We all have a story.
We all arrive to where we are today based on the decisions that we have made, up to and including today.
My path, just like yours, has had many interesting twists and turns… some expected, some quite unexpected… yet all meaningful.
Plenty of hills and valleys, lots of laughter and tears… and hopefully enough wisdom to be humble.
I am a veteran and damn proud of it!
How’s that for humble.
I’ve actively participated in “war” (the First Gulf War), up close and personal, engaging in everything expected of me and I have the memories of the horror to prove it.
Not sure why, but after I “made it back”, physically and mentally, I vowed to myself that I would help others do the same and began my training as a “life coach” targeted specifically to people just like me who had gone through what I had gone through.
Like I said, we all have a story and I believe that our most trying times in life eventually reveal themselves as hidden gifts.
Although, it’s a bit tough to see it when you’re smack dab in the middle of it! That’s why I chose this work. I personally didn’t have the “bridge” I needed to get back to my life and struggled unnecessarily for too many long years.
Who knows if I could have avoided the divorce, the unemployment, the business failure, the health issues and the list goes on…
Who knows if I would have had someone there to at least validate what I was feeling and help me realize that I wasn’t crazy, if it all would have gone differently! Who knows?
I know that it’s difficult to talk to people about what happened “over there” during your tour of duty, and I especially know how communication takes on a different form (and is sometimes impossible) even with those we love and that love us.
My fascination with the military began when, at age 6, my biological father “had to leave” to go join the army and it was then that he gave up his parental rights to my mother. I didn’t know what that meant at the time and I don’t have many active memories of my father at that age, having been so young. He has since passed away I’m told. I was adopted at age 7 by my current father who has done a great job raising me and loving me.
I’ll also never forget a particular television commercial that had a knight being touched on each shoulder with a sword and the words stating “become one of the few, the proud, the Marines”. Not sure why, but it really touched me. It spoke to me in a way that ignited the beginnings of what I now consider my life mission… dedicating my life to helping make this world a better place. I was at the recruiter’s office the very next week enrolling for bootcamp. I was 18 years old.
Today, I am a divorced father of two amazing kids, a son and daughter, ages 9 and 8, who are the light of my world.
I work diligently every day with veterans from all over the country, in helping them get their unique and very individual issues worked out. All my life I’ve been told by all kinds of people that I “should be a teacher” because I explain things so clearly and easily.
That is the greatest compliment, I believe, that anyone can receive, and thankfully, I decided to take their advice and become a life coach, gradually working with veterans one at a time.
Yes, I am a teacher, but I prefer to call myself a “bridge”… A bridge back to life.
I want to personally invite you to call me for a free conversation, no strings attached. No hard feelings if after our conversation you choose not to work together, it’s ok. At least, I will have hopefully given you some “nuggets” to think about and help you in some small way. That is why I am here. If we decide to move forward and dig deeper, then so be it, but you are always in control to choose exactly how to proceed.
I thank you for reading “my story” and I cannot tell you how enthusiastic I am to learn about yours.
Best of luck to you,
Rick
