About – Living For All The Marbles

About LFATM

Vinny’s Story

“Hi, I’m Vinny, and welcome to Living For All The Marbles. I am a retired Marine and retired federal employee who is now, in internet terms, in the “4.0” stage of my life. 1.0 was my life up through high school; 2.0 was a 22 year career in the Marine Corps; 3.0 was my time as a federal employee; and now I am in Vinny 4.0. I am determined to live this phase with intent and finish strong and hope to encourage you to do the same.

This pic is my youngest son James’ Boot Camp Graduation that his brother Josh and I were blessed to attend.

How did I get here?

As I neared the end of my federal government career I was not sure what was next. There were many options, but there was no clear conviction. It was a challenge I wrestled with for a long time. Sure, I could have just picked something, but I wanted more than just “pick something.” I prayed about this regularly for two years. It weighed on me so much I imposed on my small group from church to help me pray over those two years. And, I consulted other family and friends and asked them to pray.

What did I want?

I wanted God’s guidance on what the adventure of my life after government service was to be. Around the time I began seeking guidance I was exposed to an organization called “Lifeonaire”. I shared their beliefs, joined, met with my coaches and other members and wrote my life vision. There were things I still wanted to have, do, and accomplish. I wanted to hold myself accountable at some level and I wanted to finish strong. My vision isn’t written in stone and can change, but it serves as a guide.

I don’t want to slow-roll up to death’s door with a life that “just happened” or thinking “Wow that went by quick did I accomplish anything after my Marine and federal service?”. As I heard someone on a movie say once… (this is a paraphrase) I want to come screaming down life’s path, crank the wheel and come skidding into death thinking “Wow! What a ride!”. Some may look at what I’ve done and envy it. Others may think it wasn’t so great. Regardless, I want my take to be that I fought the good fight, finished the course and honored God doing it.

On April 6th 2021 all those prayers were answered when, during my morning devotional time, I felt a strong impression from God. It was “Stop already. You have the mind of Christ. Stop asking me what you should do. Do what you want, but let me steer.” It was clear to me. I don’t need the whole plan. I just need what’s next. Almost immediately, my vision was brought to mind along with a story about using Marbles for accountability I heard long ago.

That prompted me to go the the actuarial tables, determine how long I should live, and divide it into weeks (It was 857 just so you know). I bought a marble for every week and put the marbles in a jar. The plan is to draw one out weekly, and review my activities of the week against my vision and items on the marble list. It was basically, looking at how I was doing. Was I living the plan at least somewhat consistently to say I was moving toward my vision? Was I accomplishing things I wanted to accomplish?

I immediately sought counsel on the idea from family, friends and strangers to try and get a sense of it. Feedback was really positive. One of them brought up this would be a great legacy.

I agreed this would be a great gift to my sons, grandkids, great-grand kids and others as well. How many people have the words, philosophies, faith stories, lessons learned, humor, etc. of a father/ grandfather/great-grandfather to review and reflect on at will.

I was excited. I was enlightened at a men’s retreat in the WV mountains to the idea that men need three things to thrive – A battle to fight, an adventure to live, and beauty to love. As I approached my government retirement I felt I have the battle to fight – the battle of honoring God with my life and making passionate, maturing followers of Jesus from here to the nations. That battle is a continuous challenge. I also have the beauty to rescue – my wife of 44 years. What I didn’t have was the adventure to live. Living For All The Marbles was it… more confirmation.

Then one of my Lifeonaire coaches came up with the hourglass as a logo and I thought I could record videos and put them on FB, Youtube and other media, so my family could get at it at any time. Then I thought… wow other people might be interested in this. Maybe it would inspire them to live intentionally. Maybe they would determine to finish strong. Perhaps they would reach out and we could digitally hang out, or share texts, or DMs, or interact on the topics and our perception of how we’re doing.

And here we are. LFATM has a threefold purpose. Keep me accountable to my vision, provide a legacy for my family and to inspire others to “Live Intentionally and Finish Strong”.

I am grateful for this opportunity and glad you are here. I hope you will stick around, interact, contribute while personally Living Intentionally and Finishing Strong.

Our Logo

The LFATM Logo was designed with purpose.

Hourglass – This is a representation of time. As the marbles pass through it time is advancing and there is no stopping it.

Marbles – Each of these represents a weekly life segment. All we have, do, learn, help, hurt, impact, etc. for each week is represented in the marble. Each marble is for one time use and they are continually moving through the hourglass

Splashes and Ripples – Our decisions and actions cause splashes in our lives and the lives of others. They may be big or small.… helpful or hurtful. We have to decide what we want them to be and who they will impact and how. The ripples indicate the smaller impacts/indirect impacts of our lives or the continuing impact of our splashes on the life of family, friend, or stranger. Both of these demonstrate that our actions, during any given week, reverberate in our lives and the lives of others for any number of minutes, hours, weeks, days or years.

Pool – Once the Marble Drops/the week is spent and gone forever. Unlike the sand filled hourglass, the Marble Life Glass of our lives cannot be turned over, the marbles recycled or the moments of that week relived. We can’t take it back and live it over again with better choices. When the week passes it is never seen again. That should cause us to think about how we really want to spend that week.

Marble Colors/Patterns – The varied colors indicate no two weeks are the same. They may be similar, but are never the same.

Vinny’s Vision - May 22

Visions Change Over time

RULES FOR MAKING GOOD USE OF YOUR VISION (from the System by Ken Holmes (see his short “The System” article in the Faith Corner):

1. Write it.

2. Read it

3. Believe it

4. Be grateful

5. Make a plan

6. Expect to see serendipitous things

7. Relax in your faith.

I am grateful and stoked that I live from a perspective of abundance physically, mentally, emotionally, socially, spiritually, financially, and professionally.

PHYSICALLY

I like what I see in the mirror. I am active, fit, and grateful for my physical capabilities. I maintain effective tactical and EP skills.

SPIRITUAL

I am a follower of Jesus. God is good all the time. I am loved all the time. I trust him all the time. I follow him all the time. I thrive by his grace, all the time. I am blessed, all the time and I am growing in my relationship with God. God is always there for me. It is about relationship not religion. I know God is in control. I am at peace regardless of circumstance and work to encourage others in faith and to have peace.

I host and participate in events to attract non-believers and strengthen the bonds of godly men.

I am grateful for all I have been blessed with and experienced. Every day and every relationship is a gift.

EMOTIONALLY

Bridget and I connect on every level. We enjoy all the time we get together and can enjoy time apart to be enriched and enrich others without loss, because the connection isn’t broken by distance. We share all that is on our hearts without fear of judgement and with the knowledge we are loved and supported.

We have a mountain farm we enjoy with family, hunt, fish, and enjoy the outdoors. The farm is part of our family legacy. A place to connect with God and nature… to escape the external things that will wear on our family. It is our family sanctuary. To gather together is special. The fires, the sights, the laughter, and making memories are all amazing.

We travel adding to our knowledge of the world and share those experience with our family.

We live “I Love You More”.

As in :

“When I say I Love You more, I don’t just

mean I love you more than you love me.

I mean I love you more than the bad days

ahead of us. I love you more that any fight

we’ll ever have.

I Love your more than the distance between

us. I love you more than any obstacle that

could ever try and come between us.

I love you most!”

SOCIALLY:

We are a close family who work and play together. I value the relationships deeply and work to make them valuable, memorable, encouraging, confidence building and spiritually enriching. I am their protector, teacher, guide, mentor, provider if need be, and their earthly family spiritual guide.

I am am blessed to be loved and respected and I love, respect, and look to the good of others. I gather regularly with friends and enjoy the richness that those connections bring. I create fun/interesting experiences for myself and those around me and live to serve and grow.

I have a burden for men to live and serve as God intended. I meet with a group of men weekly to encourage and help us live as men should and not as modern society says we should. I encourage and inspire men and provide or facilitate opportunities for them to fellowship and learn from each other.

MENTALLY

I live free. Free to pursue my interests. Free to worship and serve as I please/feel led. I am free of mental stress of financial issues. I am freedom and flexible. We have the financial and family stability to go wherever we want to go when we want to go there. It feels great to connect, help and not have to say no to legitimate needs.

I am interested in everything and educated and trained across a variety of subjects. I enjoy books, tapes, podcasts, videos, seminars, and virtually any other source of information that can help increase my knowledge and understanding.

FINANCIALLY

I am financially free to support efforts and people who need it.

I am an investor and money maker. I use the opportunities, wisdom, knowledge, understanding God gives me to invest ethically, wisely, and profitably. Money comes to me.

I have productive crypto mines as part of my financial plan.

Money comes to me. My investments grow to supplement my income.

I am a busy and trusted trainer of Church Security, combative skills, and firearms and can demand premium fees.

I have paid off E&D as agreed.

PROFESSIONALLY

My counsel is sought after and valued and I guard my integrity jealously. I overcome challenges. Though I find myself more often in the lead, I am equally comfortable as leader or follower. I thrive in the “thick of things” and am comfortable sitting quietly alone thinking or relaxing. All offer opportunities for service, learning, growth, etc.

I am a leading voice in house of worship safety and security. I organize training and events and serve Bay Area and its Safety and Security Team as its Director.

I am sharing my life experience with others through Living For All The Marbles to inspire, encourage, and entertain others, provide a legacy for my family, and hold myself accountable. It is a source of goodness and help for thousands of people.

I am a Sheepdog, a leading voice in House Of Worship security, a protector of the innocent, and am obligated by my calling and values to oppose evil. I am building an exemplar Safety and Security Team, mentoring other churches and building the Faith Based Security Network organization in the state of Maryland.

I am a busy, high quality, and trusted trainer of Church Security, combative skills, and firearms and can demand premium fees, if I choose.

I live my vision daily, hold myself accountable, and share my experiences through Living For All the Marbles, a set of popular and informative media to help others live their best lives.

I am blessed and a blessing.2.

Marble List

Hunt and fish with my sons, grandkids, brothers and others.
Take the grandkids to Disney, universal studios, space camp, NY City, National Parks, battlefields
Small Part in TV/Movie
Firearms and Home Defense Instructor
Full Laser Ammo Range
Write Book
Write Leadership at Ground Level
Travel
Viking River Cruise Europe
British Isles
Scotland
Wales
Channel Islands
Ireland
Italy
Tuscany
Naples
Amalfi Coast

New England in the fall

New Orleans

San Antonio
Roundup
Riverwalk

Israel

Africa
Rift Valley
Tanzania
Egypt
Debt Free
Complete full BACC Security Training Development
Own a vacation rental on the Isle of Capri
Own a beachfront property in St Thomas, St John’s or St Croix
Buy a farm
Repair Fender Guitar
Fly in a private jet
Meaningful Tattoo(s)
Get my Drone Pilot’s License
Record “Watch the Lamb” music Video
Record an Album “Songs I Love” Faith
Record an Album “Songs I Love” Secular
Celebrate More
Finish home projects

Marble Glossary

Living for All the Marbles – A project to help people to be fulfilled and happy in every area f with intent and the goal of finishing strong. (hopefully with marbles)

Accelerate the Crash – This is a term I learned from fellow Lifeonaires which means if you know you have to endure some difficult business or life issue, make it happen fast so you can deal with it and move on to what you want in life. I had to do this with a bad real estate investment that I could have kept hanging on to or sell at a loss and get on to better things. It was GREAT advice.

Let’s Roll – The call for Marbleheads to engage in some task, quest, etc together. I love the connection to flight 93 on 9-11. They did something terribly difficult and what needed to be done… together!

Losing Your Marbles – Losing your mind… We don’t recommend this!

Marblehead – an individual member of Marble Nation. No Marbleheads – No Marble Nation.

Marble List – This is the list of things we would like to do/accomplish in our life. They say you will overestimate what you can do in a day, but underestimate what you can do in a year. Be Bold. If you want it… List it. Psychological research findings clearly indicate people accomplish more when they write it down.

Marble Nation – all those who are committed to living life intentionally and actively pursuing what they want out of life. I look forward to meeting, interacting, and growing with these people.

Marble Life – A life of purpose lived with intent

Marble Living – The act of living intentionally in accordance with your life vision

Marble Up – This phrase is used to encourage other Marbleheads to do what needs to be done. Don’t back away. Don’t let fear stop you. Get it done.

Marble Life Elements – A balanced life can only happen when we address every area of life and put the appropriate level of effort into those areas. For us they are: Physical, Mental, Emotional, Social, Spiritual, Financial, and Professional. These are not just related to what we do, but who we are. That is why life isn’t as good when one or more is not addressed or is out of balance.

Physical Element

In this element you are focused on how you feel physically.

Do you have the energy you envisioned?
Do you feel like you want to?
Are you healthy in accordance with your vision of health?
Do you weigh what you want to?
Are you in the shape you want to be in?
Are you as physically functional as you want to be?

Mental Element

In this element you are focused on your cognition and thinking

Are you educated to the level you want?
Can you think to the level you want?
Are you learning at the level you want,
Are you reading, listening, watching what you should?
Are you as stable as you want?
Are you cognizant of your surroundings and circumstances?

Emotional Element

In this element we are focused on your feelings

How are your circumstance?
Do you have the relationships you want?
Are you reacting to circumstances as you want?
Do you feel safe?
How do you feel about your situation?
How do you feel about your connection to others?

Social Element

In this element we are focusing on the how you are managing your relationships

Spiritual Element

Here you focus on your relationship with God

Financial Element

Here you focus on your money and how you manage and use it.

Professional Element

Here you focus on your career