Tell me about your vision when you decided to begin writing.
Um, it goes back, like I said, two decades at that time, I was working at a, um, uh, one of the,
um, the top hospitals in New York City.
And, uh, I worked there for over 20 years and originally I started in security and then I went
to, and I became, I specialized in mental health, uh, what we call Moab of aggression.
Um, we dealt with aggressive behaviors and all, all types of behaviors.
So I specialize in that and I specialize in customer service.
So a lot of the doctors said, you know, you really, you know, you got to report with the
patients and everything.
And, and with people, um, he said, well, tell me a little bit about yourself.
And I started telling people about my story and they were like, I can't believe you would
do all that stuff.
So, cause at a very early, very early age, sorry about that.
Um, at 15, my mom put me out.
So I come from a very strong mom and a very strong dad.
Um, but my mom was, she was a single, single mom.
So I would see dad once in a blue moon.
But, uh, the reason why I put this book together, because over the years I've helped to inspire
a lot of young folks, um, not only young folks, seniors, um, people, all walks of life, you
know, because sometimes we need to get back to that, you know, we need to sometimes since
COVID we've been disconnected and we need to get back in touch with that.
And our young folks are suffering for that big time.
So, um, I want to be a blessing to them, you know?
Yes.
And I, I can understand that.
And I believe that our story tells so much more sometimes than just, uh, preaching per
se at individuals.
Uh, they have to really truly know where we're coming from.
And that's a part of Vision Pros Live and you being on here with me today is getting
to know the person behind the book, right?
Um, I'm this, I say myself and many others are judged books by their cover, right?
And they don't truly know if the book isn't designed with colors or anything flashy or
great pictures, one tends to look it over.
So my goal is to know the person behind the book.
Um, how did you get started?
And I do understand it was decades ago, but when you decided to, to buckle down and get
to it, how did you get started?
Where'd that focus come from?
That, that focus came from, uh, I was watching the infomercial and it talked about doing,
you know, a book and I was like, and it just so happens that that company that I was looking
at, they went out of business.
Thank God I didn't get hooked up with them.
And I was about to send them my money to help them get me on track with everything.
And I found this other company, um, S P, uh, SPS, uh, self publishing school.
And they took me by the hand and, uh, they helped me to get everything focused and ready.
And, um, it was, it was a blessing.
It was a blessing in disguise.
You just never know, you know.
And, um, yeah.
So what was the technique behind SPS that allowed you to truly want to begin and move
forward and finishing the book?
Well, they, they were very encouraging.
Um, plus, you know, they're Christian based.
So, um, that spoke to my spirit.
So if I don't, if it doesn't speak to my spirit, I really don't kind of get involved with that.
Sometimes when you're in a situation and it's that little voice that says, don't do it.
And sometimes we do it anyway, and then we regret it.
I try to listen to that little voice as often as possible, you know?
Yes.
And, and I totally, I totally get that.
One thing we say in the spiritual world is that that voice is when somebody's speaking to you.
And, uh, uh, delayed obedience is no different from disobedience.
So, so, and also, you know, that cliche statement of everything happens in the right time and for
the right reasons.
Right.
And so that was definitely your timing.
Interesting enough.
Do you feel like those decades you had to, in hindsight, you had to actually go through
more to create this book?
Um, whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
I always do than that.
So, and going through it at the time, I thought, man, you know, what was me?
Uh, man, how could this happen?
Um, you know, what do I do?
I was 15 years old, you know?
And so three years of wandering the streets, uh, living in shelters, abandoned buildings.
Uh, I even slept in the cemetery and told the, uh, caretaker shot at me.
And that's a whole nother story for, for another time.
My wife asked me to keep that out of the book because it was a little dark, you know?
So I try to put a positive spin on it.
But the most important thing is not forgetting where you came from.
Absolutely.
And, and also guiding the way for the future, future generations, because a lot of them,
they don't know.
They look at social media and, and they think, uh, just cause this person's got this, they're
doing that.
And a lot of that stuff is fake, you know?
And I understand in the business field, we always say, fake it till you make it.
Yeah.
But those young kids, they don't know, they can't discern whether or not this is fake
and this is real.
So they think, oh, yes, everything is happy, go lucky, you know, and it's not.
Yeah.
And it's, it's, it's scary.
It's definitely scary times, um, in order to be able to guide and, and make sure that
they're not misguided as they're going through and trying to be coached by someone like
yourself with the experience.
So what has coaching been like for you?
It's been revealing and rewarding, um, because when you see the lights come on and someone,
no matter what age they are, male, female, you name it.
Um, when the lights come on and they get it and you help them to get it, it's, it's, it's
a fulfilling, it's a fulfilling, uh, feeling that you don't, you don't forget.
And, um, I look forward to being able to help folks on a larger scale now.
So that's the reason why I'm doing this online and the whole social media, even though I'm
challenged with a lot of this stuff, but you know, like I said, you know, it's nothing
to it, but to do it.
Absolutely.
I have been speaking with many, many, many guests, um, since I got into the field of
podcasting and I, it seems to be significant and very, um, intuitive.
Um, intentional that everyone says, and it's not to quote Nike, but just do it.
The procrastination is what delays the destination, which leads us to being so unsuccessful
or feeling unsuccessful when, you know, it's really the procrastination.
So it's, it's good that you're out here and your, your goal is to inspire and to
coach individuals to, to just doing it and, and being okay with that.
You know, when you said in the mental health field, as you were, well, as you
specialized in that, how has that shaped you to be come who you are today?
It shaped me because when someone's going through a traumatic situation, a lot of times
they think they're the only ones or people don't understand them and having, sometimes
people just need to talk and get that out of their system.
And by doing that, it allows folks to know that, okay, I'm not alone.
Um, I can get help.
There are people that care about me, you know what I'm saying?
And as long as we remember that and we get back to those basics, um, we need to get back
to caring about folks more and more.
So that's the reason why coaching is so important.
And I can't tell you how many folks I've helped, um, especially in the business
field with coaching.
I worked in sales and marketing here in Miami, Florida, and, um, I became the
number one trainer.
So our numbers, we did over a million dollars in sales and, and this was in one
year, me and my team.
And some of the folks I had to retrain the trainers to retrain.
So, you know, cause a lot of times when you're doing something, you need a
different perspective on some things.
And I'm a solution oriented person, you know, whenever it is a challenge,
whatever, uh, I dissect it and then get to the heart of it and then help the
person to be able to move on.
So, and that's what I do.
That's it's, and definitely in business, I think that that might be a little bit
more challenging than someone coming to you for, you know, life coaching
because the goal of a business is to actually have all the answers and to be
able to have employees and to guide them.
But when you have to be coached into guiding other people, uh, it's, it's a
different story.
So how many people do you have on your team?
Right now?
Well, right now I have about 10 people, but on my launch team, I had about 75
people for the book and everything.
So it's been pretty chaotic.
Um, but also challenging.
And I, and I look forward to challenges because, you know, whatever doesn't
kill you makes you stronger.
And, um, another thing is that, um, with, with doing it with the team, you're
not doing it by yourself.
You're also being able to, to help tons of other folks.
So, uh, there's always a lesson in the blessing, you know, absolutely.
And, you know, when it comes to the challenges, the struggles and the
thoughts that you have looking in hindsight, I know that, you know, going
through something is, is usually always a challenge, but kids, you name
anything specific that held you back.
That held me back.
Yeah.
A lot of things helped me back.
Um, self self-esteem, um, a lot of people focus and, and now they have, they
have this new term is called imposter syndrome, you know, so, but basically
if you've been there and done that, you should not have imposter syndrome
because you're basically referring someone to what you have done and how
you came out on the other side.
So, you know, in the beginning, I was like, well, you know, I don't think
anybody will really listen.
And then I started sharing my story more and more and people like, yo, D
you need to, you need to write a book, man.
You coach me, you know, train me.
And, um, I had one young lady when I was doing the, uh, the nonprofit charity,
she was not understanding it and it got to be most throughout the whole day.
And I said, well, you know, I've been working with you and, um, how
can I help you?
You know, and she was like, I got ADHD.
And I'm like, okay.
Um, you didn't tell me that.
Yeah.
So, you know, it's not written on your forehead.
So I don't really know that.
So, you know, and I felt bad, you know, but the next day I came because my wife,
you know, we both, I have a touch of that and my wife has that also.
So the way we work that is that once again, I'm a solution oriented person.
So I helped her to come up with a system and the next day transformed.
She was a brand new person and she was making sales.
She was killing it, you know, she was like, thank you so much.
And then, um, a few other people wanted to sort of work with me.
And then there was a list of people that wanted to work with me and everything.
But, you know, like I said, it's not about me.
It's about helping the next person.
Absolutely.
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
And that, that, that statement or that label of imposter syndrome is really,
really big now, because now again, as we mentioned before, social media is,
it's a whole different, um, challenge.
All of what?
Yeah, to overcome.
So if you wouldn't mind, um, just elaborating it for those that are watching,
if this will be a part of the clip, what is imposter syndrome?
Imposter syndrome is thinking that what you're presenting to someone is kind
of fake.
Um, you're, you're making up stuff.
You're not really who you say you are.
Um, and a lot of people suffer from that because of the way they think.
People suffer from that because of a lack of self-confidence.
Yes.
So, um, being at also, I'm a retired police officer from New York.
Um, I, in the beginning, I was an introvert.
The police department brought out the extrovert in me.
So, and my wife still, she still bugs out because sometimes she's like, no,
no, no, no, you were never introverted.
I said, yeah, I couldn't eat two people in silent prayer.
So, you know, but when you find that confidence and you find your why,
the how runs all over on top of it.
And, and you talk about one thing that a lot of people focus on and their why,
what, you know, a lot of people don't really know what their why is or they define it as
an individual, right?
Or individuals often hear children are their whys.
Yeah.
I'm going to ask you, what's your why?
Because every morning I wake up and I have this picture of my family.
And, you know, my mom in September, she'll be 93 years old and I almost lost her a few years ago.
And, you know, but it's a blessing to still have your mom with you.
You know, she doesn't, she doesn't remember a lot, but you know,
I'm just glad she's here.
And I also have my two children and my wife and every day, you know, facing challenges.
I've even had folks say, oh, D, you know, you won't be this and you won't be that.
And you can't listen to the naysayers.
Yeah.
You know, it's like bugs on a windshield.
You know, you drive in and the bugs hit the windshield.
Some going to stick, some not going to stick, but just put your windshield wipers on and keep moving.
Thank you for being here today.
I'm really happy that you tuned in to Vision Pros Live.
I'm looking forward to seeing your reactions as these episodes continue to move forward.
This is going to get more and more fun.
We'll have more and more engagement as well.
We'll invite people to participate in the show and thank you for giving us your time and attention.
Have an excellent time building out your vision and becoming a Vision Pro yourself.