Well I never thought I would but here I go

 Since I started blogging over 11 years ago I wanted to make sure I always wrote about things to distract anyone from stress, not write about things that were stressful that would cause them any stress.

  Unfortunately I am so upset by recent events that I have to write about them. 

  I have been told repeatedly that social media is the best way to promote your business and products. 

  I opened many social media accounts like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. I tried them all but quickly felt uncomfortable realizing that you never know who someone truly is because they can easily make up fake identities.

  Therefore I was never really active on any social media sites. But during a year of quarantine I began actively trying LinkedIn again. 

  I knew that Daymond John was for sure really him on LinkedIn. As well as several others like Gary Vaynerchuk, Matt Higgins and Kim Kaupe, they too were really who they said they were.

  I began to forget about all the fake profiles that had kept me away from social media. I let down my guard and started connecting with people.

  I had always wanted to write a song to spread the positive message behind JUST FLUSH IT. Because those three powerful positive WORDS would help people but they won't help anyone if they never hear about them.

  I wrote a jingle and sang it on YouTube as soon as I got my trademark. Unfortunately my video didn't get heard either. If you would like to see it go to YouTube and look for the JUST FLUSH IT song by Billie Bob.

  Anyway back to my experience recently on LinkedIn. 

  One day the country singer Trace Adkins popped up and I sent him a request to join his community. To my surprise he ACCEPTED it.

  I was then able to message him and asked him if he would be interested in writing the JUST FLUSH IT song. I was SHOCKED when a couple of days later he wrote back yes but we needed to meet in person.

  I knew he was hosting the Ultimate Cowboy show as well as touring and being a presenter at the awards so he was busy.

  So I wrote my version of the JUST FLUSH IT song and sent it to him on LinkedIn where we had been communicating. 

  Five weeks went by then.....he wrote back saying my song really impressed him and we needed to meet in person.

  I was on cloud nine. I called all my family and friends to tell them the good news. Finally the WORLD would hear those three powerful positive WORDS. 

  I was upset when my family and friends said I shouldn't meet a stranger and the chances that it was really him was unlikely. He was too rich and famous to want to meet an average person like me.

  I got angry that they didn't feel like my JUST FLUSH IT song and the message behind JUST FLUSH IT was so moving to him and that was why he wanted to meet me to collaborate.

  After months of hoping to team up with him it was finally about to happen. But I promised my family and friends that I would listen to them and somehow verify it was actually Trace Adkins that I was in communication with on LinkedIn.

  That was going to be hard to do but I started looking for a way. 

  I was heartbroken when I ran across an article from 2018 in which Trace Adkins said he wanted to let his fans know that there were many fake profiles on the different social media sites claiming to be him.

  He said in the article that he would never personally send a message to anyone through any social media accounts. 

  I sure wish I would have read this article before I spent months thinking I was talking to Trace Adkins. 

  I had seen many instances on the news where fans connected with celebrities on social media and got them to go to there high school prom with them. So it didn't seem totally impossible to reach a real person on social media. 

  But unfortunately I had let down my guard and started to believe it was possible even though I had given up years ago. 

  I painfully was reminded that anyone can set up a fake profile and pretend to be whoever they want to be, including pretending to be Trace Adkins. 

  I feel stupid that I really, with all my heart, thought that I was talking to Trace Adkins. I. Knew better but I still fell for it.

  I wanted to write about it to warn everyone that this could happen to you too. I want to spare you the heartache and disappointment that I just went through.

  I have always known that if it sounds too good to be true then it probably isn't true. 

  I found out a long time ago that anyone can hide behind a fake profile and pretend to be whoever they want to be.

  I have no idea how I let myself believe it was really Trace Adkins. I just wanted it to be him so bad that I became blinded and forgot everything I knew that should have protected me from being so vulnerable to scammers.

  Although I will always keep my guard up by reminding myself about this incident, I will continue reading post on LinkedIn.

  More than any other social media I have tried on over these last 11 years, their Post spread seeds of compassion for others and stories that uplift and inspire people. 

  And I know that if we all spread seeds of Humanity it will grow and replace the INSANITY we see in our society. 

  The World won't get better on its own we all must do our part. 

  World peace is possible by bringing peace of mind to one person at a time. 

    And to keep peace of mind you must NEVER FORGET that you can enjoy social media sites but you must NEVER LET YOUR GUARD DOWN. 

    Please help me spread the powerful positive message behind JUST FLUSH IT so it can bring peace of mind to one person at a time.