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Regardless of our individual religious or political beliefs, I believe that all good people in this world should share one basic overall intention… On the day when our time is done on this planet, can we honestly look back at our individual lives and say that we left the world a little bit nicer than we found it? Were the majority of the choices we made solely for the benefit of ourselves, or did we honestly choose what was best for our society in the long term? Did we use our unique talents to enrich our community, or did we lock them away from others on a quest for selfish greed?

It truly does take a village. All of the truly amazing examples of things we have built as a society through history have required a united spirit. I believe that it is our duty to encourage and support others who find this type of philosophy to be true. Each of us supporting each other selflessly.

Let us not be the kind of society that rewards the kind of people who don’t understand this concept. Always strive to let our caring and nurturing sides dominate our spirits. Allow those positive spirits to infect others, even if it means that we take the risk of being let down by them in the process. Let us unite and encourage the caring kind of society we know we can and should be. Let us build each other up collectively, instead of clawing our way to the highest point, by ourselves, so we can yank the ladder up behind us and laugh at the suffering of others we robbed of the same opportunities that built us up.

Don’t reward the greedy by striving to be like them, strive to show them the virtues of a better kind of bandwagon and give them a chance to jump on board.

A healthy society relies on the choices of its individual citizens.

So ask yourself this question honestly: At the end of your last day in existence, as you review your experiences, do you care if you left the place one tiny bit better than you found it? Or was your entire existence a statistical waste of time and space?

We have a responsibility to shape our own character and it’s only too late to turn the wheel when the time on our clock runs out.

What kind of person do you want to be in the history books? It’s up to you each day you wake up. Choose wisely before it’s too late.

Disclaimer: I’m one of the most monogamously minded people you will ever meet.

Do you remember your first crush?

Do you even know what a crush really is?

Urban Dictionary states that a crush “is a burning desire to be with someone you find very attractive and extremely special.” The word “attractive” has an obvious physical connotation, but for me, personality has always been way more important than appearance.

I had my first crush when I was in Junior High… It was one of my cast mates in the school play. It happened to be a boy. I didn’t dare say anything about it to anyone. In a more accepting world, we might have had the chance of being high school sweethearts.

Years after graduation, we bumped in to each other online in the early days of social media. We both came out to each other. He lived in a different state. We were both seeing other people at the time… We’ve shared war stories ever since.

He was my first crush and I never felt comfortable telling him… If he reads this, he’s probably going to be surprised… or maybe not. I consider him one of my closest friends today, even though we live a great distance apart.

So what’s the point??? Well, I just realized something from my latest relationship… It was with a “bisexual” and it never occurred to me that it could be acceptable until I met him. Society forces us to choose a label, especially when a boy’s first crush happens to be on another boy.

Are labels really so important when their stigmas are physically causing so many questioning youth to commit suicide? Because my first crush happened to be a boy, I listened to society and I branded myself as gay. I never went to prom because I didn’t want to feel like I was deceiving anyone… I didn’t have my first real kiss until I was 20 years old.

I dream of an accepting society where I could have gone back to Junior High and told my parents and friends that I had a crush on a boy or a girl… I dream of a world where the most common response is to choose the one who makes us smile the most.

Please don’t twist my words to say that I think people can or should change their preferences. Through my experience as a “gold star gay”, without a doubt, I do believe that certain people are genetically driven to one sex or the other…. But if I believe that, then I have to believe that it’s genetically possible to have an equal attraction to both or neither gender.

In my mind, from everything I’ve learned about love, attraction of the mind is so much more important than which body parts happen to be where. I’m single right now, and I’m not going to jump in to another relationship until I’m 100% happy being myself… I simply don’t plan on restricting my attraction to gender. Whether I’m with a man or a woman, I hope my friends will support me no matter who it happens to be. My decisions on attraction will now be driven by how much I smile and how much we make each other smile. No matter who you are, I’ll grant you the same respect.

So from now on, the only forced label I’m going to answer to is “Human.”

Imagine what it might be like if more people stopped judging others and shared more compassion… What if? Would it really be all that bad?

On a beautiful day in the capital city of Kansas, Karen Hastings and Ute Mueller were legally married before the Honorable Judge Nancy Parrish. Their committed love of 25 years was finally recognized by the great state of Kansas. On the very same day, Governor Sam Brownback was across the street making regressive changes to the state’s non-discrimination policy by removing employment protections for LGBT state workers.

Karen dedicated her life to bringing smiles to thousands of people as an entertainer. Ute served in our nation’s military. With the challenges they have faced in life, neither one of them thought they would ever see the day when the country they have honored and respected all of their lives would acknowledge their love. Let this be a reminder, despite the misguided actions of certain leaders, anything is possible in the United States of America when we stand together for each other.

Congratulations to Karen Hastings and Ute Mueller… Two of the most loving, giving and inspirational people that have ever graced the sunflower state!

Thank you to Michelle Bryan for providing these heartwarming images of the happy couple tying the knot.

Newlyweds Karen Hastings & Ute Mueller

The dance floor at Club Cosmos. Formerly located at 1421 SW Lane Street in Topeka, Kansas.

My brother Frank and I used to own a nightclub in Topeka’s College Hill neighborhood named Club Cosmos from 2002-2005. A great deal of our business came from the LGBT community. Rather than a typical bar, it was more of a community center where open minded people could fellowship.

While we were in business, and ever since, I can’t tell you how many people have thanked us for helping them by providing a safe, accepting and supportive place to question their truly difficult feelings. At the time, we knew too many innocent young and old people who were kicked out of their homes to live on the street because they were different… Disowned by their families and some even driven to commit suicide. These human beings were their children and their brothers and their sisters. Jesus spoke of love more than anything else by far… And yet His name is still used to justify these false and evil beliefs… Even the Pope agrees now.

With the redevelopment of College Hill we were essentially forced to close down and move on to different opportunities.

We don’t prefer or discriminate against any type of people. We are all the same. I’m truly grateful that the LGBT community has collectively seen so much more love since we had the final dance at Club Cosmos many years ago. It was a long hard fight. I would not be able to go to sleep at night if I allowed the sacrifices, (made by those who were shamed by loved ones to take those sacrifices) to be in vain. We will not regress our human rights. We will simply not allow it. It’s clear that a growing majority believes this as well.

I don’t care what kind of political distraction is happening in Kansas to cover up something dangerously major for all of us… We will not allow our society to be regressed in the name of misguided politics. I am not attempting to make a political statement, I am merely listening to my conscience and standing up for what I believe is right. Liberty and justice for all.

I will never forget the mother of one young man who stopped by and thanked us for saving her son’s life. She truly gave us that much credit. That’s when I learned firsthand for sure that one or two people, simply doing what is right in their hearts, truly can make a difference. Once you feel that, it’s one of the healthiest vices to be addicted to.

We all have different issues that are near and dear to our hearts. The only way we will see better days in our own individual worlds is if we stand together and speak up for the decisions that our collective conscience justifies as a civilization of people who were created equally.

The 2005 Pride Prom at Club Cosmos. Frank Schultz and Prom Queen Jalisa Taylor.

Chris and Jamie talk about small business and what it’s like for entrepreneurs with Bill Bunten from SCORE… And organization of successful executives who mentor entrepreneurs, free of charge, to help their business be the best it can be.