I was born in August of 1968, in Vermont, where I grew up in the small town of Jericho, just outside of Burlington. Raised by a career athletic coach, I was taught the power of positivity at a young age, as well as the team concept in nearly everything I would do. It would serve me well throughout my life. It would be much later that I learned it wasn’t a theory or concept, but a biological rule of nature. All of my life, my positive attitude always made a difference. Sometimes I laughed too much at the wrong time, I was told.  But today I see the power in it all. It was no accident.

In 1986, I joined the US Army where I became a combat medic for the 18th Airborne Corp. in Georgia, and later a helicopter paramedic. I was awarded the Good Conduct Medal, Army Achievement Medal and an Army Commendation Medal, as well as the AMED award for the top 100 medics in the armed forces. I started working early as a kid and the drive to succeed, to be the best, always carried me to the next rung of the ladder.

I went straight into law enforcement in New Hampshire upon leaving the Military. After only three years, I was promoted to the youngest Chief of Police in the country at 23 years old in Deering, NH. The power of positive thinking had indeed served me very well. After several injuries and increased pressures, I left law enforcement to become a private investigator specializing in missing persons, bringing my same positive attitude along. This led me into teaching banking industry personnel throughout New England on how to locate individuals for collection purposes. Eventually, I was recruited into the finance/banking industry where I spent the last 18 years specializing in the automotive Industry as a trainer and motivational speaker. For the past eight years, I have been an Accredited National Trainer in sales and marketing in the banking and auto industry, traveling around the country teaching managers in the field in a powerful and motivational way. I shared that concept as an author of several training policies adopted nationally. I learned once again how staying positive was a critical aspect of my success. If you teach sales or learn about sales anywhere, the power of your belief will come up. It seemed fitting I would find a home where my infectious personality would shine.

Five years ago, my world was rocked when I was diagnosed with End Stage AIDS and cancer, which led me through two separate terminal diagnoses and a trip through Hospice just 4 years ago. I continued to laugh nearly all the way through the last five years. It has always been my calling card anyway and this would be no different, much to the wide eyes of doctors and nurses who probably thought it an odd time to be joking. I suspect I have learned, and taught, that it is the exact right time for that thinking.

Since my AIDS diagnosis, I have been diagnosed with one carcinoma or another 3 separate times and have had seven separate surgeries to beat one or another. But after turning inward, I discovered those childhood lessons of positivity and teamwork were more than a sports slogan or just a good idea. Today new medicine has shined a light on the power of our attitude and perception on the health of our very cells. The data isn’t shared enough these days, in my opinion, to reaffirm what we’ve been taught most of our lives - the power of our own mind. Being positive, for me, is more than about winning. It’s about healing and the power we have to affect others.  All of this followed my NDE, which occurred shortly after my diagnosis. It is one thing to be positive, but when you know and understand the biological and physiological consequences, it just all connects. We are more magnificent than we were told.

Since my diagnosis, near death experience and journey through Hospice, I have written a blog and shared my story, which I found to be a great experience for myself and impactful for others. I wrote a book about my journey in 2015 called "Twenty-Seconds, A True Account of Survival and Hope".  I hope in sharing the story others find hope and meaning in their concerns about death and dying.  More importantly, I hope it helps others to see what I have learned about living. My story isn't about dying - it’s about love, family, perseverance and not just faith, but a trust in the path before us each and every day and all who cross it.  "I hope at the end of the day, it makes a difference".