what did you just say to me?....that's what i thought!!!

....what my brother's would say to me when I was a 1/5 their size. Getting beat-up hurt a lot.

I remember we would pretend that we were in the WWF (I know, I know, we were young, give me a break), and I always wanted to be Andre the Giant. Remember that guy?? He was a freak. Of course Chris was Hulk Hogan, Pete was Jake the Snake Robertson, and I think Matt was Razor Ramon....and then me, Andre the Giant....the littlest guy in the group, picking the biggest guy in the WWF. That's right! So, we would create-a-makeshift ring, and proceed to get my ass kicked....from the top-rope, to close-lines, kicks, chest slaps, etc., etc. Me to one of my brother, "I hate you guys, and I am going to beat you up now!" Yea, ok. Them to me, "What did you just say to me?...that's what I thought!!!"

Fast-forward to junior high. We all thought we could kick some serious ass, and we just moved from Chicago to Massachusetts, so we totally thought we were the big men on campus. My brothers used to invite their friends over, and we would have boxing matches anywhere we could...basement, front-yard, garage, driveway...you name it, punches were being thrown. Again, my ass would get kicked whenever I was to fight my brothers, but something interesting happened when I boxed their friends...I was beating them! I don't know how, but I was kicking some serious ass! They would always be in the background saying "go Dave, go, go, go!!!" literally cheering me on to beat their friends up....and I did....it honestly got to the point where I would say to them, "what did you say to me?...that's what I thought!!!" I was so cool!

If you saw me today, you'd probably say, "I think I can kick Dave's ass.." as I'm reminded how frail I look from the tri-athlon training Jenna and I did, and whatever other madness, or flavor of the month training I put myself through....but I'll tell you right now...it would never happen, at least not with some damage.

My brothers gave me a gift looking back on those days...the gift of never quitting, but more importantly, toughness. But not from the standpoint of beating people up (I never felt good about beating their friends up), but from the standpoint of never giving in. Follow me with that......it's not about beating people up, but rather about not giving in...some can call this a 'chip'....I call it 'necessary'.....and especially right now (as you can see, I'm in the heart of Level 2!! See previous post).


I was reading an article today that said that people between the ages of 21-35 are considered the lost generation. That includes me, and probably a lot of you too.....that pissed me off so much...but is it wrong? Does it piss you off? You see, many people believe what their told...they give in, they accept. Here's a few responses I'm sure have come up, probably even today, "The economy sucks," "My job sucks" "I'm told I suck" "Suckity, suck, suck!!"

ENOUGH!!! C'mon! WTF are we waiting for....to prove them right? That's BS, you know, and stop accepting it.We're better than that....all those people out there who guide us like sheeps, such as "get a mortgage" "I guess I'll go onto Facebook because there's nothing else" "Get a job, loser." Enough, enough, enough.

Starting right now, this very moment, if you are between the ages of 21-35, commit to yourself, to the one's around you, and even reply below (because a goal or commitment doesn't count unless it's written down, and others know about) about how you are NOT a lost generation, and that you refuse to accept this bullshit.....how? Set goals...set 1 goal, and achieve that 1 goal. Visualize your success, what you want to do, and how you're going to do it! Write it down, store it away, and in 30 years when anyone else or asshole that try's to knock our generation, and the bullshit they put us through, your response is going to be "what did you just say to me?....that's what I thought!!!" because of what you were able to accomplish, and against all odds.

You with me? That's what I thought!