Life is meant to be a challenge and, if we want to live to our highest potential, it will take courage. I was never the smartest, the best athlete, or the most popular. During my formative years, I dealt with a dysfunctional family. My father eventually died of cirrhosis of the liver and my older brother went to prison. Who was I? What did I want to be? I was a stutterer and shy. However, everything that happens to us in life is for our own good. Like the grapes that produce the best wine are often grown in a rough terrain, a rough terrain in life can and does make us stronger.  

With mediocre grades in high school, junior college was my only option. I did well, joined the track team, becoming a top javelin thrower. UCLA followed with a full athletic scholarship for track. I became an “All-American” and a member of the most successful track team in NCAA history.

School psychology was to be my calling. I worked 16 years at Garfield High School, home of the movie “Stand and Deliver.” I developed a group-counseling program and wrote a handbook on group counseling. My peers twice selected me as “School Psychologist of the Year.” Channel 11 News hailed me as their “Hero of the Week,” for saving students’ lives.

I started beach volleyball and twice won the California State Cup Master’s Division and the Santa Barbara Tournament, considered to be the National Master’s Beach Championship. I traveled to India adopting the philosophy of a holy man: love, peace, truth, and non-violence. I traveled to Brazil adopting the philosophy of love and light, and service to others. I’ve now written seven books, three published in India.

I believe each day is a gift and can take no credit for my successes. How did all of this happen? Who knows? But I continue to learn, to grow and to live my life to the fullest. Life is meant to be a work of art and we each produce our own picture. Make it a masterpiece!

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