Nathan Sparks 101 posts 0 comments

I started hunting and fishing with my father around age 6. I have so many fond memories of those trips. Sometimes we would drive up towards Meadowview, Virginia, and on the way, would stop at this old country store. Places like…
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Creating order in chaos may be as simple as choosing the right thing to say The news came as a shock, like being pulled out of a 180-degree sauna and plunged into a glacier-fed river. Yet it is ultimately the most settling news that I…
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Arriving on the scene for a portrait shoot, as I have done thousands of times, I am greeted by a friendly group of people. I am happy, the weather is nice, the folks are relaxed, attractive and reasonably fit. All in all, it looks to be an…
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Intentional strategy leads to success in a changed world As human beings we naturally dislike change. Perhaps we abhor it so much that we find ways to make the change fail. That way we can say we tried and it just didn’t work. It is…
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There was a time when the term ‘flip house’ didn’t exist. Like back in the day when I was in the business of buying and selling homes that for the most part had been foreclosed on. The goal was—and still is—to buy a property at a bargain,…
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I am standing next to a large riding arena on a farm in Blaine. The melodic putter of a tractor as it passes back and forth, softening the arena for the evening’s event, is a pleasant reminder of why I love the East Tennessee country. The…
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We often won’t address our problems because of what it would take to fix them I am usually up early, around 5 a.m., when the world is still quiet. It allows for some time to meditate and wonder about things. On this particular…
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Consider well-being on the water before you ever leave the land A day on the water is normally a pleasant experience but on one particular day in South Carolina a not-so-pleasant event happened that I will never forget. Anchored in a…
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I recall sitting on the bank of the Nolichucky River looking up at the Devil’s Looking Glass, a magnificent 800-foot-tall rock face. My partner and I had leased the land directly across the river for our second full season as river…
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From my earliest recollection I have always wanted to contribute in a positive, meaningful manner. My goal was to find a way to participate that satisfied my need to learn. Then teaching what had been learned as a result, created…
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