July 18th, 2019 These are my driving glasses. They are as much of The Dennis Vogen Story as any other part of me. When I was a young punk, I found these metal monsters in a broken basket at a thrift store. It started as a joke, but I fell in love; these random spectaclesContinue reading “Driving Glasses”
Tag Archives: Growth
One More Day
July 9th, 2019 My only goal is to put one more good day between me and the person I used to be. This may sound brutal and typically too honest from me, but sometimes I really understand why Bradley Cooper killed himself at the end of A Star Is Born. To wake up every dayContinue reading “One More Day”
The New Normal
June 28th, 2019 What is normal? I think a better question is: what is normalized, and what should or shouldn’t be? Without even realizing it, a lot of us normalize behaviors in how we interact with people and how we present ourselves online. I was talking to a friend yesterday, and it made me thinkContinue reading “The New Normal”
A Meditation On Worry
June 25th, 2019 I heard a wonderful concept today: if you can worry, then you can meditate, because worrying is just meditating about all the wrong things. Hell, yeah, it is. Instead of finding my inner peace and shit, I repeat things like, “I am such an awkward loser” in my head until I believeContinue reading “A Meditation On Worry”
“The Most Boringest Ride Ever”
June 24th, 2019 “I do not want to go on the most boringest ride ever.” My dad didn’t let me live this one down for a while. We were at Disney World, which, in my young heart, was the most perfect place a person could imagine. Heaven was a distant and possibly fictional second. IContinue reading ““The Most Boringest Ride Ever””
Check Your Intent
June 20th, 2019 I don’t have my strong point of view because I think I’m always right. I’m not. I’m just doing my best with the rest of you. No, I have a strong point of view because if you want to read something bland or vague or generically inspirational, there are a million otherContinue reading “Check Your Intent”
The Climb
June 15th, 2019 Some people wonder why climbers do it. Why would somebody put their life at risk for something so stupid? Until you really stop and think about it and realize that at least once in your life, you are going to be obsessed with, possessed by and insanely passionate about something, or someone.Continue reading “The Climb”
You Positive?
June 11th, 2019 I saw some people today and they reminded me of a simple truth that needs to be repeated. Positive people do not have better lives than negative people do. Bad things happen to them: they fall down, they get set back and they get hurt. They have sad days and mad daysContinue reading “You Positive?”
[Start The Clapping]
June 4th, 2019 I help run a thing on Tuesday afternoons. To do that, they give me a folder that tells me what to say and what to do. Today, I noticed that after one of the statements, it read [Start the Clapping]. And I thought to myself: “Hell, yeah.” That’s what we need toContinue reading “[Start The Clapping]”
Tightrope
May 28th, 2019 Imagine your life is a high-wire act. It might not be hard to pretend, actually. Every part of (and person in your) life is one thread in the tightrope that you’re tirelessly walking. If you find a loose or stray wire, don’t worry. Your only job is to focus on the strong,Continue reading “Tightrope”
The Den 