Am I bragging? Probably sounds like it!  But I mention the things above, not to boast, but to underscore that while life has been and is exciting, I’m convinced that even more exciting is what’s ahead–our “Yetness Journey”! I intentionally said “our” because I’d surely like to see it enrich your life and your heritage. I’m personally determined to leave a legacy of much more than money. How? Largely by helping you and others do the same—as your make the most of your past-fifty years—your Yetness Journey!

I’m awed by the power of family—both actual and virtual! I’m astonished by how “big people” can touch “little people.” One reason for my awe is that I’m the product of an “it-will-never-work” marriage! My mother-to-be was a gentle little widow. My dad-to-be was a “bad-news bachelor with a short fuse and fast fists who ‘wasn’t worth his salt.’” But he met that little widow, and, to the astonishment of all who knew them, and to the dismay of some,   he wooed and wed her. The rest, if not quite “history” is legendary, at least to family and in their community. Because…

Amazingly, their marriage did work!  I was born three years after they married and got to see bit of Dad’s transformation and how and why they so marvelously made it succeed. And I saw how it generated a gentle, sweeping tidal wave of influence for good, especially for children and families. I was a primary beneficiary, and yet…that’s not the whole story. What I’ve said has given glimpses of the sunny side of my life.There is a dark side.

Have you noticed hints of shadows as I’ve outlined my journey? There are some. Perhaps because of a touch of ADD, I didn’t stay focused. I jumped from one path to another. I let myself be distracted by “bright-shiny-objects” scattered along the way. I listened to wrong advisors, made bad business decisions, and trusted wrong associates. Bankruptcy wiped out my business and we lost our home. I became distraught and depressed.

But I kept a smile on my face as I tried to maintain fully-functioning faith and to keep on trudging. As I did, I learned that no matter how fancy and shiny the boots are that you wear on your journey, even one or two gravel in them can create excruciating pain!  So I finally stopped hobbling along, paused, took several deep breaths, and re-booted! The result: In the process I uncovered a world of put-to-work insights, tools, and techniques to share with you—including the “Yetness™” concept. (Just wait till you hear the story behind that!) “Yetness” worked, and still works wonders for me and others and it will for you. For example: At age sixty, I would have told you, “I’m not a writer. I’m a speaker, but I never, ever, write out my speeches or much of anything else. I simply am not a writer.”  

I should have tacked on one of the most important three-letter words in the English language. Do you know what it is? I should have said, “I simply am not a writer—YET!” At fifty-nine, my journey to authorship began. I met a guide. She nudged me onto my “Yetness” path as a writer and walked with me. Sometimes beside me, sometimes in front, and sometimes behind me. Eventually I soloed. But the guide was nearby. I was now moving along a path to create a worthwhile legacy and to have fun beyond imagining while doing so. In the next ten years, from age sixty to seventy, I wrote or coauthored six children’s picture books and three novels. Three became successful book-club offerings. One became an Amazon Kindle #1 best selling novel and quickly garnered more than 40,000 downloads and scads of five-star reviews.