“You can do anything you set your mind to.” – William C. Smith (my dad)
Those words were spoken to me by my father more times than I can remember, and they characterize a fundamental mindset that I have built my life upon. Put that together with the unconditional love and nurturing provided by my mother (Rebecca), and you have a solid foundation to build a life on. I thank them both with all of my heart.
Who am I?
My name is Keith Smith and I’d like to welcome you to Straight Up Living! The seed for this blog was planted years ago when I first became interested (obsessed) in the world of self-improvement. That seed would lie there for some time before the day came for it to germinate and then grow.
I was born in the beautiful state of Kentucky and I was raised in a hard working, blue collar family along with my older sister. Both of my parents were born on a farm and through hard work, blood, sweat and tears built their lives into something to be proud of. The trait of laziness is one that is despised in my family, so needless to say my sister and I were brought up with a solid work ethic. Instilled deeply into both of us is a strong devotion to family that we have in turn passed on to our children.
I married young only to have it end in divorce fourteen years later. Something wonderful came from that, however, and that is my three wonderful daughters! I am extremely proud of them and am blessed to have a close relationship with each.
I was born with a persistent (not stubborn!) spirit and an intense desire to experience life! I often refer to myself as “an enigma” because I don’t seem to fit into to any one mold. Whether it be music (I love everything from Bluegrass to the heaviest of Heavy Metal),or hobbies ( I love to write, play guitar, shoot firearms, hike, ride motorcycles, exercise, drink coffee, photography, spirituality, be a liberal, be a conservative…) I just can’t be pinned down to one description or stereotype.
Through the years my life has changed course many times. I’ve been a construction worker, videographer, auto-mechanic, restaurant worker, and even played guitar in rock bands. I’ve poured concrete, video-taped a gubernatorial election, laid sewer pipe, built bridges, bussed tables, attempted to join the military, cut tobacco and sold insurance. There’s a lot more, but you get the point, right?
As you can see, I have been a seeker for many years and for many of those years I didn’t know what I was seeking. About four years ago, the seed I mentioned earlier began to sprout as I entered a time of significant change in my life. Unhappy with my progress in life at that point, I moved to another city in search of new possibilities. I found those possibilities. A major one was that I met a wonderful woman who has helped me to experience true love, as well as what it means to have a real partner in this life.
Three years later, I took my love of self-improvement onto the world wide web. I began a blog called Think For Money. It’s focus is on the power/potential of the human mind, through thought, to achieve financial success.
“Balance, peace, and joy are the fruit of a successful life. It starts with recognizing your talents and finding ways to serve others by using them.” -Thomas Kinkade
During the first year of writing for TFM I entered a period of rapid growth and it wasn’t long before I knew that TFM was too narrow of a platform to deal with all the things I wished to explore, learn and write about. I still believe, and live by, the principles I wrote about (and will continue to write about) on TFM. But, because I am evolving as a person, I needed a less restrictive place to continue my growth. That’s when Straight Up Living was born! There’s so much more to life than just money and success. It’s easy to get caught up in the goal, to live life in anticipation, and forget to live in the moment. To straight up live!
I’ll be the first to stand up and speak about the power of goal setting, but I believe it’s such a waste to live life thinking of only a future goal. There’s a lot of life to live in between where you are and the goal you’re striving to attain. So, please remember:
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