YOU'RE EXCEPTIONAL

Hello and Happy Holiday everybody! Hope all is well. For St. Patrick's Day this year, how about we all think green and do something friendly for the Earth? Maybe throw that empty bottle in the recycle bin instead of the trash, just once. Maybe, just for the holiday, you can refrain from throwing that cigarette butt down on the ground, and actually throw it away! Yay! St. Patty's Day!
Watch Lil' Bush! It's very, very funny.


I had fun at the Wonder Con in San Fran, and then at the BTW convention the following week. I actually got to mark out a bit hanging with the stars of the 80's I used to watch. The Hart Foundation, Honky Tonk Man ( He can sing and he can dance), Harley Race, and Damn- it was so good to see Dr. Death Steve Williams!
Thanks to everyone I saw at Wizard World Convention last weekend in Los Angeles! It was a good show, a great time and we got some awesome footage for RVD TV with friends Mic Foley, Ray Parks, Daniel Logan, Scott Schwartz, Fat Momma and other celebrities, and of course, the extreme fans of California!


As you know, I'm not traveling too far these days. That fact remains, in spite of all the offers I get every day to wrestle or sign autographs in different parts of the world. Having said that, there is something on the horizon I should tell you about. At the end of March, I am scheduled to pull my suitcase out of the closet yet again, and this time...I need to pack my singlet and boots! Ready for this? March 28 and 29, RVD returns to the ring...in Portugal!!! Since you saw my last match in WWE in June, I have only wrestled twice. You saw the blink-of-an-eye return on the RAW 15 year anniversary show. My match with Booker T in PWA is this week's episode for RVD TV. Now, I'm getting ready for my return, and my first time in Portugal. Can't make it to the show? That's all right, RVD TV members, you know I'll bring it to you. I have been having a blast with RVD TV and from the feedback of the members, so has everyone else. I don't know how many times we've filmed an episode and said "This is our best one yet!" but it does keep getting better and better. Through RVD TV, fans have been inspired to grow, think outside the box, question authority, be positive, take care of their health-physical, mental and spiritual, improve their relationships, and enjoy life! I feel like it's serving it's purpose!


While some negative people will say I claim to be perfect, I claim the opposite. I know that I like me better today than I did last year, and I know that this pattern will continue as I go through life, learning and growing inside. I urge others to follow this way of life, but not to agree with everything I say or do. That's your choice, which I encourage you to realize, and to own. No one can take that from you. It's always about making sensible choices.


Here's something I run into a lot, when using my personal experiences to draw from as examples for motivation. Well, you're an exception. Now, I realize that most of you have not been World Champions, but some of you have been champions of different passions. Some of you never wanted to be. Whatever the case, you are exceptional, too. There's never been another you before. Unless they specifically surveyed you for the statistics, they aren't talking about you specifically when they give the intimidating numbers. When I was 18, I entered a contest to win a t-shirt at the Battle Creek Toughman Contest. Out of every one in the arena, who ever punched the target the hardest got the shirt at the end of the night. My "why not" attitude justified a chance, and although the odds were against me, I still have that t-shirt. Somewhere. Anyway, I trained hard, and entered the next contest in Kalamazoo 3 months later. Against all odds, I made it to the main event and took runner-up to a seasoned veteran of the ring. That was me though, and I'm an exception, right? I dreamed of being a professional wrestler, as a child, and made it happen. Yeah, but-I'm an exception. I wanted to be different than all the other wrestlers and stand out instead of copying someone else. Yeah, but-I'm an exception. I was a huge fan of martial arts movies and wanted to be in them. I found out how to make it happen. I'm an exception. Okay, so maybe I just have mad fighting skills. Is that it?


I love being married, even after ten years, and miss my wife when we're apart. Yeah, but-I'm an exception. If you keep telling yourself that- maybe you'll feel better about yourself-falling short of your dreams. Hey-I'm all for living the exciting life so you guys can live through me, but I'm a happy person and I want everyone else to be happy too so we can all enjoy the gift of life. Do you remember when the WWE sent the boys to Iraq for that "volunteer" trip that I didn't go on a few years ago? So many of my peers didn't want to go but didn't have the ball to say so. They felt like they wouldn't get away with saying "no" to the boss and decided they respected me for doing it. Guess what they told themselves? RVD's an exception.
I told them what I'm telling you. Anyone can do the things that they think only I can!It's called "going for it".

You can sit in the audience and talk about how good you'd do on stage, or you can go for it, and show us. Usually, when you think about the worst that could happen, it's not enough to keep you from going for it. The first time I remember being "exceptional" was when my second grade teacher wanted my parents to consider putting me in an advanced class and to skip third grade. Didn't know that one, did you? Academically gifted, was what she said. There's where that sense comes in to play to make good choices. You know what that tells me? I've been very good at paying attention- to school, to life, and to people. THEY may have you feeling like dreams aren't worth chasing, but I know better.It's your life. Don't let anyone make you feel otherwise. So, you just don't feel like it's worth it? Remember that commercial "Someone's going to win the lottery- Why not you?" I'll second that question, and there are a lot of rich lottery winners that will agree.
Don't sell yourself short. Really. Who wants to be another statistic?