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Got these two gems in the mail today from @blackriflecoffee. I'm about to sing the national anthem and get cranked up on coffee. #blackriflecoffee #brcc #snipershide #thankaveteran (at The Stamper House)

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#usa🇺🇸

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Completed a Half Murph challenge at the gym today in 27:55.6 minutes. Had my little buddy cheering me on the whole way. Couldn't have done it without her. #murphchallenge #neverquit #teamneverquit #itshardtomove240lbs #ineedacheeseburger (at Fitness by Holly)

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#billmurray #bfm #billmurrayforpresident (at The Stamper House)

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Politics My whole news feed on every social media site I have is full of political bullshit. I'm not sure how we ended up in this situation (Trump/Hillary) in the first place. It's almost embarrassing. However, this is what the American people are left with. Like it or not, U.S. Citizens must choose one. Go vote. Please go vote. It's your duty as a productive citizen of society. If things aren't going the way you want a few years down the road, don't complain if you didn't vote. I know you're going to say, "but Brett, I don't like either candidate." Me either. One is a criminal and the other is an asshole. But, these two morons are who we have to pick between. Third party candidate is always an option, but trying to organize the amount of votes it would take to elect a third party is borderline impossible. Making a decision might be tough (or not) for some people. The main point is to make an educated choice based on what YOU want. Don't get information from Facebook. Most of those posts are inaccurate. ANYONE can put ANYTHING on social media. Realizing the information posted is not truthful will better help you decide on our future president. Fact check everything. Visit several sources to get information. When someone puts a negative meme up against Trump/Hillary, it's because they want you to vote the same way they are. Make your own decision. Don't follow other people. Most of the political propaganda I'm seeing isn't even about politics. It's about name calling and trying to create a bad image for the other candidate so that we'll all forget what the hell is important for our country. Stick to the facts. Although this election seems to be hopeless, let's not forget that we are still the greatest nation on earth. If we allow ourselves to work together instead of bickering about race/gender/heritage/and whatever else everyone's feelings are hurt about, we will continue to be the greatest. Don't unfriend someone just because of who they're voting for. That's ignorant. This country was started because a few people were tired of being told what to do and what to believe. How about we not make that mistake again? Vote for who you think will be best for this country, work together, and thank a veteran for being a badass so we can continue to vote freely. Brett

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@olesmoky makes some pretty good corn liquor #olesmokeymoonshine #olesmokeydistillery #blackberry

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Teams

A great team can achieve an unobtainable goal. When the majority says, "you can't", teammates never let each other quit. They push each other to limits that previously seemed unachievable. Teams are in every aspect of our lives. The office, sports, marriage, the gym, family, work, and so on. There's always a team behind success and failure. The boss at work can't be great at his job without the hard work and dedication of his employees. Employees can't be successful without a boss that works beside them and continues to push his employees to greatness. In marriage, we often find ourselves working against each other rather than together. If your child gets hurt or something goes wrong, at least on spouse will freak out. An argument begins over the original problem that is not even about each other. Staying calm and attacking the problem at hand is much more effective when you're not arguing with your significant other. Calm is contagious. I heard Rorke Denver (former Navy Seal Commander) talk about this. It's simple. If you're calm, I'm calm. If I'm calm, you're calm. Going apeshit causes chaos in a team. Having a level head leads to success and the end goal. Failing as a team is important. Winning is great, but it doesn't have a lot of life lessons behind it. Losing as a team means that no one person is to blame. Brutal honesty after a loss should fuel the fire within the team to make the changes needed to achieve success. This past Friday we (New Mill boys) lost a teammate. Our job REQUIRES having a strong team. We make the money that's feeds our families by working hard. But, it's not an individual production bonus. Our bonus is based off of a team performance. Letting a teammate down means letting a family down. Our brother Chip never quit on the team. He always had a positive attitude and could motivate any person in the shop on a bad day. Our brother never quit on us and our team never quit on him. Several guys did everything they could to revive Chip until the ambulance came. That is the definition of "team" and "brotherhood." I saw a steelworker cry that day. Steelworkers don't cry. We are some of the toughest guys on the planet. Seeing that completely explained how much Chip meant to us. He will be missed. We all know he'll be watching and keeping us safe. Work together. Work relentlessly. Stay calm. Never let a teammate down. Brett

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Never quit

This is a big deal to me. Really, I think it should be a big deal to everyone. “Never quit” can be applied to any aspect of your life. In the gym, at work, at home with your family, a marriage, a 3lb burrito food challenge (which I crushed), and so on.

Fresh out of college and full of ambition, I quickly realized that my college degree didn’t mean as much as the majority of “adults” said it would. I didn’t expect to make $100,000 right off the bat, but I thought I’d be making more in a week than a monthly loan I promised to pay back after graduation (student loans). It was a crap job that I hated. Half punching numbers into a computer and the other half scanning barcodes in a warehouse freezer was definitely not what I went to school for. I never thought I was better than that job. In fact, I was thankful for the money every Friday. But, the working life had to be better.

My beautiful wife and I had our first child while I was at my first post college job. Diapers ain’t cheap and wanting more for my family came natural. I called up an old employer that I had worked for during my breaks at Radford University. Thinking I would never go back, I quickly reconsidered because the money was better.

The hours sucked. Every night, every weekend, and long hours. I worked my way up the ladder fairly quick. From hourly employee,to management, to more responsibility, and finally leading the division with a couple supervisors under me. I advanced every 6 months. The hours got longer and the stress skyrocketed. One of my superiors (a man I loath even now) told me to forget my family and friends. I lived at work. No one could be trusted from the bottom up. Being home was rare and when I was, you could say I really wasn’t. Too tired to pay attention and function. Too stressed to think straight. I worked 27 days straight once. Fourteen hour days during that time made me a little I’ll-tempered. Just imagine an angry junk yard dog that doesn’t want to be woke up… And then you wake him up and he never goes back to sleep. Yeah, angry.

Finally, I got a break and was put on a shift with two other great supervisors. Nothing changed except the two guys I was given eventually became brothers. The hours were still long and the stress was still through the roof, but at least I had two loyal guys watching my six. Two people in the whole place I could trust. The problem with that situation became very apparent when our bosses didn’t approve that we had each other’s back. I went toe to toe on several occasions because I knew my guys were right and were being accused of ridiculous accusations. If there’s one thing I hate, it’s being blamed for something I, or my guys, didn’t do.

My shift churned out great production numbers. In the end, my team was still a massive piece of shit. If you’re told enough that you suck, eventually you’ll start believing it. And, that mentality works it’s way into your home life. I was over weight at 260lbs, I was drinking 3-4 energy drinks a night, I wasn’t being the best husband I could be(your spouse doesn’t care for someone who’s doom and gloom all the time), and most importantly I wasn’t being the absolute best father I could be. I’ll remind you, I was never home and I missed a large part of my little girls early years because I lived at work. While all this was going on, one of my brothers told me he had another job lined up closer to home. I was so freaking proud that he was getting out in hopes that his life would be better. I knew there wouldn’t be a suitable replacement and damn sure it wasn’t going to be someone I trusted. As if that wasn’t a big enough bummer, I got word from my other teammate that he was leaving for another job.

I remember coming home one day around 4am. I was worn out. I grabbed a couple hours of sleep and was awaken by a little girl that was full of energy. I got her dressed and took her to my dads house so I could get some shut eye. I must have been in a shit mood because my dad asked me, “what the hell is wrong with you?” I’m sure I mumbled something about how terrible my job was. He replied with, “well, what do you want to do in life? What is it that you want to do?” Without skipping a beat I said, “You don’t get to pick. You go to work and pay bills.” He didn’t say another word after that. And I’m glad. I guess I expected some woe-is-me reply. When I didn’t get the response I wanted, my brain started churning for answers.

Knowing that the team I trusted was leaving, I began to ask questions about the jobs they were headed to. I wanted out as well, but was scared to put my family in a bad financial situation if things went south.

One day, the light bulb above my head turned on. I told myself that my family deserved better. My daughter deserved to see her daddy more. My wife deserved to see her husband more and have help raising our kid. What kind of person quits on there family? What kind of man doesn’t try to be the best for his family? Those questions fueled the fire. I still ask myself those questions every day. I respond to myself, I WILL NOT QUIT. EVER. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCE.

I decided to apply to a company I knew nothing about, with a skill I barely had any knowledge of. All I knew is that it paid well and it was Monday through Friday. I put in an application on Monday, was called in for an interview on Wednesday, and hired.

Before leaving my career I found out that my team of three would all be leaving within two weeks of each other and that I would still be working beside one of them. Things were looking up.

Remember that “Never Quit” fire that was set off inside of me? It’s a good thing that happened. My new job was/is the definition of Never Quit. Not only was welding required, but heavy lifting, decision making, strength, and speed were non-negotiable. Those qualities are a must.

The first month was hell. Unless you’re crab fishing on the Bering Sea, there’s not a harder/more physical job. Bruises every day. My hands would lock up when I slept and had to be forced open (trigger fingers). I received five cortisone shots in both wrists and fingers. I dropped 30lbs in no time. I ate Aleave pills like they were going out of style. I saw people quit every day. However, quitting wasn’t an option for me. If I quit, not only did I quit on myself, but more importantly, I would quit on my family. Any time I felt like slowing down I told myself, “Stop being a bitch. You’re freaking steel worker. Build joists and build them fast.” I now love what I do. It’s awesome.

NEVER QUIT. It works. It will always work. It can’t be taught. The fire can’t be lit by someone else. It has to be YOU. Only you. Once you start the Never Quit mindset, you must not stop.

Now days I spend time with my family like a father should. I see them when I get home from work, I help put my kids in bed, I try to help out around the house (I’m bad at cleaning), I get to see my beautiful wife, I stay in shape (friggin’ love the gym), and will Never Quit anything.

If you read this, thanks for hanging in. This story is nothing special. It’s the every day “suck” of life. Embrace the suck. Kick its ass. Run through it. NEVER QUIT.

Brett

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I'm going to write down some of my thoughts

I thought I might start writing down some of my thoughts. Maybe some inspirational or just my opinions. Read if you want. Or don't. I'm not sure how often I'll blog, or even how grammatically correct this stuff will be since the majority will come from my iPhone. Take it for what it's worth. If you're reading, thanks.

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Go get some #BBQ for lunch. Right on Main Street in New Castle. Buford's BBQ killer! (at Main Street Shops)

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In a heated game of hide-n-seek, this is the best possible position you can be in. If they can't see your face, they can't see you. #hideandseek #masterofdisguise (at The Stamper House)

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Feels good to be able to work out again. Finally have a good job where I can do something besides live at work. More importantly, I can be with my family. #family #gymwithsasquatch #noxplode #thelegend #neverquit (at Fitness By Holly)

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@stacstamper brought home some #missionbbq. I had the brisket and a bbq sandwich. Best I've ever had. More importantly, they're big supporters of the #woundedwarriorproject . I wish I could eat there every day. #wwp #supportourtroops

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Gotta get me one of these bad boys. #guns #glock #aliengear #concealedcarry

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Tactical Bacon

ThinkGeek has once again created a product so uniquely specific that it’s a wonder to behold. Tactical bacon, available in 9oz cans (18 servings per can, 3 pieces per serving) will last over 10 years unopened.

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Parks and Recreation Merchandise: http://bit.ly/1nsXYqC