possible apartments, I found one that was tiny but had a gleaming view of majestic downtown. I wanted it so bad. But it was way too expensive.

Fast forward to my new crib I just moved into, thanks to many friends, on Feb. 4. It's ideal as a home and work space. AND has a glorious view of the city, waterfront, and Coronado Bay Bridge. For much cheaper than that original unit. I guess God had something better for me in store.

Keep Building.