Awhile back Act of Valor took to the screens and like all things JSOC (Joint Special Operations Command) I take it in.  I’m a really big supporter of our Special Operations forces.  The movie was somewhat Hollywood but it hit on a few things that had an impact on me.

A poem written by Native American Shawnee Chief Tecumseh, it goes:

 

“So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart. Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their view, and demand that they respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and its purpose in the service of your people. Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide.

 

Always give a word or a sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend, even a stranger, when in a lonely place. Show respect to all people and grovel to none.

 

When you arise in the morning give thanks for the food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself.

 

Abuse no one and no thing, for abuse turns the wise ones to fools
and robs the spirit of its vision. When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song and die like a hero going home.”

Let’s just say, can I get an amen? What a touching piece…

Finally, Keith Urban topped it off with a song written for the movie:

As a plane flies through the air at 32,000 feet, the pilots are consistently making course corrections. Almost never at any time are they actually 100% accurately on the right path. Think about that – they are failing (in a variety of ways) to stay on course most of their journey. I kind of believe life is like that – we are always making corrections, and it’s absolutely unavoidable to fail in our efforts to stay on the right path, make the correct decisions, and get there the first try.

One of my favorite role models – General George S. Patton (US Army) said, “I don’t measure a man’s success by how high he climbs but how high he bounces when he hits bottom.” This echoes in my life when I myself, a friend, or family member experiences failure. How we react, how we correct, and how we get up determines how strong we really are. Sure, it’d be nice to be perfect and do it all right the first time but who lives like that? Throw egg in my face if you want, but it ain’t me. Failure is my friend – it’s an honest indicator that something isn’t working. Don’t be afraid to fail, bur rather embrace the opportunity to improve and get even stronger.

Through emotional words, I’ve heard the pleas from parents of childhood cancer patients. The words express the outrage, abandonment, confusion, and sadness about people not seeing what’s happening to their child. And they are not wrong. The world by in large ignores childhood cancer; sweeps it under the rug. But like many tragedies of our world, it isn’t in the conversation – and when it is, it’s the wrong story. I’m here to say, change the story!

The vast majority of childhood cancer organizations don’t play well together – the national push to collaborate is in its early stages, but even in this stage you can easily see how broken the entire community is. I often ask myself, what are we missing? Why can’t we all come together and create urgency in this cause? The strength of a child whose body is weak from chemo and constant vomiting can muster up the strength to kick my butt in almost every board game invented – how is it a bunch of adults can’t come together and agree to work together?

The community is envious of other causes whose urgency is raised in the eyes of government and the pharmaceutical industry. They become bitter when NFL players all have pink ribbons for breast cancer. What is the community missing? Well, I think it’s simple. They spend a ton of time ignoring the fact that other causes have reached out to teams of professionals and literally changed their story. They ignited a fire in millions of people whose conversation topics became the cause and therefore created a grassroots movement.

Somewhere, somehow people got the wrong impression about children with cancer. First, they assumed that 75-80% of children are cured of their cancer. WRONG. Second, they are meant to believe that these children get adequate care and it’s just a tough thing they forced to go through – also WRONG. In the last 50 years, there has only been one drug approved by the FDA to treat one type of childhood cancer. The survival rate is not the majority especially when you consider the amount of long-term side effects of the treatment and secondary cancers.

Change the story. Create urgency. Call on the professionals who have spent their lifetimes understanding how this is done successfully. Work together with other childhood cancer organizations and combine efforts and funds to HIRE the resources to start conversations, change hearts, and clear the air from myths and wrong facts. If this could happen, the outcome would be different. Some people dislike my candor on the matter, but I owe those kids who have to take their life day-by-day hoping they get another chance at a healthy life. I got a lot of fight in me, and it’s time to make it a reality.

If you’ve ever seen me in person you know I wear a white bracelet around my right wrist.  You can certainly see it in almost every picture of me within the last year.  The bracelet reads, “sTAY strong”.  I often get asked what this means and I haven’t yet gotten good at a concise answer.  It’s a challenge for me to quickly say how it connects to me – it’s even more of a challenge to tell people how deep that emotional connection is.  I figured I’d write my answer here and see where it goes…

Taylor Rivera, a beautifully charming teenager faced a very rare childhood cancer and found herself in and out of treatment for several years.  She had a very close friendship with my friend Kennedy.  Amanda Peebles, the cancer girl I got the closest to (as you can read here) also looked up to Taylor.  It was a close group of kids fighting cancer.

When Taylor passed, at her funeral I was given a bracelet by one of her family members.  I was able to attend the funeral with Amanda (one of the last events I got to spend with her outside the hospital).  Taylor’s theme was sTAY strong.  TAY is for Taylor.  It’s a phrase that to this day keeps the community going when it gets tough.  We have a hard time imagining the strength it must take to endure the long-term battle of childhood cancer – certainly even worse when you consider the daily symptoms.  The strength the kids pull from is beyond anything I’ve ever seen or exemplified in my life.  It’s almost impossible for me to imagine the strength.

I wear this because every time I look at it, it reminds me of these two girls, Amanda & Taylor.  Together they fought and they passed within months of each other.  I vowed to always wear it to remind me to keep fighting the same way these girls did – to do all I can to make their sacrifice help other kids who are fighting.  It’s what reminds me of my duty in this lifetime to make their memory one that saves others.

Now you can imagine how hard this is to explain quickly, right? I have a humble sacredness to Amanda’s and Taylor’s story, and their memory is inspiring to me every single day.

So, in honor of Taylor and Amanda, wake-up every day and sTAY strong.

OK, sorry for the lame title – but how else do I describe the incredible experiences brought about by my good friend Brian Parker?  Brian and I met through the Miracle Party years ago and since then we’ve established a great business partnership and friendship.  He was flown out to San Diego on official SpireWave business and true to our word – we worked and played hard.

We manged to get booked on a 4 hour whale watching sailing trip out of the San Diego Harbor.  It was provided by Next Level Sailing and wow, these guys know how to run a great business.  I was absolutely impressed by the whole package.  We set sail and cruised 9+ miles outside of San Diego straddling the Mexico border and found the first Gray Whales of the season migrating north.  On our way back into port – we sailed right through hundreds of fast-swimming dolphins flipping next to the boat.

One of the yacht’s crew stuck an underwater camera beneath the water to show the dolphins and I’ve included the video below:

Brian is an expert at branding and he’s since become one of our top consultants at SpireWave.  Right now, SpireWave is undergoing a re-branding initiative and will soon launch a major web project.

Evidence of our work was seen written on the glass doors of the hotel balcony overlooking the San Diego Airport where we could chew on our thoughts while watching airplanes.

Thanks Brian for a productive and exciting weekend – sure do love San Diego!

After an exciting holiday and before I left Denver I received a phone call from Donavan inviting me to a Denver Nuggets game in the Make-A-Wish suite. Donavan (on the left in the photo above) is my good friend who has battled childhood cancer for the past several years and is now doing exceptionally well. I met Donavan through Amanda Peebles as they were boyfriend and girlfriend when Amanda was going through the worst time of her treatment. Donavan has inspired me and has become one of my closest friends. The smile in his eyes is one that you will always remember and appreciate. He is looking great and starting to feel better. This past year was his first year back in school. I am so proud of him and his family for their ability to thrive through this crisis.

A special thank you to Make-A-Wish Colorado who provides this kind of entertainment often for kids and their families, they truly are an incredible organization.

I consider myself so lucky to know these heroes. I can’t help but share with you all. Below are a few pictures from the game – Donavan, thanks man. Can’t thank you enough for the friendship and the time.

[Show as slideshow]

Hollywood is obsessed with the glamour of the special operator, you know, the one who carries a full battle-rattle vest of special tools, weapons, armor, and gadgets – the man who jumps off moving trains, blows up vehicles, and saves the day…that guy. If Hollywood can be obsessed with him, which doesn’t really exist, I think I can be obsessed with the real guys. Hidden in the back corner of Barnes & Noble is a shelf with a few books written about them, a few of the books written by the men who actually were there. In the Army, they refer to themselves as the quiet professionals. I can’t tell you how much I respect this model of thinking. You go through years of the worlds most intense training – learn skills that few people can even think of doing, and go save the world on missions that nobody will even admit took place unless they are a failure. Why? Why would someone give so much and risk it all for little to no credit – no recognition and no fame? This trait, and this trait alone I find to be so incredible.

There are quiet professions all around us. I’m not just talking about the commando (although they are a perfect example to make my point). I am talking about the small business leader – the infantry soldier, the school teacher, the mentor, the doctor, the one who chooses to take on more in life and does it for little or no recognition. They see that their life exists to help others, leave a legacy, and make their journey mean something.

I wake up everyday and beat myself up about getting better – being better. My business partner and I have spent days, weeks, even months training trying to fix our broken selves, to improve who we are, and learn to do it better. You would think that the road less traveled that is significantly more challenging would be the undesirable choice. But so many of my role models chose that road – they are on it willingly and as far as I know, very few people even know they have chosen it. I can’t tell you what about them chooses this, but I can tell you I respect them.

I just hope to be like them – to mean more to life than what we are given, to leave more than when we started. It’s a movement I hope to see more in our culture. It’s just so cool to see people give so much and work so hard for so little. My brother Darrin will be going to Ranger school in about a month and I can’t tell you how much I respect him – his lessons don’t come easy, there were a million other paths he could have chosen but he didn’t.

So, here’s to the quiet professional.

As 2012 really gains momentum, I really want to say something about Lighting Advisors on my blog. Last August I met with my good friend Shane Lembke and together we decided it was time to officially launch our own stage and event lighting company. We’ve sub-contracted for large events and tours for quite a while and have done some spectacular projects. As many of you know, this is a total change of pace compared to my other business ventures!

The result of this partnership between Shane and me was Lighting Advisors – the pitch is, we help events, businesses, and organizations get the latest and greatest in stage lighting technology which includes intelligent moving lights and LEDs.

This company to me feels like an outlet of passion; since age 11 I was really into the backstage of a concert or show. I really do consider myself a stage lighting enthusiast and that’s why I think Lighting Advisors hit at a great time in my life.

Explore and learn more at http://www.lightingadvisors.com and follow our journey! We shall see what it brings. Happy 2012!

2011 was a challenging year – a great year. For me it was a time of transition, growth, and phenomenal relationships. I feel like when you sit down and reflect on what the past year brought, you‘re able to clearly aim your direction into the next year.

I separated my experiences into three areas (cause there are too many to write):

Transition – West Point Graduation

My brother Darrin reached a peak in his young life by graduating class of 2011 from the USMA at West Point. I was fortunate to be very close to Darrin during his four year journey on the Hudson and let me tell you, it was a hard one. The investment one must make to graduate West Point is incredible and Darrin, I believe, knocked it out of the park. I was proud and honored to be there.

This teaches me how significant transitions are in our lives. Darrin became an Officer in the US Army and is now commissioned as a Second Lieutenant.  He will go from 4 years of academic study and physical training to be a platoon leader in the 2nd Infantry Division (quite a change) – most likely looking at a deployment to Afghanistan this year.

Transition is in all of our lives, and how we handle transition can really define who we are.

Growth – SpireWave & Lighting Advisors

Well I’ve made some decisions as to where my career should take me and SpireWave was a direct result of that honest assessment. It’s important for me to always stay within my passion; because I believe it’s the key to achievement as a business owner. SpireWave was a shift in the name and game of the old SMG (Strategic Media Group) and for us it was a refreshing change.  SpireWave helps businesses build and apply new media tools and strategies.

I was also fortunate to start a concert and event lighting company with my good friend Shane Lembke called Lighting Advisors. It has been a fun adventure so far!

Relationships – Family, Donavan and Friends

I was fortunate this year to spend a lot of time with my brother and his new wife.  This was an excellent part of 2011.

I was also able to get to know Donavan more – Donavan is a cancer kid who was Amanda Peebles boyfriend. He is so incredible and getting to know him more meant the world to me!

What better than to finish off 2011 than a vacation with friends. Darrin, Shane, and Nate made our Holiday trip this year a perfect climax of the year.

Through reflection we see ourselves. It’s a perfect opportunity to learn and grow. I hope that 2012 is equally as rewarding as 2011.

After literally almost a year in silence as to what I am working on in the Childhood Cancer space, I am finally ready to make it public – and I’m excited!

When thousands of children every year are diagnosed with childhood cancer across the United States they are thrown into a battle for survival.  Their families are faced with a whirlwind of decisions to make for treatment, financial logistics, and emotional support.  All too often they find a lack of information.

For years the major players within childhood cancer non-profits have attempted to form coalitions and alliances to unite the childhood cancer community – both on message and on initiatives.  Many of these efforts have failed, but a few are finally starting to gain momentum.

I happen to believe that a national united effort can be empowered when it’s supported by statewide or regional coalitions; and it turns out I wasn’t alone.  I have joined efforts with a team of people who are helping to unite the childhood cancer community by helping build statewide coalitions.  This project, entitled Gold Force is focused on helping locate resources and recruiting people to create statewide coalitions.

Gold Force is an independent project (separate from any 501c3) that offers structure, advisors, and support for volunteers in each state who are dedicated to building collaborations in their area.

This is a huge undertaking – especially for states like California or Texas (the size of the state and number of resources) but I believe that by following Colorado and Tennessee (who have already setup coalitions similar to this successfully) that it can be done and the results are most impressive.  The best thing we can offer the children and families facing childhood cancer is a coordinated hub of information and established relationships that can provide this vital information.

Although this project might separate me from the connection with the kids and families (because literally I will be hiding behind a mountain of paperwork, conference calls, and online logistics) a bit more than I’d like, I know it will serve a greater purpose and the largest amount of kiddos!

If you can help or get involved, please contact me! We need the help.