Met a guy one day out of prison and...

Dear angels thanks for sending me a reminder...

I was driving in downtown Waterloo, Ontario today and I stopped randomly to go to a comic book shop to add a gem to Wyatt’s collection. When I got out of the car I was approached by a great big dude dressed all in black who needed a shave amongst other things. He had a kind of broken smile, removed his hands from his pockets and held them out in a very non confrontational way and said “can I ask you something? Um… can I just be really honest with you?” I said of course. He went on to explain that he had just been released from prison yesterday, he possessed only what was on his person and was more than a little lost and in need of a number of things. He never actually asked me for any one specific thing, but I gave him some money that I had in pocket and then we walked for about 45 minutes and talked. I think that is what he needed the most. I told him I had been through a bit of a crazy year as well and that I had learned a few lessons in that time. He asked what those lessons were? First, forgive yourself but don’t forget what you have been through. Second, surround yourself with good people and good situations and follow your instincts when you feel otherwise. We continued to walk and talked a while and the third thing we arrived at together.

We spoke a little about what he needed and where he was headed. He mentioned a woman that he loves but who he is not in good favor with currently. He mentioned a couple of kids that were his and how badly he wanted to be in their life and he mentioned a few health issues that he had that would likely continue to cause him trouble in the near future. He had obviously had some rough times in his life, he inferred that his childhood was less than awesome, and that he had some things he felt regretful for and mentioned that multiple things from his past nagged at him consistently. I suggested that he focus more on what he can be doing today to take him in a good direction and then that he try to gently push those hard and ever present emotions aside, be honest that they are there but to quickly return to what he can be doing to move forward in a positive direction. He was a big and potentially intimidating dude, so I suggested that he get some clean “happier” looking clothes, get back to the halfway house and have a shower and get cleaned up and then to go out in the world feeling better about being clean and alive. That’s when we came up with Our third thing. He needed to find public health, and some source of moral support and a job; we agreed that he should... show up on time, smile and be clean and then vow to himself to do as many good things as he can to earn his and others faith and respect in himself. Seemed like good advice for anyone.

If he ever reads this, my message to him would be…

Big unshaven fella, in the black hoody with the spikes on it; with a good heart and a boat load of baggage: you have a somewhat clean start and a lot of opportunity to change your life for the better. Chip away at life, one good decision at time and then one day at a time and so on. Earn back respect in yourself, focus on that big heart of yours and listen when it speaks to you, the respect of others will come in time and will be earned with consistency and love for yourself. Thank you for stopping me on the side of the road and reminding me of a few good lessons about life, and most importantly, how fortunate I am. Take advantage of your chances, life is long and forgiving if you let it be.

Say "Thank You" from your heart...

Say Thank You

I am sitting in the car with my parents, we’re driving to Rochester New York, from Port Elgin Ontario. I was invited to attend a professional lacrosse game, one that just two years ago, would likely have found me competing in it. The owner of the home team, a man I have never formerly met or played for, has pledged to give my family $1000.00 for each goal his team scores tonight.

The team is filled with players whom I have battled alongside and against for years, more years than I can remember. Pat O’toole, a soon to be hall of fame goaltender and perennial representative for the Professional Lacrosse Players Association, mentioned to mister Curt Styres, that my family was doing some fundraising to help offset our medical bills and lost income. His response was something along the lines of “well we can give him a jersey to raffle off, but we can do a lot more than that as well”. If times were different it may very well be that I’d be battling against Curt’s players tonight. If I was having a typical night, I’d like to think he’d be cursing me and calling me any number of well deserved names. Instead he is instructing his staff to get us VIP passes and he welcomed us into his suite with his family and he treated us with incredible dignity and respect. We met his mother Vera, a lovely and kind woman who had a very interesting pearl of wisdom to help me with my healing. Here were children running around and a beautiful little baby just the same age as my 3 month old daughter. The arms of the lacrosse family opened up and invited us in and made us safe and comfortable.

My time recovering has taught me many things. One of them is that one person’s illness can bring out the absolute best in others. I write these thoughts down as way to burn them in to my mind, and a way to provide myself reminders. One day soon I will be much healthier than I have been recently, and nature will have its way and be inching me closer to taking things for granted yet again, these memories should serve as a cold ice cube on the sunburned back of life. They should make me sit up straight and remember that things can change in an instant, and when they do, everything will be fine and some incredible people will be there if you are open to finding them. And I had better pay back into the system because it sure is taking good care of us.

After the game….

Now, sitting here in the hotel room just after the game in Rochester, I am a little overwhelmed and am trying to process the lessons in life that I just learned. “just say it from the heart”… that will be the take away from today. Sometimes “Thank You” doesn’t seem like enough because we say it everyday. We say it to someone who holds a door open for us, we say it to our kids when they do something nice, to our spouses, to taxi drivers, we say it to total strangers. What do you say to someone who you have never met, but has heard about your story and hands your family $23,000 to lighten the burden that you are experiencing.


“You say Thank You and you say it from the heart and they will know.” Wendy Styres February 27th, 2010.

Never ever forget that lesson.

Jim Moss

Dear dudes on the Buried Life...

Guys, my wife and I watch the show after we put the kids to bed and we love it. We are Canadians living in San Jose CA. I am 32 years old.
Last year I got very sick, spent 30 days in hospital after H1N1 and West Nile Virus I had to relearn how to walk. Funny thing was I am a Hall of Fame Lacrosse player, played for team Canada in two sports and have won a world championship. You can imagine walking with a cane is a tough pill to swallow.
I have stayed positive and am determined to make something good and much bigger than me out of this situation. I decided that what made me who I was before in life was that I pursued my dreams and I was very good at it. So I am getting back to that, something simple but it’s what makes childhood so incredible. Why shouldn't it make adult life just as fun?
I am going to space. I have dedicated myself to going to outer space on one of the Virgin Galactic flights and figure that it should prove inspiring to others to go from a hospital bed to outer space. The flights cost $200K, $20K is due as a deposit. I have called myself the Panhandling Spaceman and I am fund raising the entire amount $1 dollar at a time and trying to convince 200,000 people that I am a worthy recipient. The big project is to create a non- profit called the Dream Cadets that teaches children the importance of dreaming big dreams and empowers them to pursue those dreams, I think that's what will change the world in the future, Kids that feel empowered to do good in the world instead of just accepting how things are. You guys are a good example of that wouldn't you say?
So I'd love your help. It has been a tough year but I am overcoming adversity and am determined to make it the catalyst for something big and wonderful.
Check out the website http://www.iamgoingtospace.com or watch the videos http://www.youtube.com/jrmoss55
I hope you'll agree that my project is worthy and that Sweet ol' bus will come rolling up North on the 101 to help us out.
A little buried but diggin my way out,
The Panhandling Spaceman,
Jim Moss
PS Love your work

Generosity in all sizes… inspiring me as much as I am them.

As I was sure would be the case, it is proving true that journey toward my dreams will be an excellent one. I have said many times that the people along the way will be one of the most memorable parts of my project. And at the risk of sounding cliché my “trip” has already begun.

So far, I have had a 13 year old girl, collect dollars from all of her friends at school and hand me 22 one dollar bills. I have had a donation for $1000.00 come with no note attached, just the cash. Today I had a guy in the UK contact me as he is doing something similar to my project. He survived a one year long self-inflicted drug induced coma and now is returning to a childhood dream of going to space, just like me. He told me in plain English that I was an inspiration to him and that he was more determined because of it. I had an $18 donation from the players on a lacrosse team in Monterey California. On the flip side, I have had some interesting “nay sayers”, they comment on Facebook, but typically they have cast a superficial judgment and have not looked deep enough to see the good I am trying to do. When I correct their misjudgments, they don’t come back to offer a rebuttal. I hope they do read it though and learn that we are really trying to do something pure and good.

I have been taking time to write thank you cards, I have been more organized than ever and am always motivated to work away at little bits here and there as my health and time allows. It is interesting though; it is the people that are motivating me as much as I might motivate them or as the ultimate goal serves as inspiration.

I’ll be in touch again soon,
JM

Excellent horoscope for Tuesday Feb 9th

Most of your energy today will be focused on matters of reputation and image, Pisces. There is a lot of support from many quarters for you right now, and others are willing to give assistance. Even those who either openly oppose you or do so in a clandestine manner inadvertently act to your advantage by giving you the opportunity to show of a skill or ability to someone who matters. Follow your intuition and be flexible, and try to stay away from those who are more focused on happy hour than personal power.
Post my horoscope to my profile!

panhandling spaceman - BroBible - Every Bro Has a Story

panhandling spaceman - BroBible - Every Bro Has a Story

Posted using ShareThis

Goals, deadlines, and our brains

One of the major premises behind this project is that goal setting is a process that can be utilized to work in the direction of our big dreams. This week we set the goal of getting to 1000 fans on our face book page by Friday at 5:00 PM. One of the keys to goal setting is to set deadlines for your accomplishments. By setting a date for things, a finish line, it increases the importance in which your brain subconsciously applies to the project. When you know that you have a deadline coming, your brain elevates that item to the higher functional levels and applies more resources towards it. It sounds like fast talking mumbo jumbo but it really is true. I have read countless articles on how the brain filters priorities as a result of my having ADHD, the bottom line is that the prefrontal cortex makes split second decisions as to what items to pay attention to and then bumps those up to the frontal cortex. As projects are deemed more and more important they continue to rise further up the food chain in our brains. Deadlines and goals, are the language of these higher functional responses and so applying them to our projects, offers them a leg up on the food chain and increases the chance of accomplishment.

I’ll see if I can dig up some simple articles to reference for those of you who like to do some fact checking, but trust me…  Dream Big…. find sub goals to apply along the way, define those goals very clearly, apply a deadline, then let the magic of the incredible super computer God gave you go to work.

Have a great weekend,

Jim

The Panhandling Spaceman

Finding my LEGO spirit from childhood

Jennifer and I were at the mall yesterday and we wandered into the LEGO Store. I wanted to see what the new school of space LEGO looked like. In many ways it had changed, there were logos and cross branding and new types and styles, but its heart and soul was still the same.

The store was awesome, it was bright and filled with colors, there was tons of LEGO for kids to play with. They had high tech video stations were you could scan a box and it would play a video and show what could be done with the blocks inside. I was really very inspired and my heart was filled with memories from my childhood. It seems that I am returning to the inner nerd that was creative, and playful, loved computers and learning. (when I use the term “nerd” know that I mean nothing negative, I was in an advanced learning program as a child and I affectionately referred to us as NERDS)

The greatest part of the Lego store was when I turned around and my son was elbow deep in two tubs of LEGO blocks and was so engrossed I struggled to get his attention. It reminded me so much of myself and how LEGO made me feel as a kid. I spoke with the store manager, a guy named Matt, and he was super nice, spent some time with me, helped me look for some classic LEGO kits, and then gave me a card with the information for the LEGO charity where they support projects just like mine.


Here is the Lego Vision (taken directly from their website www.lego.com)

LEGO’s Vision

The purpose and vision of the LEGO Group is to inspire children to explore and challenge their own creative potential.

• We strive to accomplish this by offering a range of high quality and fun products centered around our building systems.

• In the hands of children, the products inspire the unique form of LEGO play that is fun, creative, engaging, challenging - all at the same time.

• This activity supports the child, giving it the special pride of accomplishment. In the process it "automatically" or playfully develops a set of future, highly-relevant capabilities: Creative and structured problem-solving, curiosity and imagination, interpersonal skills and physical motor skills - building with LEGO bricks is thus about "learning through play".

I found certain elements of this to be perfect metaphors for what I am trying to accomplish. LEGO lets you dream and create and actually build those little creations. It gives you directions that you can follow and earn a sense of accomplishment, but you can also take the pieces and build something totally abstract as well. There are so many great lessons for kids of all ages.

I am going to approach LEGO with a request for corporate partnership for the Dream Cadets, the non profit aspect of my project. It will surely prove to be interesting working with these big corporations and seeing what they have to offer, what interest I can generate and how big we can make this project.

Like the little penny stop motion movie that I made, LEGO offers a great lesson for me to return to as well;

Question: How do you complete your LEGO projects, both big and small?
Answer: One block at a time and follow your plan.

Until next time,

Jim Moss
The Panhandling Spaceman

For Legal Use - Dream Cadets - First official use

Let this mark the beginning of our use of the phrase "Dream Cadets" as a subgroup of the soon to be created non-profit following the I am Going to Space project. http://www.Dreamcadets.com will become the home of the website offering tools, projects, and other various resources aimed at assisting youth 18 and under with defining, planning and achieving goals and dreams. Dream Cadet will refer to any child who enrolls in the program online or through their school or other community program. The Dream Cadets name will be used online, in print, on apparel, as a formal title, as a summer camp program, and a travel abroad educational program.

Website name registered on January 29th, 2010

Jim Moss

PS My Lucky Number when I see it is 1234 and as I posted this link we have I was the 1234th visitor on the page - sometime the Universe really wants you to know that you are on the right path.

recent article from Nllinsider.com

Moss in space

The Panhandling Spaceman- really have you ever heard a more clever name? Well that’s the new moniker taken on by former NLL baller, Jim Moss. Always known as one of the most aggressive, tenacious and likeable players league wide, Moss has had many battles in his career but now, he’s focused on a personal one! To call it a battle may be a little much but to accomplish a lifelong childhood dream after all he has been through, is no less of a feat! Having “beat Swine Flu and West Nile Virus, tackling Guillain Barre Syndrome; he now has his sites set on a trip to outer space to prove the importance of dreaming big.” Not really surprising to those that know him but a very amazing story nonetheless.

The lacrosse community is one of the tightest families in all of sports and when one of us needs a hand we generally all chip in any way we can. So check out, www.iamgoingtospace.com and be sure to follow his progress on http://imgoingtospace.blogspot.com

I know I always wanted to be an astronaut and though it’s not to be for me, who am I to deny one of my lacrosse brothers the opportunity.

St. Benedict's High School, Cambridge, Ontario, Canada

I just Skyped into a high school Classroom for the first time and discussed my project with a group of high school students from Cambridge, Ontario, Canada. Thank you so much to my niece Nikki who did a school project that included me and my dreams.

Children and young adults are my inspiration. It is their dreams and zest for life that makes me want so badly to feel that again and get back on track with chasing my goals. I am going to space I know I can do it and I am going to do it.

I am all excited right now and it is like lightning in a bottle. I could do this all day everyday even with being as sick as I have been and am. Seeing their faces light up and having them tell me that I am an inspiration to them is so motivating. We so desperately need this generation to chase their dreams and be everything that they can be, to not conform and not just continue with what is passed on to them. We need them to think and question and mold the world into what we really want it to be, not what we are told it has to be.

Thank you St. Benedict's Catholic Secondary School. You inspire me too.
The “I am going to space guy”

A note about inspiration and having dreams...

A quick honest chat about the project…

Lately, I’ve noticed a lot of great questions come up and ensuing banter about the project and the intentions of it. I know that there will be people who don’t take the time to understand what I am doing, or who judge it with whatever opinion they have from the little they know about me or will take the time to understand the project. Truthfully, I don’t mind. I need those people. I need to be questioned and put to the test and reminded that I believe in this. I don’t have it all figured out yet, and I don’t want to. I really am betting that the journey will be most enjoyed through the life changes, the newly developed relationships and the side projects – it will be enjoyed by the lessons I learn about myself. As I set out this course for space, I’ll get a whole lifetime of experience in return.

I appreciate that people will have their opinions and I appreciate that they will take the time to voice them. I also appreciate the people, who come to the defense of the whole thing and the chatter that ensues, the fact that people are taking positions and defending their views, getting in the mix, that is a great thing. Our lives are easily drummed to sleep by the fast paced beating of the economic machine. We don’t take enough time to sit and think, talk, argue about what we believe in and in turn, it seems we eventually concede to someone else’s views. It feels like less frequently we take a new view point or allow ourselves to be convinced of something good and true.

There are many sub-goals for this project of mine, and this increase in awareness, is a personal priority. When Obama was inaugurated, I felt this wonderful tingling inside of me. It was hope and inspiration and it was a feeling I’d been longing for that I hadn’t felt in sometime. I loved it and I want to feel it more often – it was motivating me to be a better person. I want everyone to feel like that.

To inspire others, I’m realizing you have to be out there – sharing your message, hence the blog and the speaking engagements and of course, the mission to outer space. I’m also realizing that it is in these grand gestures that people seem to pay attention. My first speaking engagement will be this week. My niece, Nicole is going to do a project for school that focuses on the mission and my drive to be a leader through my own project. We plan to do some video interviews and have a lot of fun. The exciting part – is our ability to work with new technology to reach so many people in different parts of the world. Her class in Cambridge, Ontario in Canada and I will be Skypeing in from San Jose, California! I am pumped that I can be an inspiration to my niece and I hope that she can be an inspiration to other kids. Inspiration can be very contagious. What was exciting was that she approached me with the idea and I was already brainstorming mini-curriculums to present to other classrooms. This will be a great test-pilot to see how we can increase the awareness aspect of my project. I intend to “Skype” into classrooms to get the discussion going with kids and teens and get them thinking about their dreams and goals. I want to give them advice on how to stay on track and not underestimate their abilities.

Like I said - inspiration is contagious and what a great feeling to spread around! I love that people are passionate; it is one of the defining characteristics that make us human. When we lose that and subsequently drone away at life, stop pursuing our goals and dreams, our lives turn into the movie Groundhog Day. The days just keep repeating themselves until we figure out the meaning and the important stuff. It might be cliché but life is too short; people are dying around us, text messaging drivers running over babies, earthquakes in Haiti, 9/11, airplane underwear bombs. If there was ever a time to support the people who are trying to do more with their life, people who are trying to lead us into change, it is now. That might sound self-serving but I really believe it.

In earthquake lingo, I had a minor tremor last September, when the Guillain Barre hit. In fact, as I sit here right now, the bottoms of my feet are still tingling and my big toe is completely numb. One day my 7.2 quake will hit and if I am trapped under the rubble of my own life, when all of the construct collapses down on me, I hope as I lay there and wait for help, I can say that I was awake, I breathed in life, I took chances, I got people talking and thinking, I inspired people. If I can do that, when my time comes, I’ll have done something right.

Thanks for your continued interest and support in my journey through Guillain Barre, life, and my trip to space.

The "I'm Going to Space Guy"
Jim Moss

New Video - One Penny at a time - The Panhandling Spaceman

A quick honest chat about the project...

There have been a lot of great questions lately regarding the project and the intentions of it. I know that there will be people who don’t take the time to understand what I am doing, or who judge it with whatever opinion they have from the little they know about me or take the time to understand the project. I need those people. I need to be questioned and put to the test and reminded that I believe in this. I don’t have it all figured out yet, and I don’t want to. I really am betting that the journey, the changes and the adaptations the relationships and the side projects are going to be the greatest part of the whole thing. I’ll put myself on a course for space, and get a whole lifetime of experience because of the first right minded change in direction.

I appreciate that people will have their opinions and I appreciate that they will take the time to voice them. I also appreciate the people, who come to the defense of the whole thing and the chatter that ensues, the fact that people are taking positions and defending their views, getting in the mix, that is a great thing. Our lives are easily drummed to sleep by the fast paced beating of the economic machine. We don’t take enough time to sit and think, talk, argue about what we believe, concede to someone else’s views, take a new view point or allow ourselves to be convinced of something good and true. There are many sub goals for this project of mine, and this increase in awareness is one of the major ones. When Obama was inaugurated, I felt this wonderful tingling inside of me. It was hope and inspiration and it was really wonderful, I loved it and I want to feel it more often. I would love to help other people to feel like that.

My niece is going to do a project on me for her school, we are going to do some video interviews and have some fun. We are going to try and do some new tech long distance communication. I am pumped that I can be an inspiration to my niece an I hope that she can be an inspiration to other kids. It is very contagious. What she suggested is actually something I had planned for the future. As a part of the awareness aspect of my project I am intending on “Skype-ing” into classrooms to get the discussion going with children, get them thinking about their dreams and goals and how to stay on track and not underestimate their abilities to reach them.

I love that people are passionate; it is one of the defining characteristics that make us human. When we lose that and subsequently drone away at life, stop pursuing our goals and dreams, our lives turn into the movie Groundhog Day. The days just keep repeating themselves until we figure out the meaning and the important stuff. It might be cliché but life is too short; people are dying around us, text messaging drivers running over babies, earthquakes in Haiti, 911, airplane underwear bombs. If there was ever a time to support the people who are trying to do more with their life, people who are trying to lead us into change, it is now. That might sound self-serving but I really believe it.

In earthquake lingo, I had a minor tremor last September, when the Guillain Barre hit. In fact, as I sit here right now the bottoms of my feet are still tingling and my big toe is completely numb. One day my 7.2 quake will hit and if I am trapped under the rubble of my own life, when all of the construct collapses down on me, I hope as I lay there and wait for help, I can say that I was awake, I breathed in life, I took chances, I got people talking and thinking, I inspired people. If I can do that, when my time comes, I’ll have done something right.

Thanks for your continued interest and support in my journey through Guillain Barre, life, and my trip to space.
JM

New Video Spot

Goals and Dreams and Inspiration - video blog

I'll match the donations of this week and send them to the Red Cross

I will personally match any donations that are made to my project, for the week following the Haiti Earthquake. I'll donate on behalf of my family, to the Red Cross, dollar for dollar to demonstrate that I am not trying in any way to detract from such an obviously terrible disaster, but I will also maintain the integrity of my project because I am committed to the ultimate good that I know I can do before, during and after I have completed it.

I'll post a copy of the receipt to prove to any disbelievers.

Have a great weekend,
JM

I'm coming right out and asking.... please donate a buck or two!

It is time to come right out and ask… Please donate a dollar or two for the cause.
I know there are a lot of friends and family reading this, and it goes to show that actually getting people to click and make a donation is difficult, even your friends and family don’t do it right away. There are many of you that have been meaning to and likely know that you have lots of time so you have just put it off. We all get inundated with so many commercials and suffer from marketing overload, and so we actually consciously act very infrequently. The premise of this whole project is to prove that I can get people to act, in good faith, and spend a minute of their time and a dollar of their hard earned, to help me achieve my goal. If you don’t want to do it, I totally appreciate that and I would love to hear why, but remember you could probably just donate a dollar in less time and be done with it? Think of all of the strangers that you have thrown a buck too and they likely just went got a bottle of booze with it. I promise that I will make your donation into something worthwhile.

So I am asking, can you please click on the link below and donate a couple of dollars?

Now we are starting to have some fun! hahaha

Quick Update

Can you believe its 2010? Upgrading the website and the hardware to run it.

Well not only is it 2010 but it is already the end of the first week! I hope you all had a great and safe holiday season. I haven’t posted much lately because I am working on the back side of the website and the blog. I have built a new computer that should enable me to integrate some great elements into the web experience and I have installed an HD webcam to begin the video blogging process.

I have received about $150.00 in donations so far, not bad considering Facebook is the only place I have made any post links. The success of this project will rely heavily on clear effective communication and interesting pertinent content. That is the reason for upgrading to video blogging. I am looking for people, people, websites and blogs to link up with so we can increase traffic flow once I get into full swing.

Do you have a blog or website to suggest? (Click here to email me your suggestions)

Are you on Facebook? Click here to follow us via the “I am going to space” page on Facebook

Chat soon

The "I am going to space" guy

Pics of the interior of the shuttle that goes into space!

So here are some pics I have been collecting about the aircraft that Virgin Galactic will be sending into space. Pretty Cool - this project is certainly bringing out the little boy in me.

I'll add some more as I come across them.