From Football Legend Permian -- to Starting Over in Plainview. American Re-invention

I am pleased to say that my partner's son-in-law has accepted a job as coach at Plainview High School after coaching at Odessa Permian. How ironic since i went to Plainview High for a year in 1967 - the year I also started pilot training at their little airport.

Once again it shows how re-invention is an inescapable element of life that keeps us from being defeated when a door closes. Another one opens. Odessa had a huge upheaval - they got rid of most of the coaches. Then the new guys showed up and treated the kids like dirt - yelling at them and telling them they "aren't any good." Definitely "Theory X" coaching that  Captain Blight would approve of and will probably result in the team having a losing season.

My partner's son-in-law lost his job but didn't miss a beat. He got a great offer in the oilfield but snapped a ligament (I think) while trying to lift a heavy barrel.  They really liked him but I think that the dullness of going into the oilfields and doing the same thing every day wasn't his cup of tea. His wife said that "he just stopped talking."  hey, there's more to life than a paycheck.

Then Plainview came along and made a great offer -- and he took it on Sunday. So in his 40's they are moving three kids to start a new career in a town of 22,000. It was the same size when i lived there in the 60's!

I wonder if it still has the "McDonald's Trading Post" my friends dad owned when I lived there? It was a treasure trove for boys like us. Pete had a three wheel scooter and freaked me out once when he drove it on the runway in the dark. But back then, the chances of a plane landing at night were pretty slim. We actually became licensed pilots soon after I left. It's a great skill to have.

ALL of us have to reinvent ourselves, like David has - and I have. I had to do it often - as recently as starting a brand new business when I was 57 - which has grown 500% during the worst economy in 70 years. I founded it in 2007 just before the 2008 collapse. It was the right thing at the right time.

If you want to see how life can spin you into a black hole and still come out of it to grow and thrive, check out "Better Times Ahead April Fool." I can't tell David's story, but I can share mine.

The best days are ahead of us even when we don't know it....It's all about re-invention and never giving up. I know David will do GREAT at the new job. You have to love what you do or it won't work...