Discussing Outcome vs Process Goals with Kari Grayson

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I joined the License2Kari podcast to discuss “Outcome vs. Process Goals” (listen here). While I may be an outcome and goal-oriented person, I’ve really learned to embrace process-focus as the way to achieve my goals. I’m far from a master at it, but I’ve failed a lot and so I’ve learned a lot. I hope you find something useful in the episode.

Fall 2019 was a pivotal educational moment for me regarding goals, outcomes, and focus.

October 2019 I earned a Light Pin from Gabe White. That was peak shooting – lifetime PR. I got there because I stopped worrying about the outcome and focused on the process. There were some “zen” moments in there. Sunday afternoon, resting at the kitchen table, speaking with another student – he was close to a Light Pin too. I spoke about “being in the moment of this shot now”. The shot you just made? It doesn’t matter if it was a bad shot or a good shot – it’s a past shot, so let it go. Yes, let it wash through you as a shot moves from future to present and into the past as you perform the motions necessary to make it happen. But still, you must let it pass through you and let it go, for a new moment is about to flow in and you must give it your full attention. Both he and I earned Light Pins.

November 2019 I was in the inaugural Rangemaster Master Instructor class. I didn’t want to fuck this up. And there was my focus: Daub, don’t fuck this up. Well… what does your brain hear? “Don’t fuck this up.” So what do you think you’re at risk of doing? Fucking this up. So… I almost did. On revolver day, Michael Labonte, Lee Weems, and myself all scored 100% on the qual; Michael won the shootoff. What happened? How did I perform so well despite the fact I don’t shoot revolvers much? I was very focused on the process of shooting the revolver well, and so I did. When we went back to our normal carry equipment, I also went (fell) back to being outcome focused. Every drill, every qual, every time Tom stood behind me with his clipboard, timer, and whistle… I shot terribly. I mean, I passed, met the standard, but I’m disappointed in my performance. However, it’s not really about the shooting – it’s about the focus. I was SO outcome focused, and it nearly cost me.

These two events really drove home to me the power of where you focus (especially my “failure”). There is power in focusing on the outcome, but I’ve found it difficult to succeed there. Yes, our ultimate goal is to achieve a particular outcome, but it’s how you go about the achieving and upon what you focus that makes the difference. Focus on the process has brought me more success; I still fail, but eventually I do succeed and am better off in the end. And that has made all the difference.

Tour the Federal Factory

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Take a tour of the Federal ammunition factory. Yeah the gun part is cool. But I’m also a nerd for shows like “How It’s Made”, so the factory engineering aspects are interesting to me as well.

I love their underground facility.

h/t Hogel

Spring 2022 – Moving away from 5/3/1

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If you enjoy reading about lifting weights, read on.

Below is me thinking out loud – raw thoughts as I reformulate.

I think 5/3/1 is getting to the point of beating me up. I want to chase heavier weights, but I need to be less rigid in how I get there. I also need to approach my assistance and supplemental lifts differently to support my road ahead (longevity).

I think about what got me to my strongest: I listened to my body, I did things with RPE. I worked up, I chilled out. 

I’m not saying to necessarily do this again now, but I am saying the rigidity of 5/3/1 is good, and it’s time to start deviating from it. I’ll always have 5/3/1 principles as my foundation.

Deadlift has deviated already due to the strained hamstring. I find low volume is good for me right now. Working up to heavyish singles is good strain. Singles, doubles, triples are probably in my future because I don’t want the exhaustion of higher reps and then I falter in technique and strain the hamstring again. I’m trying to BUILD that shit, so I don’t need to wreck it any further. RDLs have been good; may switch to stiff-legs for a spell to build hammies.

Squat. I’m happy I’ve been able to restart (back) squat – shoulder mobility issues since maybe 2019 prevented me from getting under the bar (it’s why I was using the SSB for so long back at Ignite). Recently a chiropractor poked a few things, some Graston… it did something, mobility has markedly improved. So while it’s been good to get back to squatting, the rest of me needs more warm-up. I need a different approach to squatting than 5/3/1. My body needs a little more finessing back into squats – 5/3/1 just isn’t the right rhythm of sets and reps and getting my aging body into the groove; 5/3/1 principles yes, rhythm no.

Bench seems good. I’ll probably keep bench as main lift doing 5/3/1 progression with the last/PR set being at like RPE 8. My current 5/3/1 progression is grooving well so as long as I keep it smart, it should still serve me to stay on that progression. No more BBB assistance tho – not sure what yet to replace it with. Pec minor dips have been productive; continuing dips in some way foh sho (again, improved shoulder).

Press is fine. I don’t see reason to change this either. Take a similar approach as bench. I want to keep pressing because I believe OHP-ing again contributed to the improvement of my shoulder.

Assistance work I think needs to change to be more bodybuilding-like, more hypertrophy. I’m thinking I may try something around novelty, because I would like to see about compressing my workout:

  • Week 1 – perform new movement, e.g. incline db flies
  • Week 2 – do same movement; weight a little more known/stable, thus expecting more reps than last week, better contractions
  • Week 3 – same movement, pushing more, expecting to crank out a few more since more adapted… 
  • Week 4 – same movement, add in intensity technique: drop set, iso holds, partials, whateva
  • Week 5 – back to the top, selecting new movement, e.g. flat db flies, cable flies, pec dec, etc.

It might even be a 3 week thing where it’s 1, 2, 4, repeat. It’s possible you do a deload week before you repeat. Whatever enables the most stimulus over time via novelty. That is, I want to be sore after ever workout, and the above is an illustrative pattern/progression on how I might achieve that state. Additionally, I want to maximize stimulus with fewer sets, lower volume.

Some rest periods will be 3 minutes, others 1 minute. I grant the longer rest periods, and I will use those as appropriate. There’s also the 1 minute turnarounds and how those contribute to “the pump”. Chase it.

It might look something like this:

  • 3 days per week
  • Lower, quad
    • Squat, doing my own feel-based work-up to a crisp heavy-ish single. Maybe drop to 80% of that for 1 set of reps at RPE 8; maybe.
    • Leg press (feet low), sets of 20; 3 min rest
    • Calf raises, 3 min rest
    • Curls (light), like 3-5 sets
    • Forearms?
    • treadmill
  • Upper, push emphasis
    • Bench, keep my 5/3/1 with the top set being RPE 8
    • Flies of some sort – above pattern, 1 min rest; 3 sets.
    • Seated DB press – 3 min rest; light work up, 3 work sets
    • Some sort of lateral raise – 1 min rest; 3 sets
    • Some sort of triceps pump work
    • Some sort of general back like pullups or rows, up to 5 work sets
    • treadmill
  • Lower, ham/glute
    • Deadlift, per above. No back-offs of these
    • Stiff-legs, sets of 8 probably. 3 min rest
    • Seated calf raises, 3 min rest
    • Triceps work (light)
    • Forearms?
    • Treadmill
  • Upper, pull emphasis
    • Press, keeping 5/3/1, top set RPE 8, etc.
    • Dips, bw only 3 sets of max reps
    • Row of some sort, probably barbell. Something heavy.
    • Pulldown of some sort
    • Facepulls for the burn
    • Curls (heavy) 5-8 sets, maybe 2 exercises
    • Treadmill

Something like that maybe. It’s a good start.

Hrm. The more I look at it, Pull day should be start with rows, and then press and dips are later. I’ll have to drop my weights down on press, but that’s fine. My shoulders might be happier with 5-8s, with occasional 3-2-1s. 🤔

Well, it’s a start.

18 of 100 Days

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It’s day 18 of my 100 Day Challenge.

I’ve skipped the gym this week. I’ve used the time to get caught up on lots of little things. That feels good. When you have a lot of shit on your plate, especially shit that’s been there for a while? It’s harder to clear off. I’m working on clearing that shit.

I’m still shitty about my posture, especially when sitting, but I’m being more aware of it. I think I need to do some computer/desk adjustment (e.g. more external monitors on adjustable swing-arms). I am still trying to be good about “doing my yoga” every day – some days it’s a “worth doing poorly” sort of thing, but at least I did something. For sure, my body is feeling better.

I did some things I didn’t expect. My day job instituted an unlimited PTO policy; I’m taking proper advantage of it. I took last Friday off, went to the A-Zone Range. I just wanted to do some shooting – but I wound up starting a YouTube channel. It was not necessarily planned, but it was a logical next step and I just rolled with the momentum. I have no idea what I’ll do with this, but I’ll walk the road a bit.

I’m getting shit done. I still have a lot of shit ahead of me, but I’m making headway. That feels fucking good.

I remember reading something. My memory says it’s from Steven Spielberg. Something like: if it’s important, do it first. That may seem self-evident, but upon deeper reflection it’s not; and it’s something we can always improve at. Consider how much in our lives we consider important but we put it off until later: calling your mom and dad; telling people how much you love and appreciate them; all those things you lament not doing with someone after you learn they passed away. When I wake up, I don’t rush to work – “work/day job” isn’t the first major portion of my day. I wake up, I go to the gym or I spend time in my office working on my things (e.g. Daub, Hsoi, KRT). What is important? Me. My family. I have to take care of me, and the better me is cared for, the better me can care for others. So, me is important, I do me first. Gym, dad/husband/household things, second-life stuff… I try to do “before work”.

So if I have to sacrifice a little gym time to clearing my queue? Worth it.

On the gym, I do think my body isn’t looking forward the heavy 5s as I’ve noticed the days I’m cool with skipping are squat days. I don’t hate squats as much any more – and I would love to squat 4 plates again. But as much as I love 5/3/1, eventually it beats me up. I’ve got a few things that I have to work around (pec, hamstring), so being “strict to 5/3/1” really isn’t in the cards any more (it was good while it lasted). I can remain principled to it but take a different approach. I may do something like the Paul Carter 54321-50% thing, then onto more bodybuilding-style stuff.

I’ve noticed an improvement in dot acquisition and body index. Playing around with grip pressure vs. trigger finger.

The video/YouTube was a diversion, but it happened so I needed to just get it done. Part of the challenge is finding the right timebox for doing videos, including the production work (if I can get it done over a weekend, great). I need to get back to and finish writing/editing the “Minimum Competency” update – including the Minimum Competency Assessment (v3) that I mentioned in the red dot video.

After that, I can do my income taxes. Yes, filed an extension. This is the next big thing for me.

Diet. Mrs. Hsoi has been wonderful in her support, helping with meal prep. It’s helping. Still, I think I’m going through an extinction burst here. Makes sense – it’s about time for the body to complain a bit. I still struggle here. I like getting big, but I hate getting fat.

I’ve been keeping a spreadsheet with small updates in my 4 challenge areas. It’s been an interesting exercise to write/record my progress.

It’s enlightening to see what’s changing in and around me. Not sure what to make of anything yet, but I’m enjoying the ride.

Exploring the Red Dot

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Baselines

I finally have a long enough stretch of schedule, at least the rest of 2022 if not longer, so now’s the time to dedicate to exploring the Red Dot Pistol (RDS). It’s a bit of work to switch from iron sights to the RDS, but with my 100 Day Challenge going on, I have the means to work on it. I don’t expect proficiency  overnight; in fact, accepting it may take me a year is a load off because now I can just focus on the work, the process, and knowing the result will come (thank you, Jim Wendler).

Since TacCon22 ended, I’ve been doing dry work. It’s mostly been focused around simply looking at the sight picture. The dot-circle red reticle is a different sight picture for my brain to process – it’s novel, and I need to remove that novelty. I also need to change where my eyes focus: from front sight to target; as well, I don’t need to close one eye any more. Consequently, most of the dry work hasn’t been any sort of skills or movement, merely acclimation. I’m still not acclimated to it, but it’s no longer truly novel. And so, it’s time to do some exploration in life fire.

April 15, 2022 I went to the A-Zone Range (KR Training’s home). I took my gun, which is Sig P365-based. I’ve been carrying, working, and shot the TacCon22 match with a P365-based gun: P365 slide and factory irons, curved trigger, Wilson Combat XL grip module. Why this? I prefer the XL length, and it was the only solution I had with irons; buying an XL slide JUST for irons didn’t make financial sense. I do have an XL with a Holosun 507K X2 and a Boresights grip module. I used that for dry work, now I’m swapping the slide/dot onto the WC-grip-curved-trigger 365 assembly. 

For live work, I did the following:

  • Warmed up with my irons setup (since it’s what I’m familiar with)
    • Minimum Competency Assessment (v3)
    • The Wizard
    • Three Seconds or Less
    • Rangemaster Core Skills (hit factor scoring)
  • Swap to XL slide and dot
  • Zero at 10 yards
  • Just shoot a bunch
    • Fiddle with sight picture, grip, presentation, trigger, etc you name it. Change reticle.
  • Shoot the 4 drills again

Shoot on a shootsteel.com target, which Karl’s been using a lot more lately – it’s a good, target, well-designed, tougher than IPDA/IPSC/Q if you restrict to A & B zones (which I did; Core Skills opened to C zone). Shot about 400 rounds in 2 hours. I will say, my hands felt a little shredded from the WC grip. As expected, performance degraded. Not horrible, but let’s be real. If I shot 119 on Core Skills with the P365-irons and 78 with the dot, I need to be able to consistently pull 120 if the dot hype is to be believed. So, I’ve got work ahead of me.

From how it went down, first thing I need to work on is grip acquisition. I need to do some holster adjusting, and while I love the Enigma I am thinking about going back to a belt holster, at least for a cross-check. But I need to ensure I get the best grip on the gun, because I’m not doing it. And I have to balance this with how the gun needs to conceal since the Holosun adds more things that jut out. So, it’s holster fiddling, to ultimately ensure best grip acquisition. I need to get on the gun and get it out of the holster quickly.

Then I need to work on getting it out of the holster and onto target efficiently, acquiring the dot while doing so.

Then, on pressing the trigger and not messing up the sight picture. Keeping mind of consistently applied grip pressure throughout the firing cycle.

Repeat until I suck less. Improving the above will do wonders.

In related news… as I think about my first “season” of #ItsColdDrillTimeAgain (a small video series I did about cold drills), I thought about fiddling with a little more production. We’ll see where this goes.

Thank you for journeying with me.

Be strong. 🤘

100 Day Challenge

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In about 100 days, I will turn 50 years old.

I remember being a teenager and thinking “shit… 30? That’s fucking OLD.” And I couldn’t fathom what it meant to be “thirtysomething“. And here I am, about to turn 50.

About a year ago I thought to myself how it’d be cool to diet down, get lean, and post a thirst trap for my 50th birthday.

That won’t be happening.

I continue to fail at diet. But I continue to work at it. A few months ago I came to realize part of my problem is I’ve been very outcome-focused with my diet work – I should be process-focused. I am and can be process-focused in many other areas of my life, but diet for whatever reason escaped me. I’ve been focusing on process in my diet and while it’s not making a difference in my scale weight, it’s building habit – the habit that I will need when I start taking specific steps to drop weight (e.g. reduce caloric intake). So, it remains a struggle, but I struggle on.

The discomfort of the past few months is behind me. I’m settling into my new position at the primary job. And ahead I have no hard things to prepare for, like in 2019 when I had to stash off the Sig P365 adventure because I had to prep for Gabe White and Rangemaster Master Instructor. I mean, I shot my franken-P365 at the TacCon22 match – no qualms about sucking in public (much anymore). Seems now’s the time to make the switch to the red dot. I’ll suck for a while, and that’s fine.

There’s some other things about myself that I want to unfuck.

But that’s often the thing. People see all these things, big things, many things, monumental things. They dive headlong in with only so much plan and direction, or even manageability – and it often leads to failure. In software development we don’t implement a HUGE new feature (a “13 point story”) in one fell shot. No, we analyze the big and work to break it down into smaller, more workable, more consumable chunks (break it into 13 1-point stories). It’s also easier to pivot mid-way, if necessary.

I have big places I want to be with and for myself – but I need to start small. As I’ve been saying lately (inspired by Jim Wendler):

Slow progress is still progress.

That whole “journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” thing. A lot of baby steps consistently over time add up into some big changes. It’s easier to take baby steps every day.

“It’s always been one of my goals to standing press 300 pounds. In the summer of 2008, I did just that. When someone asked me what my next goal was, my response was simple: “305 pounds.” If you bench press 225 pounds and want to get 275, you have to bench 230 first.”

Jim Wendler

So here’s what I’m planning to do:

Read every day

I must read something every day. It doesn’t matter what, just so long as it’s meaningful, useful, growth-oriented. It doesn’t matter how much, tho keep it reasonable (I’d rather read 2 pages than fail to read 20… that whole “if a thing’s worth doing, it’s worth doing poorly” thing). It can be a blog post (e.g. anything by Claude Werner), it can be a chapter or passage of a book. It can even be a YouTube video if it’s educational (e.g. I watched a Scott Jedlinski instructional video while on the treadmill earlier this week).

I want to ensure I consume something meaningful and growth-oriented every day. Not just the scroll of the feed and what the algorithms put in front of me. I want to build my tolerance for “sitting and staring at dead trees” and just be reading more.

“Yoga” every day

It’s not really yoga. Rather, it’s me making sure I move and use my body fully every day. I sit (curl into a ball) in front of a computer every day. I need to stand, I need to stretch, I need to squat and bend and twist and extend and flex and all those things. I want to ensure that every day I USE my body and all its muscles, joints, and parts.

I know what my body needs (e.g. right now it’s a lot of door stretches to open up my pec minor). So I am devising my own routine. I might even make 2, like a quick in-between-meeting thing or a longer session thing… a morning, an evening… I dunno, and I’ll see how it evolves.

I want to move my body every day. I would love to increase my mobility/flexibility. I don’t have to be a gymnast, but I know some improvement would help with some body alignments, issues, etc.

Workout every day

Basically this is that I go to the gym. If it’s a no-gym day, then I must dry fire.

While it’s not hard to motivate me to get to the gym, somedays I don’t want to go and must do it because discipline. This is pretty core to my habits and behavior and “who I am”. So while I don’t expect problems here, I also must use this as a tempering – I cannot afford to get injured, so I must curb my enthusiasm and play the long game.

I need to dry fire more, especially if I want to move to the red dot. I want to carry/shoot the P365XL (with Wilson Combat grip module, curved trigger, Holosun 507K-X2 2 MOA Dot or 32 MOA Circle Miniature Red Dot Sight – Red). Givens is coming in June and that’ll be a nice checkpoint. So… I better put in the dry and live work.

I want to grow stronger in these two disciplines.

Eating – and being less fat

I’m tired of being fat. I’m tired of carrying this around. I’ve been tired for a long time, but it’s been a struggle. As I wrote above, I’ve adopted a more process-focused mindset and approach. I think it’s helping, but it’s going to take time. As someone said, it took you years to get fat; don’t think you’ll become lean overnight. It’s about getting the habits in place, really. I’ve been evolving habit for a long time, and it’s good, just slow. But again, slow progress is still progress.

One huge change? Mrs. Hsoi is helping. I love her cooking. I think that’s been the missing ingredient. I can make macro-correct food, but there’s no love. She’s been doing this for a few weeks now and it’s making a HUGE difference. Sure the food repeats every day, but it’s still something SHE made – and it’s just wonderful. For someone who has emotion and eating tied together, Mrs. Hsoi’s cooking hits the spot. I’m still focusing on just building habit right now (there’s more to it than this), but so far so good.

Ultimately I do want to be lean. I look at Vincent Dizenzo and his 11 years of progress. Process. That will give me progress. It’s also been wonderfully freeing to not stress so hard about the “scale weight” (and how I look naked); truly go through the process and don’t sweat it – it will come.

Here I go…

So there we are. Four things. I have a few other things, but those are private. To me, the “ask/demand/expectation” within each day is reasonable and small. But even if I only read 1 page a day, when I turn 50 I’ll have read 100 pages.

That’s pretty cool.

I’m keeping a spreadsheet. Provides a bit of a diary, but also some accountability.

Let’s see what happens.

Why I Like to Measure Things

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“How would we know whether we’re “good shooters” unless we measure our own level of competency?”

tacticalprofessor

#measurementmonday

Why do I like to measure things? Because until I do, I don’t really know what’s inside.

I dislike soupy oatmeal. Although I followed the package instructions, it still turned out like soup. When I used the package measurement, it didn’t. Measuring the actual amount of water from the package’s marker doesn’t hold as much water as it says and which the directions specify. One half a cup is quite a bit less than two-thirds of a cup.

What does soupy oatmeal have to do with personal protection? How would we know whether we’re “good shooters” https://youtu.be/qB7NKXEKewM?t=599unless we measure our own level of competency?

There has been debate within the training community for a long time about standards of competency. Those arguments will probably never be settled. One possible starting point could be the level of marksmanship necessary to pass the NRA Basics of Pistol Shooting Course. To…

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Discomfort grows

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My “freak out” around TacCon22 is because I was uncomfortable.

When Tom Givens asked me to present at TacCon21, holy shit – I had never felt so uncomfortable in my life. I embraced it, because I knew I would grow. And grow I did.

I was asked back for TacCon22. Of course I presented AIWB Skills, but I wanted to present something of my own. I presented my Minimum Competency stuff.

My discomfort level spiked.

I’m putting myself out there. I’m seeking to grow a body of knowledge, but I gotta make some assertions and back them up. And doing it in front of the TacCon audience? An audience of new impressionable minds, and seasoned “they forgot more than I know” veterans – my peers, my mentors. I mean… tough crowd, but that’s who I want. If I’m full of shit, I need to know.

It’s a little scary putting yourself out there like this.

I came out on the other side.

We’ll see where this goes… and how I grow.

Because it is through discomfort that we grow. When your discomfort (level) grows, remember that the discomfort (that you’re feeling is what) grows (you).

TacCon22

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TacCon22 is in the books. A fine time was had.

I taught 4 blocks: 2 AIWB Skills (live fire), 1 panel with Lee Weems & Erick Gelhaus, and my presentation on Minimum Competency. I participated in 1 live fire class, and observed a few presentations. I stunk up the match. Of course, being able to hang with “the family” for a few days is what makes this awesome. So many hugs given and received – my heart is full.

I first presented at TacCon21. Tom asked me to step in for brother Spencer Keepers (Spencer had some medical issues to tend to; all good). I was quite surprised yet honored to be asked. My imposter syndrome skyrocketed to 11. I was honored to be asked back for TacCon22. 

Scott, me.
photo: Tamara Keel

AIWB Skills went over well. Saturday lunch, Scott Jedlinski asked me if I had any open slots in my Sunday class – I did, and Scott joined. Imposter syndrome 12. It was cool tho. My first time really hanging with Scott – my fellow large Asian mammal – and it was good. He gave me some excellent feedback, and taught me the meaning of “cheater”. 😉

“I once caught a fish this big…”
photo: Ed Vinyard

Minimum Competency for Defensive Pistol is something I’ve been researching since 2013. I presented my original work, along with my recent thinking. I also presented my “Minimum Competency Assessment” and thinking behind it. My present thinking is to write this up in long form and update my “Drills, Standards, Qualifications, & Tests” eBook. Matter of time and priorities. Stay tuned.

Lee, Erick, me
photo: my camera taken by (I can’t remember…)

The Aftermath, my panel presentation with Lee & Erick. This was… special. I spoke about my 2015 home invasion. Erick about his incident. Lee about 2 incidents his deputies were involved in. Funny thing about this is we did barely any planning/organization work prior to TacCon: each made a few slides, Lee collated, Lee projected them… and then the 3 of us stood in front of the audience figuring out how we wanted to do this presentation. 😂 I went first, then Erick, finally Lee, each giving a short account of our incident focusing heavily on issues of the aftermath. Erick turned to me and asked if he could reference one of my slides (of course!). Before today, Erick and I were strangers to each other. Our stories are different, yet our aftermaths are similar. We didn’t plan our presentation, and I think the organic nature of it all made for a special and emotional session. Erick and I (and those deputies) are in a club, for better or worse. I’m fortunate to have found a new brother. Love you, Erick.

Shot the match with my franken-P365: WC XL grip, curved trigger, P365 slide with irons. Scored paper: 245/250, tie: 35/50 4.49 sec: 252.795. Finished 76/174. On paper, dropped the first WHO shot to just outside the box; tie had 3 just outside 6 o’clock. With that gun, basically cold, after the emotional drain I just went through? If this is where my skill degrades to, I can accept that.

Took class from Wayne Dobbs (HiTS) channeling Larry Mudgett; most excellent stuff, giving me new tools to diagnose problems and help students improve. The excellent learning resources Jon & Sarah Hauptman (PHLster) are producing through their Concealment Workshop will become industry reference. I finally got to partake of John Holschen’s wisdom. I listened to Erick present research. Greg Ellifritz had an informative session on medicine under austere circumstances. Good learning being had.

And of course, seeing old friends, making so many new ones. Eating good food. Having to eat Whataburger. Many many selfies. Endless hugs. More selfies. Hot AF tents (Meadhall Range cookies!). Going to bed late and getting up early. Big thanks to the Dallas Pistol Club for the facility and contribution. Thanks to Tiffany Johnson, Martin Hoffert, Aqil Qadir, the RSOs, the crew. And of course, Tom & Lynn Givens of Rangemaster. What a special event; I am truly blessed to be a part of it. ❤️

See you at TacCon23!

Thank you, Tom.

Sunday Metal – Badlands (again)

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I can’t post about Badlands and not introduce you to “In a Dream”… a beautiful acoustic number that really showcases Ray’s singing.

When I’m down, and feeling low, and confusion has touched my soul

How I need some place where I can hide away.

Let me fall, within your arms, melt away this cold I feel.

All I need is to hold you tonight.

Hold me close when I’m cold. Let me hear your beating heart.

Close my eyes far away in a dream.

In the morning I wake, and I’m blessed by God’s grace just to open my eyes, see your face.

Hold you tonight sweet child, never let me go.

Tell me everything, oh will be alright.

In the morning I wake, and I’m blessed by God’s grace just to open my eyes, see your face.

Just to open my eyes… (and) see your face.