Tonight I want to write about telling the truth, and why it's something we should never apologize for.
Before I begin let's tackle the elephant in the room, which is the fact I haven't written a slant blog in six weeks.
I'm not going bitch on about being really busy all the time. I am of course, and the release of Expo Bot V1 consumed such an almighty chunk of my time, so much so I was left rationing what little I had among my family and running the business. This however seems to have steadied out now and has become manageable.
Still though this is not the reason for taking the foot of the gas with these specific blog posts, and only a handful of people have known why I've been in radio silence.
These blog posts are a positive release for me, sharing opinions and life experiences is a good feeling. They are not a chore in the slightest, and I'm lucky enough to have a platform like this to share the contents of my mind with the world. Actually sitting and writing a post has been something I've been unable to get in the zone recently.
When I begin posting on You Tube regularly I'll still post these blogs, but having a video channel will provide a more instant outlet for sharing content. I wouldn't have spent a stack of cash on recording equipment, that's incidentally still wrapped up on my office floor, if I wasn't serious about this. Even getting started on You Tubing has fallen short.
I mentioned in a recent Expo News entitled the future of betting services, that I spin a lot of plates with this business, you can catch up with that post here: https://www.exponentialbet.co.uk/single-post/2019/04/04/the-future-of-betting-services
I'm not a corporate giant, and all the work on the site along with creation of content is done by myself.
The software has been created by the developer using my strategies, and he provides support for the betting bot, but everything else I run on my own. This fact means that when life occasionally gets in the way certain things will take a back seat, such as blogging or creative content. As this requires a certain mindset to produce anything worth publishing.
Anyway, I'm beating around the bush getting to this very personal information I've decided to share with you, and this is it, for the past two years my father has been battling stage 4 type B cancer. It's a bad one.
Exponential Bet has given me a focus and direction that's helped me deal with this, in fact most of the site growth has come during this period. I would visit my father or take him to appointments during the early phase, while working on site development, and having this outlet has been a my own life saver. It's helped me forge my own plan to grab what life I have by the horns, and appreciate the time I have with my family right now.
I've created so much content over the past couple of years, because around dealing with the heartache of seeing my father reduced from being an active and fun character, to someone who has lost part of himself, exhibiting typical physical effects anyone who's undergone aggressive chemo and radiotherapy. The website and people I've met along the way as a result, have truly helped me deal with this.
This has been the case though over the past couple of years, and he's still undergoing various cancer treatments, but the good news is it's in remission. It's one of those things that can always come back and we never really know, but for now I breath a sigh of relief as I thought for a long while I'd lose him.
However, my life continues to sound like a Johnny Cash song, as my my mother recently was diagnosed with cancer, a lesser type thankfully that we have just found out is not life threatening, but still an obvious worry.
My auntie (fathers brothers wife), has just been given maximum two years to live due to bowel cancer, which is really tragic to happen to anyone, and she's such a lovely lady with Albert her husband a kind sweet man. It's so sad.
For those that aren't animal lovers you'll possibly trivialize this, but to me this is also like losing a family member, as one of my dogs may be on his final notice, and possibly in his last days of life. I thought I was letting go recently and went through the grieving process, but we're trying one last run of meds in the hope he'll get some relief.
As a consequence of all this, I'm still able to run my site and services, in fact this routine as stated keeps me on an even keel. Data analysis, working on services, and web site work are good for me, plus I also have a huge responsibility to my members I do not take lightly.
I've explained this not looking for sympathy, absolutely not, I'm lucky to be where I am and will continue to work as hard as possible to maintain it for all invested in Exponential Bet.
We all have our challenges to deal with, and communications with my members shows some real hurdles people have to get over on a day to day basis, that put a lot in perspective. Some members are going through the same thing as my father, or had other accidents and illnesses, and show a stoic positive attitude.
I actually feel honoured that people reach out to me and share their stories, I've made some life long friends through this site, and these things have inspired me at moments when I've needed it. I'm very grateful for this, you know who you are.
Recently with everything going on all at once, I've just not felt motivated to write anything personal or creative, I've been feeling kind of knotted up inside, and just not really there apart from when I'm focusing on routine day to day work. There is a huge difference in finding bets and trades, dealing with IT stuff, and helping members with questions, than writing a post like this.
I'm back on top of things again now in this department, actually feeling energized and ready for the next big step forward with the site, but as a human being I openly admit I'd had a lull over the past six weeks, and just being doing the best I could. I know I can do a lot better.
Please accept my apologies anyway for the gap in posts and my general input overall, I hope my truthful explanation shows that I've not been sat in my pants eating pizza playing on a Playstation 4, or gallivanting around town with the ladies splashing the cash, I've instead been chipping away at my work to do list each day, and in between dealing with some serious shit.
I'll try not to leave such a space between my posts in future, although I'll only write when I've something to say.
I've also at last scheduled some video recording time, which is to launch my ugly mug in front of camera on You Tube. Which can only be a good thing to have this more immediate way to communicate betting and trading information, with the occasional slant post.
Regardless of what life throws at me, I won't back down. 'I'll keep this world from draggin' me down, gonna stand my ground, and I won't back down'. Tom Petty.
Let me finish this post covering the topic I began with, and that's why we should never apologize for telling the truth. This may be a little controversial for some, but I'm never afraid to write about any topic I've a strong opinion.
Sometimes I surprise people with my no BS email replies, for the questions that come through this site. I really can't lie, and I make no apology for this.
As stated this business is ran by me alone, and I do not have to answer to anyone, which is exactly how I like it.
I've no interest in lying to people to gain business, as I get asked a lot of different things about what I sell on this site every day, which I could stretch the truth to bank a sale, but instead I spend a lot of time instead effectively putting people off services that I know will not suit them.
I also get a lot of crazy unrealistic questions, and totally understand everyone's understanding of betting and trading is at different levels, so I patiently get through my replies, and in truth 90% of the time happy to do so. I do have to be direct and upfront in every reply though, as I'm not going to promise the moon on a stick when that's not what I'm offering.
However, some people persist in coming at me from various angles trying to achieve the response they want, and effectively win an argument that doesn't exist. It verges on the bizarre sometimes.
I'll give you an example from an enquiry, which is from someone who whenever I release anything asks the same question, which is, 'can I compound my staking to basically a limitless level, or if not what is the maximum level that it can be compounded'. To give you an insight, this is for horse racing.
Now I completely understand that as I bet and trade everyday people have these questions, and who better to ask when you're first setting off on your Betfair journey, as the fact market volumes dictate upper thresholds is something you won't have possibly thought of, I totally get it. I'm happy to engage and explain the intricacies to people on this subject.
Some people could make the devil cry though, and will persist in asking these questions in a multitude of guises, trying to tie me up in knots, and basically get me to admit I've failed for not knowing the max limitations of a specific betting or trading systems compounding levels in this instance.
The fact that each race or football match needs to be assessed on its own merit, and within the boundaries of the worst and best possible outcomes for these, I can only give safe levels, but common sense needs to be applied at all times. This is still not a sufficient answer for some, and specifically this one specific jerk I'm referring. No names mentioned of course, but you know who you are messaging me relentlessly while I was on holiday.
We exchanged many emails over various systems on this topic, which spanned nearly two years of being asked the same thing, which I gave the exact same answer again and again.
For a recent service update and not even a new system, he asked again. I pointed out he'd asked me this many times before, then about thirty emails on the subject later he finally stopped messaging for good. I told him straight, the question has no specific answer as each situation is different. He just didn't like the answer and kept going, and calling me out to admit I should know this, and it's something anyone in my line of work needs to understand etc etc.
The question is completely unrealistic. In fact as long as we're using an exchange based set up dependent on market volumes, liquidity etc, it will remain the same answer for any system running using this platform.
What this person wanted was an apology from me, and for basically not knowing the future. For not knowing how much money exists in every horse race that will ever be ran from now until the end of time, which obviously nobody knows. This is the point of this post, because people will try this again and again in life, especially far left keyboard warriors.
If I'm in the wrong I will hold my hands up and admit it, but I will never apologize for telling the truth, and neither should you.
If you're giving someone facts which are readily available through some external due diligence, and because of their own ego or sheer rudeness they are unable to comprehend the information you're giving them, not for one single moment should you ever apologize when you're telling the truth.
Some people are just cock suckers as we all fully understand, and what they will want is for you, or me, to change the argument from stating a truth, to admitting to being a bad person and apologizing.
The only person that should ever apologize is someone who is in the wrong, for example if I accidentally kick you in the balls when slipping backwards, even though I'd slipped and fallen, I'd still apologize and absolutely mean it, because I would never want to kick you in the balls. I would be completely in the wrong, just like I would be if I'd stepped on your toe, and quick to say sorry.
If I speak the truth, and someone is trying to make me apologize, what are they trying to make me believe... They are actually trying to make me believe by eliciting an apology, that the truth that I stated is not the truth.
These time vampires will suck your life away on whatever platform or level you engage them on, and they in fact know they are wrong, because the facts are against them. However they will always persist in demanding apologies from people.
My opinion on this is that these days we are so far left on the political correctness scale, that it's not actually about speaking the truth anymore, it's about not offending people. I guess I'm reaching the point of becoming one of the minority that is not afraid of speaking my mind.
You see I've never been interested in being part of the gang, or saying anything to be liked, in fact quite the opposite, which has been a hindrance within certain circles where I could have definitely progressed with work if I'd kissed ass, but it's also been one of my greatest assets to deliver the level of freedom I now enjoy today.
I'd never be able to live with myself if I was like that, so many times in my life, and against the advice of many people, I've said fuck that noise and spoken my mind with no apology.
If you think about it these days, I'm finding more and more situations where people become offended. You can quite literally say, oh look the sky is blue, and someone would take offence. It's becoming a culture of apologies, stripping of true identities, and freedom of speech is highly filtered.
Never deny the truth in fear that others will not like you. Ultimately the people you're trying to appease will actually never like you as you're not one of them, so it's a wasted exercise that will strip you of your dignity. Stand your ground, and as Tom Petty wrote, don't back down.
What do people like this really want, they certainly don't want to hear the truth, and facts are not required. Quite the opposite, as they are more interested in ideology or what they feel should be the truth, to actually be the truth. Which is why they demand apologies to negate that truth, and what they really want is for you to fail.
If you hand them the opportunity to destroy you in any way they will snatch it, and fucking bury you, so don't ever forget this, do not apologize for speaking the truth, ever, and hand them the power.
You see it's human nature to not want to be wrong, and I feel it takes a very humble and strong person to face reality and say, you know something I was wrong. As in, I thought this, but in fact it's something else, and I was completely wrong. It's very difficult for most human beings to be able to do this.
I'm science based and grounded in fact, whereas some people I come across have the attitude what they feel is true, is the actual truth.
In my example above from this person, you may have someone in your life like this who manipulates a situation to try and make you feel you've failed, and regardless of the fact you're in the right, and just telling it how it is based on fact, not emotion, you have to maneuver your existence around them just to get by.
Personally I couldn't live like this, and I know I'd tell them to go fuck themselves. My advice is you do the same, and never, ever, apologize for speaking true facts.
That's me done for tonight, Guinness drank and time for bed.
I'll be posting an Expo News update in the week covering a lot of new content for the site, and details of exciting software being introduced to boost profits.
My next slant will ideally be next week, but I'll try and keep them every fortnight.
Thank you as always for reading.