Get 21 Key Insights & Tips From The First 75 Years of My Life
BONUS! you will also recieve the forward and introduction from my book: Mastership – The Journey From Bankruptcy To A New Life
Having To Face Starting Over?
Any time during our lives we may find ourselves facing having to “start over!” This can seem like a daunting, insurmountable task. Yet no matter where or when this happens we always will have a choice – 1. Going forward or 2. Giving up.
I know, I’ve been there! I know that neither making the choice nor “starting over” is easy. In 1996 at 48, married, a father of three, I declared bankruptcy.
I had to make that choice.
At age 55 with no previous business experience I started my own business. I still run that business today.
Age 71 I experienced a heart attack while training, back training and teaching two months later. In July 2019 after 40 years of marriage, my wife and I divorced. Then in Nov of 2022 I was to experience a mini stroke (TIA), never missing a day of work.
I am here to tell you that we can overcome and accomplish anything we set our minds to.
Our mindset; attitudes, and what we’re prepared to do are the fundamental components of our future success, including “starting over!”
Right now, today no matter where you are in life, no matter how old or young you are, if you are facing any of these situations let me be of service to you. I have been certified by life with the knowledge, experience, and expertise to inspire, support and serve you.
Do You Need: Inspiration, Help, Support, Encouragement?
I envision a world where people can achieve great things in their lives at any age!
Empowered by our experience, knowledge and abilities, and tapping into the limitless universal energy supply, we are able to achieve any goal we set and fulfill our purpose!
One day a very learned man visited a Zen Master to learn about Zen. As the Zen Master began to speak the learned man would continually interrupt him with comments such as, oh yes we have that too and so on. Finally the Zen Master stopped speaking and suggested they enjoy some tea. As the master began pouring tea for his guest, filling the cup until the cup overflowed.
Yet the master continued to pour until the tea began flowing onto the floor. Finally the learned man cried “Stop, stop! Can’t you see the cup is already full? Oh yes I see said the master and you, like the cup are so full that you are unable to learn anything new. You cannot taste my tea until you are prepared to empty your cup first
If you are prepared to empty your cup and taste my tea, please click one of the links below.
Transition to a growth mindset, focusing on personal development and learning that’s founded on health and wellness.
How did a 48 year old bankrupt musician father of three save his family and become a successful businessman and 6th Degree Black Belt Master Instructor in Songahm Taekwondo at the age of 70?
Be inspired with the knowledge and confidence that we have the potential to create positive changes in our lives at any age!
A 7-week introductory group course for those who are looking to reawaken their dreams, realign with their values and reconnect with their worth!
“It’s What We Learn After We Know It All That Counts” – John Wooden
For the first 47 years of my life I thought I knew it all or at least knew what I needed to do to succeed. I’m here to tell you I didn’t, I was wrong! In Feb of 1996 at the age of 48 I declared personal bankruptcy, married and a father to three wonderful children. Until I was well into my fifties I was a very bitter and disillusioned man. My hopes, dreams and future lay shattered like broken pieces of a mirror at my feet reflecting all the errors and mistakes I’d made over the years. All the things I thought I knew in my arrogant ignorance had led me to this point and I didn’t have a clue as to what or where to go next, I just knew that somehow I had to keep moving forward.
Flash ahead twenty one years to June 2017. I have now been in business for fifteen years, the owner of two martial arts academies in White Rock BC Canada and about to be inducted as a 6th degree black belt Master Instructor in Songahm Taekwondo in Little Rock AR. The following Feb of 2018 would find me fulfilling a fifty year dream/goal, that of writing a book. My book told the story of my twenty year journey from declaring bankruptcy (1996) to the then present day (2017), its title, Mastership-the Journey from Bankruptcy to a New Life and is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble etc. you can preview it here by clicking on the button below
So how did I go from being a bankrupt musician at 48 to a successful business owner, 6th degree black belt Master Instructor at 70 and a published author at 71? In 1996 I had a choice, I could roll over, give up and be a victim or I could do everything within my power to pick up the pieces of my life and fight to improve and learn the things I thought I knew as well as those I didn’t, I choose the latter. This meant starting over being accountable, accepting that I was the only one responsible for my situation. It also meant trying new things completely outside my comfort zone like martial arts which I was to start in Aug/Sept of the same year. I began reading and delivering newspapers at night to earn money for my family. In 2002 not having any business background I took a risk buying a martial arts club from my instructor at age 55. In 2004 at age 57 I took an even greater risk opening a commercial school location with 9K capitalization, crazy but true and the rest as they say is history. In my early to mid sixties I was able to accomplish the success I had been searching for.
This would be a fairytale ending but as they say life moves forward. Over the past five years following those accomplishments I have been fortunate and able to maintain that success through the pandemic, while going through a divorce, experiencing a heart attack at age 72 as well as a mini stroke (Transient Ischemic Attack) in the fall of 2022, age 75. Just like bankruptcy I would not let these events stop or slow me down. Within two months of the heart attack experience I was back to my regular daily teaching, training/exercise routine and with my TIA last fall I was literally back in my academy the same day not so much as missing a day of teaching and to the present day (late Jan 2023) there are no lingering effects and yes I continue to train and exercise regularly if not daily.
What Makes My Story Important For You? Why Am I Putting This Out There? Why Is This Relevant To Anyone But Me?
To answer the first question: Straight up, I know that I’m not the only one who has experienced these kinds of traumas or events in their lives!
Second: I’m here to let you know you’re not alone. There is someone who’s been through it, prepared to encourage, support and serve you, someone who’s been through it and come out the other side and thrived.
Third: I’ve found that no matter what stage of life we find ourselves there is always hope and the possibility of a better future, if we truly want one, there are always steps and actions we can take to improve our situation.
Mastership - The Journey From Bankruptcy To A New Life
“Life hands us challenges for sure, but inherent in every challenge is a gift or opportunity that we would never have received or experienced if it weren’t for those challenges. Like the quote above from John Wooden, “It’s What We Learn After We Know It All That Counts”, for me it’s what I learned in the ensuing twenty seven years after my bankruptcy that’s given me the strength, resiliency, courage and determination to stay the course I started on back in 1996. These are some of the things I can share and help with as you seek to move forward with your life.
I’m a survivor and thriver. If there is something in what you’ve read that describes you or you identify with, that you’d like to learn more about, please take a minute to Join my email list below.
Get 21 Key Insights & Tips From The First 75 Years of My Life
BONUS! enter your email and you will also recieve the forward and introduction from my book: Mastership – The Journey From Bankruptcy To A New Life