Ain't Nobody Really Happy at the Bottom...Except Catfish: How to Learn and Leverage the ABCs of Human Achievement in Your Daily Life

By J.W. Neal

In “Ain’t Nobody Really Happy at the Bottom...Except Catfish", author J.W. Neal helps the reader navigate out of the murky waters of mediocrity so prevalent in today’s “settle for” mentality.  
 
Acknowledging that we all face temporary set-backs and perceived failures in life the author e

• Language: English
• Publisher: Author Academy Elite
• Release date: Feb 17, 2017
• ISBN: 9781946114457

Book preview

Section One: Attitude

CHAPTER 1

The Gigantic Reach of Attitude

Attitude is Everything: The Anvil of Life

Ability is what you are capable of doing.

Motivation determines what you do.

Attitude determines how well you do it.

LOU HOLTZ

Our attitudes control our lives. Attitudes are a secret power working twenty-four hours a day, for good or bad. It is of paramount importance that we know how to harness and control this great force."

TOM BLANDI

The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind."

WILLIAM JAMES

Ain’t Nobody Really Happy on the Bottom, is not an ivory tower exposé of success, or what the author might deem as success; but rather, a lifelong struggle hammered out on the anvil of life, shaped and molded by the fire and water of the blacksmith of experience. It has been formed by the continual thumping of the powerful hammer of Father Time, and cooled often in the waters of disappointment and discouragement. It has at its core a flaming desire to see others willingly submit to their Loving Designer by allowing themselves to be formed, molded, and shaped into the very best individual possible.

Living is in the constant stage of change. It can be molten hot, fueled by the fire of excitement and cast into various shapes fit for the situation; and yet, it can also seem cold and stagnant just sitting on the floor of life, devoid of the fire of excitement, and languishing in despair and disappointment.

At times, it does not seem to matter what is said and done, and yet everything turns into the proverbial gold. While at other times—though the effort spent is just as sincere and as full—the seasons of life bring nothing but discouragement and pain. Nothing we do or say seems to pan out according to plan.

This volume will show these experiences to be different sides of the same coin. By reading these pages, you will be led and challenged to grab life with both hands and squeeze from it all the nectar that life has to offer. In doing so, you’ll begin to live a life that is fulfilling, whether on the exhilaration of a mountain peak or in the dry regions of the valley, or even at any point in between.

My constant struggle in adult life has been to discover and understand those immutable, enduring, and often illusive laws of human achievement. They appear both to be complex and yet ever so simple. Just when you think you finally understand them, they are present but for a fleeting moment, vanishing as quickly as one’s breathe on a crisp winter’s morning.

What is it that causes these illusive laws to come into one’s life and work so effortlessly and perfectly for a season but then vanish so quickly? Why does it seem so difficult to make them a permanent fixture in our lives? Maybe the better question would be: How do we become the type of person that can adequately house their eternal values?

In today’s hurry-up society, we find ourselves continually looking for the ultimate formula or the miracle pill that will solve this apparently unsolvable equation. Many who have read books on this subject will never have had to wait for popcorn to pop in a big cast iron skillet on a stove; they will have only experienced it in front of the microwave, wondering how two-and-a-half minutes could take so long. These same individuals are those who have been bombarded by late night infomercials ranging from how to lose 30 pounds in 30 days to becoming a millionaire overnight and with no money down!!

Do it now!! Do it Quick!! It seems to be the battle cry of most people today; gone are the quiet hours of meditation and introspection. Tossed to the curb are the long evenings of visiting with neighbors, friends, and family that once served as the catalyst for developing ideas and dreams. Today, those times are replaced by the hustle and bustle of daily living—done at such a frantic pace that in days gone by were only reserved for the holiday seasons.

The modern conveniences of today, meant to free up time so we can enjoy more of it with our families and friends, have simply served to free up more time to get busier doing, going places, and joining. Really in many instances that going, doing, and joining ends up as useless and meaningless tasks of additional busyness.

I have read literally thousands of pages, listened to endless hours of cassette tapes and now CDs (and even vinyl records, and reel to reel tapes), and am now thoroughly convinced that NO NEW FORMULA IS FORTHCOMING. I have come to believe that the secret is wrapped up in one phrase that was written many hundreds, if not thousands, of years ago. A very rich and wise man—as a matter of fact, the richest man of his time—wrote this dusty old formula, which cannot be improved upon, only acted upon by all who would dare to ponder its relevance or be willing to plumb its depths.

For as he thinks in his heart, so is he (she)… (Proverbs 23:7 New King James Version)

I can almost hear the backlash: No, it cannot be that simple! The secret to human achievement must be more complex than this tiny, yet profound principle. Before you shrug this off as a Kindergarten answer to a Doctoral question, allow me to challenge you to take some time studying and meditating on this concept. Take a moment or two, or an hour or two, or maybe even a day or two before passing judgment. The Book of Proverbs was written for the sole purpose to help any who will read its words: To know instruction, to perceive the words of wisdom, justice, judgment and equity; to give prudence to the simple, to the young men knowledge and discretion. A wise man will hear and increase learning, and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel, to understand a proverb and an enigma, the words of the wise and their riddles. Proverbs 1: 2-6

The intention here is not to turn the reader into a Bible student nor is it to convert anyone into any particular belief system. It is simply to share nuggets of truth wherever they may be found, and to encourage, exhort, and even coax the reader into searching for the realities of human achievement in any storehouse in which they can be found. The truths are there for all who pursue, yearn, and dig for them. Like any hidden treasure the seeker must be willing to use any keys needed to unlock the rusty locks to the doorways of the dusty dungeons of old thoughts, failures and patterns, and release within them the bright rays of a brand new day.

Enough said; it is now time to embark on the journey of understanding what it means when it was written as a man thinks…, remembering the old Chinese proverb: the journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.

Attitudes are Everywhere: You have one…make sure it is a good one!

Eagles come in all shapes and sizes, but you will recognize them chiefly by their attitudes.

CHARLES PRESTWICH SCOTT

A great attitude does much more than turn on the lights in our worlds; it seems to magically connect us to all sorts of serendipitous opportunities that were somehow absent before the change.

EARL NIGHTINGALE

Ain’t Nobody Really Happy at the Bottom was written in an attempt to help equip the reader to employ the concepts to each and every arena of their lives. All the principles are totally transferable to any area of life whether they be physical, mental, moral, financial, spiritual, or business.

I have spent the better part of four decades researching the key principles of human achievement, and have been molded and sharpened by many men and women in every walk of life imaginable. Many were just everyday people who went about the daily tasks of life with so much enthusiasm, gusto, and purpose that they made a tremendous impact on me, living out these principles without ever knowing they were being observed.

One such example was an old black man from Athens, GA, who was known by the nickname Squabbie. Squabbie was an equipment man for the University of Georgia athletic teams. He had been there for over 30 years when I arrived in the fall of 1969. I was fresh out of military service, with a wife and two children, and filled with the dream of playing professional basketball. This dream virtually consumed every waking moment of my very existence.

It was at this time that I met Squabbie. I had a growing family, was enrolled in a full academic work-load and was participating in a Division I inter-collegiate sport. To say the least, my life was full indeed, despite its share of challenges. I cannot count the number of times that a kind word of encouragement from this ever positive and upbeat servant of boys and men, literally gave me the strength to carry on through another