I really never had any idea who I was until after I left Lubbock, TX. I was working full-time for an exterminator in Frederick, OK, for three years when it dawned on me—”I can’t stay in a rural town of 4,000 working with poison for the rest of my life.” God’s voice spoke to my heart very clearly one day sitting on the swings at the park near my house. I became acutely aware of the fact that what I did from that point (20 years old) until I was 25 was going to shape the entire direction of the rest of my life. This is where the journey begins—on a swing.I enrolled in Cameron University (Lawton, OK) the following week, transferred to Oklahoma Baptist University after finishing my freshman year, met my wife, graduated with a Bachelors in English in ’94, was married in ’95, moved to Dallas for five years, North to Tulsa in ’99 and we had our daughter in ’05.
The English/History degree was something I fell into based on interests more so than a drive toward a specific goal. I intended to go on to Law School at OU, but I never developed the interest for law that I knew would be important to my success. I still struggle with investing in things I’m not interested in or passionate about—I mean, come on, what’s the fun in that!
My wife, Margaret, is so much of a perfectionist and over-achiever that she mocks me for considering myself one. The metaphor I use often to describe our relationship is
