DO YOU PRAY?  

 

I’m guessing half of us do and half of us don’t. I’ve always been a very spiritual person, but for the first half of my life, I always wanted PROOF before I invested my faith in something. The thing you learn about prayer is you get the proof about a year after the REAL praying starts. So I spent about half my life somewhat agnostic believing in people, their deeds more than their words, and the human spirit. Not judging those who prayed a lot, but just believing we are all connected in more ways than we realize. But then something happened. Like a country song, I was down on my luck. REALLY down on my luck. I’d had a very good small business consulting firm for a decade but like most, when there’s a revolution, in this case one of technology, the dot-com boom, I got sucked into it.

 

On my second technology startup I learned to design software systems from midnight to six AM for six months, good enough to impress the largest Legal and Law firm in the world at the time. After I did a 40 minute explanation and diagram on a white board somewhere high on Wall St., they conferred for 3 minutes and wanted to invest a few million on the spot and raise another $5 million to build the software I outlined. But two weeks later, the dot-com bubble burst. A week after that, the firm was indicted by the Federal Government for putting out fake financial statements for a firm called Enron. So the one moment in my life that I’d just leaped a tall building in a single bound, the government FINALLY did something right: they put fraudsters out of business OVERNIGHT to discourage other firms from cooking the books and defrauding millions of Americans.

 

Out of my savings at that point, I couldn’t get a job quickly as the whole economy had tanked. I was about to lose my house. It was that moment, I went to a silent place, and I prayed. I said something like, “If you’re up there, this would really be the time to give me hand.” Silence. I felt a calm because it was a heartfelt personal request. Three months later, I had a job in a very tough job market. I was overqualified for most jobs I applied for. 12 months later I was making more money I could have dreamed of. But before you get too excited that I’m a wealthy guy, and not the ordinary guy I claim, remember when you earn over $250,000 our illustrious runaway government takes 50% of it in taxes, while letting GE make $5 billion in profit and pay NO taxes, etc. While I didn’t like paying 50% in taxes because I do want good roads, I do want good schools, and I do want services, I didn’t mind paying it. I just wanted taxation if we needed it at all, to be equitable, and that we all actually got what we were supposedly taxed for. So unless you make tons of money and get good accountants to set you up so you pay no taxes like the billionaires, you lose half your earnings right away, to your ‘second’ partner, the government. The first partner of course, is your spouse, you both lose it. So as the earner you end up with 25% of what you actually earned. Let’s just say I earned enough extra money for a few years to squeak out paying for a 100 song rock opera, web site, and 100 podcasts. No music companies involved. All paid for out of pocket as I went. That’s another prayer that got answered. That I got the money to finish this MASSIVE project. I volunteered all my time and still do. I believe this is a mission.

 

MY POINT? PRAYING WORKS BIG TIME!

PRAY THAT:

 

“WE ALL ADD OUR NAMES, 300 MILLION AS 1, AT RTDNOW.COM

TO IMPLEMENT THE REDEEM THE DREAM NOW PLAN THAT

RESTORE’S EVERYONE’S AMERICAN DREAM OVERNIGHT.”

 

What does praying do? It connects you to the ether of the universe that assembles opportunities that you can now recognize because you’ve finely focused yourself on what you want. As a result of my prayers being answered beyond expectation, I now believe in a higher power. But if there is ONE, and not many, and if we do all live in a mono-theistic world, then the different ‘faces’ various religions place on theirs are reflections of their chosen lens of spirituality. But they, all the faces of religion, all connect to the same central source as they/you pray through the ether of universal spirituality. 

 

The key to praying is earnestness. Not the God you pray too, or even if you’re agnostic. You can pray if you’re agnostic. Because you are praying for a better outcome. And if we are all connected spiritually, which I believe, then we are praying we all see and realize a better way forward together that benefits all. Now that is worth praying for. Find a quiet spot and pray, the RTDNOW prayer is above. Try. I only had to do it once and do it REALLY earnestly.

 

Prayer unlocks and frees you. When you know there is more, and you can connect to it, you do, and then you know you can accomplish things way beyond your prior expectations. It also awakens you to be uniquely aware. Because as the universe works its magic of putting ‘pieces’ in front of you, you learn to recognize them and grab them. You now are free to persist, or TRY, beyond expectations, when you’d otherwise not have the fortitude to persevere. That is what BELIEVING is all about. As you get your PROOF, you become a believer real fast. Just try, and just let it happen. And it will. 300 million people, even 100 million people praying for the same thing, will make it happen. I guarantee it. I've carried this whole opera, songs, book, website, podcasts all on my back pretty much alone for 10 years. But I had a partner above :) so my arduous journey was really a pleasure.

 

THE AMERICAN SPIRIT DEFINED

 

Throughout this opera I invoke the ‘American Spirit’ in a ghost voice as if it’s a real force. I believe it is, and it’s in our DNA. I believe our heritage, our willingness as a people to try, try FAR beyond what an average or above average person or people would, is what makes us Americans SO different.  “Adrian, give me example of the American spirit at work!”  OK, here’s a few:

 

1. WE PLAY TO WIN. That’s a key to who we are. We are all in. 

2. WE NEVER QUIT. And won 3 world wars. That’s why I’m doing this.

3. WE FIND A WAY. Obstacle get solved. We won’t be denied.

4. WE BAND TOGETHER. We unite so all succeed. That’s RTDNOW.

5. TO DO BETTER. OK isn't good. We want a better way forward.

6. WE GET SMARTER. When it’s not working we bring in more brains.

7. WE BELIEVE IN OURSELVES. We're here to succeed. We go get it.

8. WE INNOVATE. America's been an innovation show for 250 years.

9. WE WORK TOGETHER. Against all odds, with over 100 nationalities.

10. WE SEEK GREATNESS. Not for ourselves, but for our country, WE.

 

 

I PRAY IT’S GOOD ENOUGH

 

Obviously, to do ALL THIS WORK, I had a calling. I questioned that calling monthly along the way. “Is THIS, my task?” Or, “Why me? REALLY? Me?” I listened in my mind for an answer. I got that same silence, a calmness that I felt after my one BIG prayer that was delivered. So I knew, this was my calling. To climb a mountain WAY beyond all expectations. WAY beyond all comprehension. WAY beyond all rational expectation. It didn’t matter that nobody had ever done it. It didn’t matter if I was a novice vocalist musician. It didn’t matter that I’d never done anything like it before. What mattered is I was doing the right thing for 300 million of my countrymen and women. What mattered is that I thoroughly believed in what I was doing. What mattered is that I had the right core qualities to pull it off.

 

I was a good creative writer since high school, with C- grammar. I was an excellent communicator and could connect with anyone. I had enough empathy to understand how to see everyone’s point of view. I had enough determination to dig into details and share them so that people could together, come to a new elevated point of view seeing both sides to create win-win outcomes. In a few extreme cases thrown into the fire as mediator, I cut through it like butter crafting quick win win lasting solutions that were very cost efficient. I had a wealth of life experience in creating thousands of American dreams and helping them grow across many industries. So I had all the core skills I needed to succeed in this.

 

So this song got written, because I believe in prayer. I believe that if we all pray for the same thing, RTDNOW, we will get it.

I just prayed that being an unknown novice, my epic overreaching ‘100 Song’ ROCK OPERA TO SAVE AMERICA would be good enough to capture the imagination of a nation. To motivate everyone to awaken their American spirit. To motivate everyone to participate with me to create a true government of, by and for the people. We’ve never had that before. To motivate everyone, I mean everyone in America to add his or her names to the RTDNOW, the Redeem The Dream Now petition, to reject endless runaway government, and enact the RTDNOW PLAN to restore EVERYONE’S AMERICAN DREAM O-VER-NIGHT!!!

 

MY NEXT BIG PRAYER

 

Now, I’m no Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Billy Joel, or Dave Grohl, or Willie Nelson, that is for sure. But my prayers brought world-class musician talent to me DIRECTLY to make this opera happen quickly, and make the music spectacular. That doesn’t just ‘happen’. Thousand of people roll into music studios and get…something, but not what I got out of it. I do have a knack for making things happen, always have. I had a relatively short window to make 100 good songs, and with help, I made it happen. But as you’ve learned about me, I always want more. I want More, for all of us.

 

On my website, if you click on the header THE ROCK OPERA or on the logo top left o each page, you can reach: Calling All Music Icons. I pray for the music establishment, all my music idols that I know want to restore everyone’s American dream, and all the ones of the current generation, to lend a hand at Redemption Radio. Cover a song of mine. Add their voices and sing with me on 50 songs that are being finished over the next 12 months. Make a good music project Utterly Fantastic!

 

Or they can collaborate on songs I’ve written for the opera that haven’t been made yet. So while we’re all praying, pray with me that all American music icons answer my call. I will also be doing video interview segments for Redeem The Dream Radio with ‘unplugged’ Acoustic song versions played, where they can also play a key role in helping me get the Redeem The Dream message out.

 

And if our American music icons decide to answer my call, this REDEEM THE DREAM NOW Movement will go viral VERY fast, and stay that way, and 300 million as 1, we will restore everyone’s American dream OVERNIGHT.

 

I’m no Woody Guthrie, but I’m giving it my all, and I can use just a little hand. As my song Lend a Hand says “throw me a bone, the life you save may be your own!” American music icons, yes I’m calling you ALL out to help save America AND RESTORE EVERYONE’S AMERICAN DREAM.

 

Give me a call. Please PARTICIPATE!!!