Please note: I kept the information below in its near-original form, to preserve the youthful excitement I was experiencing back in 2002. It simply highlights how I began my journey into personal development and study of spiritual matters. It highlights how I fell into religious thinking, and how I slowly began to evolve out of it ... keeping what was useful, and discarding what was irrational or delusional.

Part one describes my thoughts during the first phase of my evolution.

Part two describes my thoughts during phase two of my evolution.

Part three describes my thoughts today.

PART ONE.

Here's where my journey begins:

I was nineteen years old, and pagers were in style -- everybody had one.  You'd usually enter the number from which you were calling, hit the * button (which created a dash), and then put in your "special code," so the recipient of the page would know who was paging them.  I was born on August 7th, and my baseball jersey was #7, so I started out with the number 77 as my pager code.  My life-long best friend had the initials "R.R.", so he felt entitled to have 77, since it matched his initials on the phone pad.  I gave in.  This simple act of generosity ended up shaping my destiny forever, and putting me on the path that this book will outline.

Using the logic given to me by my friend, I decided to adopt the page code 66, which represented the two N's in my new found radio name, Nick Nice.

Shortly thereafter, on Christmas night 1999, the guy I grew up listening to on the radio happened to be visiting his mom in northern Virginia, and heard me on the radio in Washington, DC.  He needed to hire a night show host, so he called the request line and told me to send him a tape.  I put one together and was offered the night show position in Birmingham, AL not long after.  At the age of 21, I threw everything I owned into my Honda Civic, and drove ten hours away -- to Alabama the Beautiful.


I spent the next couple of years being your normal guy in his early twenties – chasing women, partying excessively, being lazy and undisciplined, etc.  I was just living for the moment, with little thought of my future, or the way I was carrying myself.  My decision-making was unproductive in most areas of my life.  That was when a co-worker left the book Communion With God, by Neale Donald Walsch in the studio.  I'd never really cared much for reading; it always seemed like a chore that was forced on you in school.  Bored one night, I took it with me into my hot bubble bath (one of my favorite things), and started reading.  It kept me captivated; I wanted to read more.  Tell me more about this whole God thing.

I had always been aware that on December 25th, I got presents.  But that was the extent of my knowledge about the holiday.  Sure, there was some guy named Jesus that was responsible for my gifts, and it was his birthday.  Who cares?  All I know is, I got some new stuff!

As I read one book, it became another book, and another.  Before I knew it, I had fallen in love with reading!  Reading consumed me; it's all I wanted to do.  It wasn't just any reading either, I was learning about God.  I was finally beginning to understand what all the excitement was about.  It was becoming a personal experience!  My spiritual awareness grew tremendously in a very short period of time. I learned about synchronicity, the incredible intelligence of the Universe, and everybody's potential for greatness.

I started to believe in my own potential for greatness.

That's when I started seeing the number 66 (my former pager code) popping up everywhere.  The low is 66 tonight.  The high is 66 tomorrow.  You've got 66 emails in your inbox.  The drive from Richmond to Birmingham was littered with Phillips 66 gas stations.   My friend Smokey gave me a Route 66 key chain.  The girl I was dating played softball in high school; she said her jersey number used to be 66.


The number 66 was everywhere!

I started telling my friends about it, and they started calling me with their own, "I was riding down the road and looked down at my odometer, and it said 66!" type-stories.  Looking back, I even remember my first car being a '66 Ford Mustang.  It seems to have been a pattern throughout my life, and it was only when I began to open my eyes to spiritual matters, that I was able to "see" what it represented.

Not too long after the 66's started appearing everywhere, I found myself in a little trouble with the law -- alcohol makes that easy.  I had the pleasure of spending a night in jail.  That was an eye-opening experience.  It's weird in jail, they won't let you out when you're ready to get out!  It was cold.  The food was horrible.  Worst of all, there was no salt and pepper.  What a great place to spend my vacation!  I liked it so much, I decided to violate my probation, and go back for ten action-packed, fun-filled days and nights!

*Please note the heavy sarcasm in the last sentence.*

My point is, I didn't learn my lesson from the one-night stay, so God (through my poor decision-making) allowed me to experience ten more days for reflection -- a few months later.

I started to realize that my poor decision-making was responsible for creating poor life experiences!  What a concept!  Is that the life I wanted?  Did I want to hang with the "cool crowd" -- and in my attempt to fit in -- put myself in the position to end up in jail?

It was time for a new direction.

I called the girl I was dating at the time, and she invited me to church on Sunday.  I agreed to go, but not before I watched a movie called Route 666 with Lou Diamond Phillips.


I decided to buy it from the "cheap crate," because I had been seeing the number 66 everywhere I looked.  The DVD case had the Route 66 sign, with a "6" spray-painted in red -- in the middle -- so it caught my eye.

Sure, it was a low-budget movie, and I wouldn't recommend watching it if you're looking for a blockbuster.  However, this particular film had huge relevance to my life at the time.  One character was named Nick -- like my radio name.  Another character was named "Rabbit," which is what my dad calls me.  These two "coincidences" made me pay attention. I felt like God was trying to show me something.

Maybe He was.

The plot of the story deals with a section of Route 66 that has been closed for years (now nicknamed Route 666).  Rumors suggest that it's now full of evil spirits, and nobody should travel on it.  In an attempt to save time, the characters decide to take it anyways, and ultimately meet their doom. I felt like God was saying, "I've given you two paths from which to choose.  If you choose to live life in the fast lane, you too, will meet your doom."


I believe that we all have a decision to make:  Are you going to follow the world, and travel the path that leads to destruction?  Or do we listen to Jesus in Matthew 7:13-14, as He says, "Enter through the narrow gate.  For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.  But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."

After soaking in the movie (and all my new insights), I finally make it to church, not sure what to expect.  It's a big church in Center Point, Alabama, called Cathedral of the Cross.  Everyone seems really friendly, and I feel a warm glow inside.  This Pastor Mark Correll guy is a pretty powerful speaker; he's talking about "Your Purpose in Life."  This guy's words and enthusiasm really touched me.  I was so overwhelmed with positive emotion, that I even stood up when he asked if anybody needed to know Jesus!  The only Jesus I'd ever known was the cool cat responsible for my new presents each December!  This was a Jesus I could feel!  The Holy Spirit had gotten in me; I guess I just got "saved."

In my opinion, getting "saved" equals "waking up."  I once was blind to my poor decision-making, but now I could "see" where it was taking me.

That night, I began reading a book called The Prayer of Jesus by Hank Hanegraaff.  With the popularity of the trendy book The Prayer of Jabez on the rise, this author felt compelled to dissect the power of The Lord's Prayer in a similar fashion.  Wednesday night, I finally make it to page 86 of the book, and that's where it all became clear.  It says, "He has sent us sixty-six love letters etched in heavenly handwriting.  And the more we meditate upon these words, the clearer his voice will resonate in the sounds of our silence."  There's the number 66 again!  What did it mean?!

I took the author's advice ("meditated upon these words”) and realized The Bible had 66 Books!  Talk about mind-blowing!  I felt like God was nudging me in that direction for quite some time.  But I wasn't given the answer to the "66 Mystery" until my heart was truly seeking Him!  The whole time, God has been leading me to The Bible, and the wisdom that lies therein.

But why? I wondered.  I didn't know, but I was excited.  I couldn't wait to tell everybody about what happened.

So I did.  On the radio.  Much to my employers dismay, I'm sure.  It didn't matter to me though.  I just wanted to share my story!  I went from beginning to end.  It probably took up a good five minutes of air-time, and radio bosses hate that (they want you playing music).  I didn't care, I wanted people to feel what I was feeling!


I get a call not too long after that, from the girl I went to church with on that spectacular Sunday morning.  She says, "Pastor Mark wants you at church Sunday morning, make sure you're there."  I didn't know what to expect, and I invited all my friends.  Little did I know, he based the entire sermon that morning on my testimony!  He called it, "Hungry for The Highway, or Finding Route 66."

Someone had recorded what I had said on the air, and brought it to Pastor Mark's attention.  He played the entire five minute segment in church that morning.  I was flooded with joy.  All these strangers standing up and clapping for me?  It was one of the best experiences of my life.

The main Scripture that morning focused on wisdom from the prophet Isaiah, in verse 35:8-10, which reads, "And a highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called the way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass our it; but it shall be for those:  the wayfaring men, though fools shall not err therein.  No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall walk there:  And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads:  they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away."

It described a "highway" that lead to a place of complete joy and gladness, and I've felt connected to that Scripture ever since.

The Matrix is one of my favorite movies; it has a lot of Scripture and spiritual philosophy sewn in throughout the film.  I have always related to the character Neo, who they say, "lived two lives." My true passion for God couldn't be fully expressed on the radio, so in a way, I felt like I lived two lives.  Not to mention my two completely different identities: my government name and my radio alias.


Neo was put onto his path by "following the white rabbit."  He paid attention to the white rabbit tattoo on the girl's shoulder (synchronicity), and decided to follow her to the club.  This decision lead him to Trinity, and the rest is movie history.  They end up working together to save Zion, which is the last human city on Earth.


I feel like we're at a similar signpost in the "real world."  There are two paths we have to choose from.  Which direction will we choose to take the planet?  It will be a direct reflection of the path we choose.  Will we take the crooked and wide path of destruction?  Or the straight and narrow path to a life of abundance in all (inner) areas?

Route 66 (to the Kingdom of Heaven) or Route 666 (to the kingdom of hell)?

This book will be my attempt to outline a road map to the path of The Nice Life -- which is a life of consistent joy, peace of mind, and inner strength.  I plan to show you how to use your mistakes as stepping stones -- instead of stumbling blocks. 

You’re the son or daughter of God Almighty -- made in His image and likeness -- which means you have the same essence of creative power. It’s time we use our collective creative power to transform the planet for the better.

The Bible says we started in paradise and we’ll end up in paradise.  You create “earth as it is in heaven” by realizing the truth about you and your heavenly Father -- He never left you.  The “fall of man” was an illusion.  An illusion human beings chose (and continue to choose every day).

The question lingers: Which path do we choose now?

Be brave like Neo from The Matrix, and "follow the white rabbit" to claim your highest destiny.  The world has been waiting for you.