BANABU Blog

Sometimes I feel inferior around a certain type of rich person (because I’m not one of them). Then I see them
look at me with awe and want what I have plenty of in my life. It confuses the hell out of
me because at times, I can’t figure out what the hell they want that I have.

I mean, they have millions of dollars can’t they buy what they want?

The answer is not really. You can’t buy genuineness and authentic communication and I guess.

And what i have plenty of in my life is all authentic and genuine.

Plenty of genuine friends, a great relationship with Kelly, kick ass kids who are vibrant, healthy,
confident and HAPPY, great health and lots of energy, passion for the things love (I mean real
passion, the kind that makes people stare and judge you), a powerful mindset and I am surrounded
by people who love the hell out of me.

I have relationships (at least authentic and genuine relationships) down. It’s easy for me these
days. I have a really good handle on fitness (although I could stand to lay off the double pepperoni
and extra cheese pizzas a bit!) I actually enjoy working out and miss it when I don’t do it.

But I’m still figuring out the money part.

The funny thing is that most people say the money part is the EASY part…

Well, everything is easy once you know how to do it.

The millionaire has plenty of money…
The fitness buff is fit, vibrant, full of physical energy and healthy…
The relationship fanatic has plenty of friends, a healthy and happy marriage, and fulfilling relationships…

I don’t know many people (if anyone for that matter) who has all of these three things at the level they
would like to have.

No matter who you are or where you’re at, we are all missing something at some point in our lives and
I’m very curious to see what people are missing the most of.

Is it Money? Love? Health? or even all 3!

Chime in and fill out this 5 second poll and see where we end up. (Don’t worry it’s 100%
anonymous and nobody including me will know how you voted)

Mike

[poll:3]

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I know what it’s like to live in a dark place
feeling alone, uncertain full of self doubt
and fear.

And I HATE feeling that way.

It makes no difference who you are or how much
money you make, everyone has those experiences.

I have customers ranging from multi millionaires
to homeless people, Doctors, lawyers, Physicist,
all the way to Construction workers and even
unemployed people.

At the end of the day we’re all human and we
all need to feel significant.

It’s a basic hard wired survival program in our
brains that cannot be changed.

There are many ways to feel a sense of significance
but to me the best way is to feel it from within
because you’ve challenged yourself to be better than
you were yesterday.

And in order to do that you MUST have enough energy
to overcome the particular challenge you face.

Sometimes the challenge can be as simple as getting
out of bed in the morning and sometimes it can be
as huge as raising a child to be self confidant and
independent with a strong belief in their own unique
ability.

But one thing is always the same…

You are at the control center of everything about
your life. It’s your energy (physical, mental,
and emotional) that drives everything you experience.

If you run low steam, you cannot create much of
anything.

I have a black 2007 Tahoe that is a beautiful looking
car.

It’s got sexy curves and deep black high gloss shine.

I bought it brand new and it’s been a great car. It
feels like driving a Lazy Boy chair around town.

So when my wife came and told me the car wouldn’t
start I was a bit confused.

I went out and acted like a mechanic. I opened the
hood and started saying things like, “The flux capacitor
might be blocking the plasma intake valve” so my wife
would be impressed.

(Really I just opened the hood and stared at the engine
like an idiot for 10 minutes hoping it would magically
fix itself and I’d be the hero)

I’d never seen anything like this before, even on my
old beat up clunkers I used to drive.

It was completely dead. I mean dead as dead can get.

Nothing would work. Not the chime when the door opens,
not the radio, not even the silly little compass on
the rear view mirror.

No matter what I did that thing would show absolutely ZERO
signs of life.

Come to find out, somehow the battery had been sucked
completely dry.

The strange thing is that in this car, even if you leave
the radio or lights on, they automatically turn off after
about 5 minutes.

Not to mention the keys were in the house so it couldn’t
have been left on all night.

So my Tahoe that looked so good on the outside was
dead! It had no energy and with no energy it was a
worthless hunk of good looking metal.

Without a boost, it’s destined to sit there and rot
away in a motionless empty existence slowly fading
away to a dark and lonely death.

A lot of people operate like this in their lives.

They put on a good outside front but inside they
are drained and barely making it through each
day.

Physically, mentally, financially, and emotionally
tapped out!

And it’s not complicated at all to change this.

My car simply needed a jump start then the internal
systems worked just fine and the alternator recharged
the battery.

All the complicated computers and moving parts that
work in perfect harmony started working again and
I was back on the road.

The solution was simple. Just feed a burst of energy
to the thing and get it started. From that point the
momentum created by the fuel and the complex systems
in the car made it work.

People are the same way.

If they can just get a “jump start” their internal
systems turn on and take care of all the complicated
stuff that makes them work.

Then it’s simply a matter of continuing to add fuel,
an occasional oil change to keep things running smooth

So how do you get that jump start?

I can run down the basic formula for my success very
quickly.

1. Get in motion. Use your body to create energy every
day.

2. Take care of your body (because it is the ultimate
battery for your life)

3. Stimulate your mind by reaching out to learn more
about yourself and how you work.

4. Express your life through emotional outlet with
other people. (Don’t be dry and life less. Let your
self shine through your skin and bones and experience
emotions with other people)

That’s the basic formula I use and have used to grow
into who I am from who I was.

It’s very simple and basic and that’s why it works.

It keeps my batteries charged up and keeps me able to
enjoy life most of the time instead of just get
through life.

Get your energy cranking again and you’ll be amazed
at how everything else starts to work in harmony.

If you want a simple system to jump start your energy
and your life, let me know by leaving a comment.

To your energy,

Mike

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I just got an amazing message…

It was in response to something I wrote about
small tweaks and how it really only takes one
small tweak in your life to make big changes.

This is her response:

“It may be one teeny weensy shift, but sometimes,
if you don’t know what that teeny weensy shift is,
it might as well be the grand canyon.

If you are standing close to the edge of a precipice
with your eyes shut, and someone else says, ‘its
okay, you can take another small step’ would you do it?

For some of us, it feels like that. Just because
someone else has done it and says its easy, doesn’t
make it any easier for those of us who’ve never done
it before.”

Great response and of course, I have a reply to that.

She’s right, it is very easy for the guru on top
of the mountain to keep shouting down, “You can do
it! Just keep moving forward.”

And sometimes, you want to get to the top just so
you can punch that annoying guru right between the
eyes!

But the most important thing to grab onto in this
message is this question:

“If you are standing close to the edge of a precipice
with your eyes shut, and someone else says, ‘its
okay, you can take another small step’ would you do it?”

My answer is to OPEN YOUR EYES and decide for yourself
if you WANT to take that step.

Don’t fall into the trap and mentality that you need to
follow someone else just because they created some of
the success in life you want.

And don’t think if you don’t do it their way you’ll
fail. Sometimes “gurus” or “experts” make you feel like
if you don’t so what they say you’re destined to fail.

And make no mistake about it, sometimes they do it on
purpose because it taps into a powerful emotional response
that sells stuff.

If you ever feel that way when seeking advice or guidance
along your personal growth journey please follow this
advice.

Forget them and their stupid BS control tactics that
make you feel like a loser if you don’t do it there
way. (Don’t worry, I fell into that trap also)

The only thing anyone can every really do to help you
(or help me) is teach you to control the only thing
that matters… your own energy.

The techniques are all pretty much the same.

You want: You need:

Weight loss — Diet and exercise
Relationships — Communication
Money — Business fundamentals
Purpose — Inspiration
Happiness — Self acceptance

Etc..

It’s really pretty basic and simple.

The kick in the ass is that there are a gazillion ways
to achieve anything you want but only one way to see
results.

And that’s that small tweak I talk about. It simply
has to do with your own energy.

The truth is, you’ll never get where you want to go if
you don’t pound the trail with your own foot prints.

Are their certain fundamentals that can help you
learn how to “open your eyes and decide for yourself”?

Sure their are, but it ALWAYS requires you deciding
HOW you wish to implement those fundamentals.

Hell, if you’re going to just blindly follow someone
and do everything they tell you to do, you might as
well give them your identity because you’ll lose it very
fast along with any sense of significance you have.

And along with losing your identity you’ll end up in
a worse place from where you started because you’ll
lose most of what’s left of your self worth, confidence,
and belief in your own ability.

Not only that, but the journey will become so incredible
boring and unfulfilling that you’ll never make it to
the end result anyway.

You MUST stomp out your own trail on the mountain on
the way to the top. A trail that leads to things you
enjoy.

And you can only do that if you have control of your
powerful energy that lies dormant inside of you.

Can other people help you along the way?

Yes, you can learn from them if they are authentic but
that doesn’t mean you should walk in the same footsteps.
(If you do choose to step in their footsteps, do so with
OPEN eyes and awareness and don’t be afraid to take off
on a new path when you find one that appeals to you)

It does only take a tiny tweak to create HUGE results
but that tweak can only happen when you use your own energy
in a way that serves you.

So should you make that tweak? Should you take one more
tiny step?

Take a look at your life and your current results and I
think you’ll find the answer to that question yourself.

You know, writing this has made me want to do another
live training. I wasn’t going to do that anymore but
I’m inspired right now.

Actually, I’ll let you decide.

Chime in and let me know your thoughts and if you’d like
to be part of a live training that focuses everything at
learning to raise and control your own energy.

It’s the same system I use but have never really put it
in a package (mainly because it’s so simple).

But the more I look the more I see, people NEED this to
re-discover their own power.

I think I’ll call it the Power Life System because it’s
about time people get the power back into their lives…

Mike

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I often get the question, “How do I
get going when I just have no energy,
motivation, or inspiration?”

And to be honest, I ask myself that
same question sometimes too.

Because sometimes, you just don’t feel
like doing shit!

And you know what, it’s OK.

Really, it is. Because there is always
an underlying desire that lies dormant
inside of you that DOES want to do
something.

Otherwise, you’d have no resistance
against doing anything to begin with.

What I have to offer as an answer to
this question that’s worked for me
time and time again is this…

It’s simply a choice.

It’s not always an easy choice and in
fact at times, it seems like more fun to
get kicked by a horse than taking that
initial action to get your butt moving
again.

From my experience what usually happens
is you’ve put out some effort but felt
like you got burned.

You got excited about something and that
gave you the energy and power to move
forward but the energy fizzled out somewhere
along the way before you saw the results
you were shooting for.

Maybe you’re trying to shed a couple pounds
and started working out.

Well, weights are HEAVY and they’re not
always easy to lift over and over again.

That’s the point, to put resistance on your
muscles and kick start your body to start
burning some fat.

But again, those things are heavy!

So after a couple days, your mind starts
thinking about how damn heavy those weights
are and STOPS thinking about shedding a
few pounds.

At that point it super easy to justify
quitting because how fun is it to think
about lifting heavy weights?

Not quite as exciting about thinking about
how great you’ll look and feel wen you drop
those few pounds you set out to shed is it?

Now here comes the power point in this
message.

You’re like a perpetual progress machine
and it takes a while to get ANYTHING going
to the point where it builds momentum.

If you drink a diet shake are you going to
drop 15 pounds right then?

Of course not but you do start an internal
process.

Every action you take that supports your goals
and objectives is like turning a big crank that
gets the machine moving faster.

And every action you take that doesn’t support
your goals and objectives is like turning the
same crank the other way.

Nothing starts at full speed ahead. In fact,
everything starts dormant and motionless until
you create the motion.

You have to create that speed and momentum and
the only time and place you can do that is
right now, in the very moment your standing
in.

You can’t plant a seed in May if it’s only
March. You can’t have a conversation at
9:15 tomorrow morning when your standing in
10:30 tonight!

You can only do anything right now.

So how do you get your butt moving when you
feel down, unmotivated, and uninspired?

Realize that being down, unmotivated, and
uninspired only means one thing…

Your not in motion. It means you’re stopped
and NOT moving.

You’re like a stagnant puddle of water that
just sits there collecting bacteria and disease.

But the moment you move (take any kind of action)
you turn into a trickle and with each action
you take, you eventually turn into a raging
river with a force so powerful it can carve
the earth!

To sum it up, get off your butt and move!

Activate your mind, body, and heart.

Know that every action you take will crank up
the machine one way or the other and get you
building momentum and once you have enough
momentum, you become unstoppable, one way or
the other.

Always remember, if you didn’t care about your
results, you would never have a problem with
being a stagnant pond.

Feeling down and unmotivated only means you
know that you want more and you’re not happy
with your current experience in life.

P.S. If al else fails, sometimes you just
have to force yourself to get your butt going.

Give yourself a swift kick in the ass and
don’t accept yourself as being unable to
get moving. You’re not weak, you’re not stupid,
and you’re not powerless.

You’re a bad ass! Why don’t you give yourself
the chance to see that and DO something to
prove it right now?

Leave a comment and tell us what you did. It’ll
make you feel GREAT and might even give others
some ideas to pump up there life!

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Today is kind of a special day for me.

19 years ago today, March 27th 1989,
I was discharged from drug and alcohol rehab.

And for 19 years I’ve continuously
made the choice not to do drugs or
drink alcohol.

I’ve been stone cold sober for 19
years!

That’s 6935 days!

And let me tell you, there have been
days when I struggled with that choice.

Sometimes, I just want to tip back a
few brews and let the stress melt
away.

Sometimes, I want to have a nice glass
of wine to compliment my dinner.

Sometimes, I want to get loopy with
my wife and friends and enjoy the
moment in the same way they are.

And sometimes, I just want to get
obliterated and take a mental vacation
from life!

While other times I’m glad I’m sober
because when I’m around people who
get stupid drunk and retarded high,
I laugh and am glad that’s not me.

But for 19 years I’ve made the choice
everyday to stay 100% sober.

Will I stay sober forever? To be honest,
I don’t know.

Being sober is more of an identity for
me now than something I need to do to
maintain order and to have a functioning life.

My life is so much different and my
circumstances and environment are
nothing like they were when I was a scared,
suicidal drug addict.

I always said to myself if I made to 35 years
old, all bets were off. (I never thought I’d
see 35 back then because my life was so unstable
and crazy)

What do you think?

Is time to branch out and hit the sauce
or should I hold the course and continue
to maintain my identity as the “Sober
Dude”?

What would you do? (Your input is not for
me to make a decision on, I’m just curious
about the position you will take)

Post your comments, I’m curious to see
what you think and why…

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What happened to you?

Seriously, what event or experience made you
begin a journey of personal growth?

Have you had that burning desire to discover
and learn more about yourself and your abilities
since you were a kid?

Did something traumatic happen to you that made
you start asking different internal questions?

Were you simply captivated by the savvy marketing
of the idea you could be, do, and have more?

Why do you want more to begin with?

What’s missing in your life that drives you on
a quest to find it?

What’s the point of all these questions?

It’s simple…

If you look at the answers to all of these questions
you’ll find one common theme…

Your desire to create personal growth is directly
created from something you DON’T have.

In other words, something you lack.

In the world of personal development and growth the
word lack is often pegged with a negative energy.

When in reality, nothing is created in your life
or in your personal experience by you unless there is
a lack of it to begin with.

Want more money? Why?

Want to be thinner? Why?

Want a loving and fulfilling relationship? Why?

Want a better job? Why?

The point is, if you already had these things you’d
never have a desire to get them.

And that desire to get things we don’t have or
understand, and learn about things we don’t yet know,
is the spark that set’s us into forward momentum.

Without having a lack of something in your life, you
lose purpose and meaning.

Having something to seek out and discover empowers us
to learn more about ourselves and the Universe we live in.

It’s a perfect design!

Because once we achieve these things or acquire what
we don’t have, our minds instantly begin to try to
understand and make sense of all of the new possibilities
that are beyond what we just acquired.

Use that feeling of lack for what it’s there for…

To drive you forward. Don’t be afraid of it or avoid
it.

It’s the very first step on every meaningful journey…

Mike

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As I was looking back to the beginnings of BANABU and reflecting about what it really stands for I remembered something…

Something very important actually.

BANABU really stands for freedom. Freedom to be yourself and be ok with who you are. Freedom to get rich if you want to or stay broke if you want to.

Freedom to live in the moment and be ok with that moment no matter what’s happening.

And the ultimate freedom of self discovery.

I can’t think of a better gift to give a person personally. Because what most people spend all their energy chasing all comes freely when you start to really discover yourself and your own ability.

That’s what drove me to create it and what drives me to build it. To empower others to discover themselves.

And although I’d like to accept the noble reasoning behind it, the truth is, all of this came about because of something I needed for myself. BANABU was born first from need.

But when that need turned to inspiration it really was created.

So give yourself the gift of self discovery because it brings with it everything you’ve ever wanted…

Find a way, any way, to listen to YOU. Be the person you’d want to show up in your life and that person will always be there…

Mike

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Holy shit RUN! The sky is falling! No wait…
everything is better than it’s ever been
before.

Actually, I just found out the sky is
falling again! Oops… the next piece
of info I got was that it’s all good…

What the hell is going on here?

How can, on one end of the spectrum, things
be better then ever and on the other end,
things are worse than ever before?

The answer is because they both exist
simultaneously.

Both energies are always there and always
available to you.

They have to be in order for you do create
any kind of contrast in your life that you
can push against to create change and growth.

So I’ve come to this conclusion…

(Actually I’ve known this for a very
long time)

You can find evidence to support what
ever belief you decide serves you in
life.

You can find every reason why you should
jump off a bridge and in the very next
breath find every reason why you should
place an astronomical value on yourself.

What ever you look for you’ll eventually
find because your creating those beliefs
in your own mind and no matter how hard
you try, you can NEVER hide from yourself…

So the question of the week is this…

Q: What do you want to find?

A: ___________________________________

Answer that and start lookin for it.

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I write thing like this all the time
and I rarely publish them.

You want to know why?

Because someone told me that everything
I write was too long!

Well f&^% them!

I don’t write it for them, or me, or maybe
even you, I write it for the person who
needs it.

So sorry if my stuff is too long to meet
good marketing standards but you can’t
define what it takes to reach some ones
heart because it’s always changing.

So here it is, for YOU the person who’s
life this will change. For everyone else,
don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll be posting
something soon that will have a major
impact on your life too.

~Mike

What will it be for you that day?

What will the thought be that you
have at the end of this incredible
journey we call life?

What will you wish you did?

What will you wish you didn’t do?

Who will you think of?

Who will you miss?

What will you desperately wished you
would have expressed to “that” person?

Who will think of and smile?

Who will think of and cry?

What experience will you value most?

What memory will stand out more than
any others?

What will define you?

How will you define yourself?

What will you have added to the world?

What will you take with you when you
go because you were too afraid to give
it to the world?

Answer whatever questions stand out…

Take the questions that resonate with
you and make today that day that you
experience the answers to those questions.

Life passes us all by while we get
consumed in the illusion of what matters.

All of us start to believe our own
bullshit about ourselves sometimes.

And we get so caught up trying to create
more and more and more that we forget
how much we actually already have all
around us right NOW!

That’s normal and we’re built to grow
but too many of us miss the boat when
you look at the bigger picture.

I understand that it’s easy to say when
nothing is missing in your life but let
me let you in on a little secret…

Come in close…

Closer…

EVERYONE is missing something!

The only reason to get more of anything
is so you have more to leave behind…

I want you to do something for me.

Go through this slowly and think about
each sentence…

I want you to think of someone you love.

Just one person.

What does that person add to your life?

What does that person add to YOU?

What would you NOT have if that person
wasn’t here…

How would you be different without them?

Now picture them leaving your life…

How do you feel when you see them
leaving your life?

Kinda makes you appreciate the people
in your life a little more…

Tell them you love them and let em know
how much you appreciate having them in
your life.

And now realize this one thing…

Your wife, husband, friends, children,
pets, clerk at the local store you shop
at, co-workers, boyfriend, girlfriend,
boss, and any one else in your life…

You add that same value to their lives
and you enhance their life.

They are more because of YOU and…

They all need you NOW! Not at the end
of the journey.

Mike

P.S. I’ll be adding a donate button to the
end of each post due to feedback from my
readers. (People want to give back the
value they receive because they understand
that powerful principle)

Each post is different and reaches different
people and if one of these posts hit’s you
where you live, I’m leaving the option for
you to give back the value (you decide what
it’s worth to you)

Click the donate button below!

P.P.S. Wait until you see the research I did about
free stuff! It’s SCARY!!!

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Attraction is a personal thing…

I’ve said it all along and will say it again, you can only become attractive in the sense that other people who have the resources, knowledge, skills, or contacts you desire become attracted to you.

You CANNOT attract anything in this world other than the people who can help you get what you want.

But you still must always DO the work to get the result. I’ll go back to my favorite gym analogy. If you want the muscles, you gotta lift the weights!

And some times those weights are heavy and it just plain SUCKS to lift them that day. But just for that day…

I have friends who tell me that everything is supposed to flow to us easily and I disagree. In my experience it only becomes easy after you get to the level you’re happy and comfortable with.

In others words, marriage has it’s challenges, being an excellent parent has it’s challenges, and getting in great shape has it’s challenges… While you’re on the journey to reaching those desired levels of proficiency.

Now keep in mind, once you’re at that level, it does become much easier to just maintain those desired levels and let the success sort of just continue to flow into your life.

But getting there in the first place… not such an easy battle for most of us “normal folk”.

It’s sort of like climbing a mountain…

Going up can be challenging and difficult but once you reach the summit, exploring becomes easy.

The key here is to find some way to enjoy the climb. That’s what makes it seem less like work and more like reward.

I have battle scars from many mountains I climbed, some were a great joy (even though there were blood sweat and tears in the process) and some I would have rather gotten a hot cattle branding iron poked on my ass cheek than climb that mountain!

But you know what happened along the way EVERY SINGLE TIME?

I became attractive to the people already on the summit!

They were watching and waiting to see if I had what it takes to make it…

That doesn’t mean when I reached that summit I had it all, in fact, I had nothing but THEY had everything I needed to not only survive, but also thrive!

It was only when I reached the summit and became attractive to those people that I had the chance to get what they already have. In other words, you don’t have to be multi millionaire in order for rich people to become attracted to you and respect you.

You don’t have to be in perfect shape in order for fitness experts to notice the dedication and effort you put in to your own personal change.

You don’t need to have it all to be attractive to the people who can help you get it all!

I didn’t have anything but strong muscles that allowed me to reach the summit and I only built those muscles because I kept on climbing!

But reaching the top did something magical every time. See, I didn’t attract their respect, I earned it. I became attractive to them for sure, but I earned the admiration and respect they showed me.

And sometimes I went further to unexplored mountains and I reached a summit where nobody was waiting for me. Those are my greatest victories of all. On those journeys I earned respect for myself and I became a very attractive person to myself!

The point I’m trying to make here for you is this…

Life is meant to be lived and experienced, with AND through other people.

And if you want to “attract” things into your life, become attractive to the people who can help you get those things. Become the person you would admire and seek to get advice from and people will flock to you in groves offering everything you need to get everything you want, including some pretty amazing relationships.

One more point on this…

My good friend Jon Benson just recently became engaged. CONGRATS Jon! Back in May of 06 he wrote an attraction statement as to what his expectations were for his future bride to be…

As you know everything ebb’s and flows and when I met Jon he wasn’t at the top of his game. But Jon got back on track and COMPLETELY transformed his entire life in a very short time.

He ended up meeting and ultimately becoming engaged to, a beautiful woman who fit the description Jon wrote out.

Did he attract her? Of course!

Why?

Because he became attractive in every sense of the word. I think it’s pretty safe to say that Jon and his new love May, wouldn’t have even met if Jon didn’t climb that mountain and reach the summit. Attraction has taken on an almost religious energy and I would really like to see it brought back home where it belongs… to a personal level.

Because at the end of the day, you only “attract” what you are attractive to…

BONUS: Chew on this for a while and see how it tastes!

Recent research shows that while your brain does emit energy and a magnetic field, it’s such minuscule amount of energy that it cannot even penetrate your skull! In addition, if any of that energy actually made it out of your head, the magnetic field from the Earth itself would over power and dissolve the energy emitted from your mind…

So while I agree thoughts are powerful, they’re only as powerful as the change they create within you. Look at the only damn thing that can ever make a real difference in your life… a mirror! Have a nice week!

Mike

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