Book excerpt: We've all had cotton-field experiences. Your cotton-field experience may not have been like mine, but if you have been in a place or position where you said to yourself that there has to be a better way or that you wanted something different in life, you've had a cotton-field experience. Things look good from afar until you're placed directly in it. Once there, you see that what looked good from a distance isn't good up close. When you find yourself wondering why you're where you are at certain times in life, you're being equipped to qualify for your creative purpose in life. How you got there is hindsight, but how you get out answers and tells who you are and what you're made of. Come and walk with me through my journey from the cotton field to Capitol Hill.