It's 9AM
I wrote this for you today: Give it a click and get some good vibes going.
I wish we could steal the best parts of other cities and cobble them together for our own.
I’m a big fan of CYPRESS WATERS in Dallas.
A big collection of MIXED USE buildings surrounding a lake. A boardwalk play area with an amphitheater backs up to the water with an array of restaurants for dining, drinking and general merriment.
There are oversized games of chess, ping pong and art areas for the kids, and seating for adults, plus open green spaces for play, picnic or just daydreaming.
Why can’t we do that in Arkansas?
The River Market is close to it.
This downtown Little Rock space has the restaurants, the amphitheater, the open green spaces, plus water views on the Arkansas river and the North Little Rock skyline.
Except all the restaurants front busy Clinton Avenue and the annoying caravans that cruise up and down.
Only one faces the water and the open deck sits in the parking lot next to a giant dumpster on one side, and Cantrell Road on the other.
The restaurant game is tough and bringing people to downtown Little Rock is even tougher, especially when there are so many dining options available in the much newer, cleaner and nicer West Little Rock communities, and Conway, and Benton/Bryant.
All of which look like they were picked up from Dallas or any other city in the world and plopped into a strip mall bordering the Interstate.
What are the options then?
I could keep complaining about it.
All the while, people in Dallas and other cities are building and growing and making their cities better.
Or I could start asking around, talking, planning and making it happen when and where I want.
I suppose the question becomes…
Who the hell does this guy think he is?
This may be a question most of us get asked when we try to play outside “our lane.”
I know I’ve been questioned when I talk about real estate development.
After all, I write zombie books.
Or alien books, depending on who you ask.
What could a “writer” possibly know about developing culture and community through smart mixed use real estate development?
It doesn’t matter that I’ve spearheaded over two dozen large scale projects that resulted in millions of dollars in revenue navigating the complex world of the Department of Defense and the Department of Education.
I don’t “know” real estate.
What do you do when you run up against old school “know” versus new school “I can do?”
How do you overcome the “You can’t do that?”
Part of grit is putting your head down and busting through walls.
Except in a complicated and complex network of old school connections, acting like a bull in a tea shop isn’t the best way to make and keep friends.
I suppose I could write about it for the paper. Write a letter to the Mayor and city councils. Write to the developers and owners and anyone who will read to make it happen.
I tried that with the old Mayor of Pine Bluff regarding their downtown redevelopment. I shared over two dozen ideas, some of which were implemented.
Not necessarily because of me, but because they were just good ideas, lifted from other spaces where I’ve seen them work.
Someone suggested I take the ideas, write them down, and start to make them happen for the businesses I want to develop these concepts.
A de facto working relationship where I do free stuff for them to get the ball rolling, and they carry it across the goal line.
For someone who doesn’t care about credit, this is a great way to get something done, gain attention and to build relationships.
How would you feel about someone who did thousands of dollars of marketing and development concept work for you for free and asked for nothing in return?
Maybe it’s not enough to notice what could be better and complain about why it’s not.
Maybe it’s time to roll up the proverbial sleeves and start acting on some of the concepts and value I preach about all the time.
Hard work. Tenacity. Innovation.
Grit. Determination. The Will to Make It Happen.
All of those look great on a tee shirt, and sound great when talking.
But when it’s time for the heavy lifting, are you willing to put in the effort?
Am I?
All I wanted was a place to sit and drink a beer and feel the breeze off the water, sharing laughs with friends and watching the kids play together.
What I got was an idea, a pebble in my shoe thought and a moment of clarity.
Stop complaining. Start doing.
It’s how I ran marathons. It’s how I ran ultra races. How I wrote over fifty books. How I built and sold businesses before. How I found you.
The world is full of critics.
It’s time to stop criticizing and start doing.
There is a memory worth making on the other side.
I wrote this in 90 something and had two plans; one, pitch it like a BASIC INSTINCT type vibe with a less murder-y edge, or two: get a video camera and film it myself.
It was Suspense Thriller with romantical elements- ALL IS FAIR.
It made the rounds, but no one bit.
Then it went into a drawer and I kept writing. GULFSHORE. NATURAL STATES. BIZARRE LOVE TRIANGLE.
A whole series of stories with romance elements.
Maybe I was in an era.
Or horny.
But thoughts of romance and lust were pushed aside as I pursued other stories.
Zombies. Alien invasions. Spies.
I did put the scripts up on AMAZON at one point and people liked them, but outside of industry insiders, who wants to read a script?
So I reworked the plan. Turn them into novels.
Romance is the biggest genre and with the most voracious readers.
But my to do is long, as you know, and reworking from script to novel while doing all the other things, takes time.
Still, I got one done. ALL IS FAIR.
The others are coming. And since by way of zombies, aliens, spies and wizards, this might not be for you…
BUT
It’s FREE for You today if you wanna pick it up.
IF you prefer smart asses trying to survive the impossible;
Grab CHAOS Z - FREE
Wilde Plans – Chaos Z is FREE TOO
AND
Deadly Scoop - a Shadowboxer File action thriller
Neon Star - a sci fi action adventure
100 AUDIOBOOKS YOU CAN LISTEN TO FOR FREE
GO GIVE ME A FOLLOW ON FACEBOOK
ALSO
I don’t know when I fell for the banjo. I’ve always loved guitar, thanks to my rock and roll songwriting Dad, but somewhere once, I heard a banjo picking out Tom Petty and Eric Clapton and…
I was hooked.
If you like music, take a listen to this 26 seconds of rock and roll banjo deliciousness and tell me what you think: