Slam is a little rough around the edges.

    Much of my earlier speaking background was as a preacher. Another huge part of my background has been being a rough and tumble guy. And for sure these experiences will always be a part of me. They say you can take the dog out of the fight, but you can’t take the fight out of the dog. This is true of me.

     My professional brand today is centered around a nickname “Slam.” I don’t have to worry about being authentic, because I am so real that at times I am rough. LOL, but truly…

Today, I have integrated the heart of a caring preacher and the style of ring fighter, into a whole hearted approach to life and career. It is a little unorthodox but truly powerful combination.

    Even when I was a preacher, I never really fit the traditional mold. I explain this by the honest admission that: “I am rough around the edges.” Its true. This article explains how.

1. I like a good fight…..  Strange you think. Well, I don’t think so. Everything worth doing deserves a good tussle. If you want to stay married, you sometimes need to prefer fighting, to switching. If you want to succeed at your work, you’d better be willing to give the task a good wrestle. If you want to be a good neighbor, you’d better be willing to stand up for your neighbor’s rights.

2. For me, Fighting is better than the option, not fighting. That is true helplessness, like a dead fish.  …. Every worthy endeavor requires the investment of committed effort.  – – – (I guess I look at it this way because I teach Shotokan karate and it seems to fit.)  A huge part of really living and engaging Life is oftentimes found by facing an opponent. {Sorry, I weary and tire of all this life is beautiful stuff. A lot of the time, life is hard. Fiercely hard.} So what do I think about that challenging fact? Well you know, if life requires a good fight….. Well then…. Let me at him. I’ve got a good fight in me.  

3. I like to get dirty….. OOO. Yuchh, you say. Yet nothing feels better to me, than dirt behind the fingernails after gardening. It feels wonderful to get muddy in the rain, while completing a valuable task. I love to get in the woods and let the woods get in to me. To feel the vibrant life forces surrounding me. To literally not forget that I am an animal & linked to this world that I am privileged to inhabit. Mama had some Indian in her. So, I guess there’s some in me. Earthy. Yeah, that’s it….. A part of things. And realizing that natural things are a part of me. And sometimes I have to get dirty to remember, how to be clean.        

4. I like to stand out….. I’ve tried blending. It’s like trying to hide a Big-Foot in the populace. Just doesn’t work. People can tell I’m different anyway. I might as well celebrate the fact. Slam, I am.

5. I like to be tough….. We live in a sissy world. No offense ladies. But I am not a sissy. My dad was tough. My brother is tough & I am tough. But,,, I am not too tough to bow my knees to God, to cry when I am hurt or to laugh (out loud), when I am happy. I am also not too tough to hold a baby, nurse an injured animal or comfort a hurting friend or to cry with the weak. (Or then again, maybe I am tough enough to never forget, to do those important things; when it is important to do so).

6. I like to wear my hat. My hat is me. I am my hat. I fish in my hat. I hunt in my hat. I do business in my hat. I work in my hat. I play in my hat. Yes, lots of people don’t like it. That’s fine. As long as they keep their hands off it. I am no more valuable than any other human being. But no other human being is any more valuable than me.  Part of life is about space. Giving you your space. You give me mine. As long as I can honor God in my hat; you will just have to accept it, as a part of me. It is a part of how I celebrate my faith. Don’t know why the old Quakers ever gave up wearing their hats. Its part of who I am. Where-ever I go I wear mine.     

7. Why; rough around the edges?  Because at the center; I am yielded and still to God my Creator. He owns me, truly. I just express it a little differently than some people. Good fuel can power sports cars & work trucks. I guess I am the latter. 

8. Preacher, Why?? One of my friends observed a few years ago. “God is very real to you, Tim.” Anybody that knows me will tell you. I really walk with God and He really walks with me. 

9. Sunrises and Sunsets are special times with me. Times you are likely to find me celebrating with the rest of creation, this miracle of life. The wonderful Creative force that makes me “rough around the edges.”   

Timothy Grant Carter a.k.a. “Slam” @ timothygrantcarter@gmail.com