Expect to win; speak it into existence; believe it to see it, are all expressions of the universal law of attraction, which says that if we send out positive energy, expectations and actions in our life, we are more likely to attract and receive positive results. I try to live with this principle in mind and I believe it has helped me be a winner. Take raffles for instance. I win so often, my friends tease me about it and have threatened to de-friend me for winning prizes they wanted. In 1997 I won a drawing for a house that was being sold for half price. I won a Mossberg 930 shotgun at a law enforcement firearms instructor conference in Nashville a few years ago. At a recent fundraiser raffle, the kind where you buy tickets and put your tickets in the can for specific prizes you want to win, I split my tickets between three prizes. I won all three! At a horsemanship conference in 2015 I won high bidder in the final seconds for an outstanding two year old horse with a great foundation of training on him. At that same conference in 2016 I entered a drawing for a trip to Hawaii to attend a clinic with Pat and Linda Parelli at Kona Castle Ranch in Hawaii. Prior to the drawing I told my wife, “I am going to win the Hawaii trip.” As it got later in the day and the drawing got delayed, my wife was pressuring me to leave and get packed for the drive home. We argued a little back and forth, with me telling her I was going to win the trip and her telling me I wasn’t going to win anything. I finally gave in and left the ranch. About 45 minutes later a friend who was still there called me on my cell phone and exclaimed, “You S.O.B., you won the Hawaii trip!” My wife thought he was kidding, but when he handed the phone to Pat Parelli, who wanted to know where I was, she just shook her head in disbelief. We hurried back to the ranch and thanked Pat for the prize. This trip included airfare and condo accommodations and tickets to attend a two day clinic event with Pat and Linda Parelli. It was an awesome trip.
Before leaving on this trip I bought some fund raiser raffle tickets at work for a chance to win a Glock 19. I left the money for a co-worker to pick up from my house while I was gone. He wrote my name on the tickets and turned them in for me. I told him to text me when I won. Guess what; Thursday morning he sent me a text that I had won the gun! I filled out the DROS today. That’s right baby, you’ve got to expect to win!
The Hawaii trip did not include getting to ride a horse in the clinic, but on Saturday the opportunity to ride on Sunday with Pat Parelli presented itself and I took advantage of it. Later that night, at a campfire at the ranch, I shook hands with Pat and thanked him for the instruction he gave me. He said, “You did good today. I’m proud of you.” Hearing that from someone I have considered a mentor for nearly two decades made my day. It would be like Gabe telling you that after a pistol instructor school, and if that doesn’t make you feel like a winner, I don’t know what would.