12 Year Old Ansleigh Adkins Finds Passion, Purpose and a Whole Lot of Heart in Wake of Critical Illness.

People with passion, purpose and heart can be found everywhere and at any age. In Don’t Seek Success – Be Happi, I write about how many individuals find passion and purpose through a tragic event in their lives. Take the inspiring story of 12 year old, Ashleigh Adkins as an example.

Ansleigh has been through a lot in her short life. AOL’s Everyday Life reports that Ansleigh suffered from an inherited condition called FAP (familial adenomatous polyposis) which meant she had a 100% chance of getting colon cancer. Thus, her only option was to have her colon removed.

When she was in the hospital for the colon removal surgery, Ashleigh brought her teddy bear along for comfort. In spite of the serious nature of her condition and a difficult surgery, Ansleigh was not thinking of herself and what she was going through, instead she asked her mother if she could raise money to give other children at the hospital teddy bears and she did just that.

Ansleigh raised more than $2,000, enough to buy and distribute 70 bears to children at the Cleveland Clinic where she was also being treated. The Build-a-Bear Foundation saw a story on Ansleigh and sent her another 100 teddy bears, which Ansleigh recently distributed. Watch a video on Ansleigh below:

“Children in a hospital can be bored or scared. Getting a stuffed animal makes them feel more normal and comfortable in an unfamiliar place.” “It just really brightens their day,” said Andrea Rapport, a child life specialist at Cleveland Clinic. (Source: AOL’s Everyday Life.)

Ansleigh’s experience at the hospital has inspired her to have a career goal of helping children in hospitals.

Ansleigh Adkins is a remarkable young woman. Today Ansleigh is healthy and happy, wise beyond her years and filled with passion, purpose and heart!

For more on passion, purpose and heart, see Don’t Seek Success – Be Happi.

Be Great!

MB

Patrick and Bobbin Mulvaney Lend Expertise, Blood, Sweet, and a Whole Lot of Love (Heart) to Help Homeless Moms Gain Work Skills

Photo by Randall Benton for the Sacramento Bee

Patrick and Bobbin Mulvaney own a traditional for profit restaurant in Sacramento, California, Mulvaney's B&L. That has not, however stopped them from venturing into social entrepreneurship by volunteering to help launch an intriguing concept that helps homeless mothers learn job skills and gain a work history to lead them on a path of self-sustainability.

These busy restaurateurs definitely have passion, purpose and a whole lot of heart.

Three years ago, the St John’s Shelter Program for Women and Children in Sacramento, California launched a restaurant called simply “Plates,” guided by the expertise and help of the Mulvaneys. The difference here, is that the casual eatery employs homeless mothers that often have little or no work experience.

The Mulvaneys are totally committed to the concept. Bobbin Mulvaney tells Cathie Anderson of the Sacramento Bee that they “put a lot of "love and Elvis" into it.”

The experiment has been more than successful.   Plates now grosses about $650,000 in revenue. $45,000 of that revenue helps to pay for other programs.

Diners at Plates to Go
Photo by Randall Benton
 for the Sacramento Bee

With the success of the original Plates, St. Johns Shelter is expanding with the addition of “Plates to Go” in midtown Sacramento. Again with the blood, sweet, and love of the Mulvaneys.  

St. John's Shelter CEO Michele Steeb told Anderson, “There's not a word in the English language to describe how instrumental the partnership with the Mulvaneys has been. That came in loud and clear the week that the original Plates restaurant opened. We had a chef, but it worked for only about a week. We opened the first week and Patrick was on the line cooking for three out of the first six days."

Plates to Go Executive Chef
Stu Edgcombe & Kitchen
Manager Tamara KafkaPhoto by Randall Benton
 for the Sacramento Bee 

Apparently the Mulvaneys hire people at their own restaurant with a lot of heart too. Stu Edgcombe, a former chef at Mulvaneys B & L, volunteered to help out and liked the concept so much, he stayed on as the Plate to Go Executive Chef.

At the new Plates to Go, Kitchen Manager Tamara Kafka escaped domestic-violence.  A graduate of the St. Johns Shelter Program, Kafka tells CBS 13 in Sacramento, “It was not a good time in my life,” she said. “The environment wasn’t healthy for me and my kids, so that’s what made me homeless. You can’t let the past define you. We all have a past, we all have a story. We just have to move on and motivate each other.”

Tamara is no longer homeless. That makes it all worthwhile for the Mulvaneys.

For more on passion, purpose and heart and how to find your own passion and purpose in life. See Don’t Seek Success – Be Happi.

Be Great!

MB 

Life is Good continues Optimism and Heart in the Wake of Boston Bombing Tragedy

Bert and John Jacobs believe life to good. So that is exactly what they named their now thriving company, but it was not always that way. In 1989, the brothers began selling t-shirts door to door and on the streets. As they tell it on their website, the early years were something less than profitable. They lived on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and as two single guys at the time, they say “chicks were not impressed.”

Searching for an answer, but ever optimistic, they found it in the form of a drawing on their apartment wall that served as a kind of early brand and logo called “Jake.”

Bert and John recall;

“Jake's contagious grin, simple as it was, seemed to express everything the Jacobs brothers believed in.

  

One fateful September day, they printed up 48 Jake shirts for a local street fair in Cambridge, Massachusetts. They laid the shirts out on their rickety card table. By noontime, all 48 of those tees were gone. A star was born.

Soon Jake was introduced to local retailers, and his simple message of optimism was embraced like nothing the brothers had ever seen. As demand for product soared, Jake's team grew, and the Little Brand That Could began to spread across America.”

Today, Life is Good has 260 employees and continues its emphasis on simplicity, humor and humility.

The more you learn about this company, you will find, they have a whole lot of heart and an abundance of love.

Life is Good is based in Boston and during the Boston Marathon, the company had several employees in the crowd promoting the company’s brand. One was seriously injured.

In a story for Inc. Magazine Chief Optimist Bert Jacobs says, their employee was badly burned, but grateful he survived and knew that others were much worse off. (Sounds like a perfect employee for Life is Good to me.)

Bert continues; “The day after the attacks, our employees started asking whether we could do something to raise money for the victims and their families. I said no. I felt like we had to get our own house in order, to feel like it was OK to get back to work, before helping somebody else. But we're a brand about the power of optimism. We should be leaders of the spirit when bad things happen. So by Sunday, I changed my position and said we should make a T-shirt.”

Make a T-shirt they did.  Bert tells Inc., “We looked at what was already out there. A lot of "Be Strong" and "Boston Strong," that tough Irish mentality. I don't knock that. But it's almost like they're suppressing emotion: We're so strong, let's just move on. Life Is Good focuses on what's right in the world.

No matter how you slice it, this was a hate crime. But instantly afterward, all these people--the first responders and the people who helped people on the street and opened up their homes and ran to the hospitals to give blood--performed acts of love. So we created a shirt that says "Boston" on the front and "There is nothing stronger than love" on the back.”

The company’s sales plummeted after the attacks, and Jacobs says the T-shirts helped to head the company and sales bounced back because of the t-shirt. “We have 260 employees, and there is not a single person who did not touch that shirt. From start to finish, we got it out there in just under 30 hours. We're not built to turn something around that fast, but our people figured it out. They worked day and night. We're proud of their hustle,” said Jacobs.

In fact, according to Jacobs, the T-Shirt may be their fastest selling product ever with over 70,000 units sold in the first week. Life is Good had a goal of raising $50,000 to $100,000 and now it looks like they could hit a half a million. All proceeds are going to One Fund Boston.

Life is Good’s good works are not limited to the tragedy in Boston. Fox News reports, has raised over 9 million for kids in need.

Without a doubt, Bert and John Jacobs and the entire Life is Good team emulates the Don’t Seek Success – Be Happi model. They focus on core principles like Belief, Enthusiasm, Heart, Attitude, Passion, Purpose and Imagination. What they call optimism. They believe that by focusing on and staying true to their core values, that success will find them and it has in a big way.

Life if very good for Life is Good.

Click here to learn more about the Don’t Seek Success – Be Happi model.

Be Great!

MB

Leslie Carrara-Rudolph, Sesame Street's Abby Cadabby Puppeteer Makes a Difference with Passion, Purpose and Imagination

I was watching the Tonight Show with Jay Leno a few weeks ago and one of the guests was Chris Jenner, the Matriarch of the Kardashian family. Apparently, Jenner is slated to begin hosting a new daytime talk show. In promoting her new show, Jenner said they would be sponsoring a content in which the winner will get to spend a whole day with the Kardashians. Oh joy. Leno quipped that maybe the prize should be not having to spend a whole day with the Kardashians.

Fast forward a week or so down the road and in a local promotion for the same contest, a 13 year old girl was asked why she wanted to win the contest and spend a day with the Kardashians. Her response; because they are beautiful, rich and famous.  Unfortunately, she is not alone. A year or so ago, I received an email promoting a television show entitled “The Next.” The logo graphic’s tagline was “Fame is at your Doorstep.”

We live in a culture that pushes fame and fortune as the key to the good life, the key to happiness. We buy it hook, line and sinker. Whether we are Kardashian Krazed or just celebrity crazed in general, we hang on every word, every outfit and every move celebrities make. We dream of being just like them.

It is hard not to believe that being rich and famous is the answer to happiness when society in general and the entertainment media in particular bombards us with that notion 24/7. The problem is we are buying off on a big lie, a myth.

In Don’t Seek Success – Be Happi, I document in detail how fame and fortune, in and of itself is not the answer to happiness and argue that we will only be truly happy once we discover are passions and true purpose in life. When you discover passion and purpose (the fifth and sixth core principles in the Be Happi model) and combine them with Belief, Enthusiasm, Heart, Attitude and Imagination, you do not need to seek success, success and happiness will find you!

Leslie Carrara-Rudolph, street artist, performer and Sesame Street puppeteer is a perfect example of somebody who is living the Don’t Seek Success – Be Happi model. Leslie says, “You can only really measure success by what you contribute to the world.”

Leslie is the creator of "fairy-in-training" Abby Cadabby and the puppeteer behind the Sesame Street character. In a profile and video interview for Yahoo Shine, Leslie says that she started “cartooning and drawing when she was a child with a big imagination. She even told her sister that she was moving to Sesame Street, because she knew she belonged there. But when Leslie was 11, her brother was killed in a motorcycle accident. After, she says her family dynamic changed, making the arts even more important to her.”

Leslie designed her own major at San Francisco State University in Child Development through the Arts. After college, Leslie worked at a street artist and performer before landing the gig with Abby Cadabby on Sesame Street in 2006.

Leslie explains to Yahoo Shine, that shortly after she came up with the idea for "fairy-in-training" Abby Cadabby. “Sesame Street was looking for a strong, female role model who could have a different perspective on what it's like to be new on Sesame Street. Leslie, a fan of fairies, put on the puppet and knew exactly who she was. "Well, I'm a wish fairy," says Leslie as Abby Cadabby.

“She is actively involved in Sesame Street's outreach programs that focus on problems kids face. Leslie says she's helped kids with everything from divorce to food insecurity. "It's an honor to be doing what we're doing," she explains. "The way your characters reach is beyond what we could possibly imagine.

Leslie is also working on a side project called Wake Up Your Weird, featuring a puppet named Lolly Lardpop. Lolly deals with self-esteem issues and bullying, Leslie says. She recently took Lolly to visit a high school. Nervous to pull a sock puppet out in front of a group of teenagers, Leslie says Lolly received a warm welcome; the teens took it as a "permission slip to feel joy and empathy." (Yahoo Shine.)

As a result of her bothers fatal motorcycle accident, Leslie has learned that everyday counts. She believes one person can make a difference and Leslie is doing exactly that with her passion, creativity and imagination. She says, “I'm really grateful that I've found a place that I get to keep giving."

Leslie Carrara-Rudolph may not have the degree of fame and fortune of a Kardashian, but through passion, purpose and an amazing imagination, she has found the true key to happiness and fulfillment.

For more on passion, purpose, imagination, see Don’t Seek Success – Be Happi.

Be Great!

MB

Karen Bostick has Passion and Purpose with Petspage.com

Karen Bostick and Tinks
petspage.com

I have not posted in a couple of weeks, not for a lack of inspiring stories worthy of the Don’t Seek Success – Be Happi Model, but rather because I have been helping my friend Karen Bostick with the media for her new website, petspage.com. So this week, I am doing two blog posts. See also, Seattle Mom Robyn Rosenberger Uses Heart, Passion and Purpose to Create Tiny Super Heroes.

If there is one thing I know about Karen, she filled with passion, purpose and incredible energy. Indeed, it is easy to be energized when you have passion and purpose in your life.

The primary mission of Karen and petspage.com is to make pet owners aware of a higher level of veterinary care that can often save pets' lives when all else fails. This higher level of veterinary care comes in the form of veterinary specialists, which most pet owners don’t know exist. These vet specialists can literally save a pets’ life when a primary vet is stumped or does not have the expertise to treat a dangerous life threatening illness.

Petpage.com is not however, a dry pet health education website.

Petspage.com is a social community designed to connect pet owners with other pet owners as well as vet specialists, and other pet professionals in a fun, friendly and interactive way!

Petspage.com is in the final week of a beta launch and will officially launch on July 15^th. 

Check it out at petspage.com.  You will love Tinks!

Look for a more detailed post in the Profit by Imagination Blog during the petspage.com launch week, July 15th.

For more on passion, purpose and finding your profitable passion, see Don't Seek Success - Be Happi. 

Be Great!

MB

Seattle Mom Robyn Rosenberger Uses Heart, Passion and Purpose to Create Tiny Super Heroes

Robyn Rosenberger
and some of her Tiny Super Heroes

Seattle Mom Robyn Rosenberger is using Heart, Passion and Purpose to turn children suffering from illness and disability around the world into tiny super heroes. "I want the world to know we think of kids with illness as different. Truth is, they are extraordinary because they overcome things we can't imagine and they do it with a smile," Rosenberger told ABC News.

After a move from St. Louis to Seattle, Robyn renewed her interest and passion for sewing. She sewed a super hero cape for her 2 year old nephew. She had also been following a blog of a brave little girl named Brenna who was born with a rare skin disease. Rosenburger decided that Brenna needed a cape too. So she sewed a special cape for Brenna with a big “B” on the back and “Super Brenna” was born. Needless to say, Brenna loved the cape.

Super Brenna with her Cape

Robyn tells ABC News, that she “...quickly realized there were other kids out there who actually were tiny superheroes."

After featuring “Super Brenna's” cape on her Blog, Rosenberger received dozens of requests for other tiny super heroes who needed a cape.

In six months, she's sent 700 personalized capes to sick children in 45 states and 11 countries. Each cape comes with a handwritten message.

Rosenberger now gets 10 to 20 requests a day. She quit her job and has pulled friends in to help.

Super Hero KE, a 10 year old suffering froma severe gastrointestinal
disorder never takes his cape off.
According to his mother, He has taken it to his biopsy, to the emergency room,
showed it to other patients,
'it gives him a sense of comfort," she says. ABC News

“We are building a Tiny Superhero squad. Together these kids can make a difference. We cross-reference their stories," she said. "Then, by sharing them we can help raise awareness. Raising awareness brings funding, funding leads to more research, and research brings cures.”

Rosenberger has mailed capes to children affected by Oklahoma's recent tornadoes.

She hopes to establish contacts with children's hospitals and ultimately have a Tiny Superheroes center “that takes our relationship with the children outside the virtual world.” (Source: ABC News for GMA on Yahoo.)

Robyn Rosenberger used her heart in finding a way to turn her passion for sewing into an incredibly worthy cause helping young children suffering from rare and life threatening illnesses find courage and comfort as tiny super heroes. In a nutshell, Robyn found her life purpose through her heart, passion for sewing and imagination in wanting to help a brave young girl named Brenna become Super Brenna and it snowballed from there to create hundreds of tiny super heroes.

Rosenberger says, “If you would have told me six months ago that this would be my life, I would have paid a million dollars to make this my life, but I wouldn't believe you,”

Do you have a passion in which you can use your imagination to create a life purpose to help those in need in your community, country or even the world? We all do and it is up to us to find it and implement it. All it takes is a little heart and imagination!

For more on heart, passion, purpose and imagination, see Don’t Seek Success – Be Happi.

Be Great!

MB

Lacombe, La Residents Show Heart by Helping Orphaned Teens

Cheyenne and Tyler Osburn
Photo by Mark Asnin for People Magazine

Teens Tyler and Cheyenne Osburn have suffered tragedy and hardship throughout their young lives. Their father died when they were infants. In 2007, there mother was permanently disabled in a fire and died of a heart attack around Christmas time in 2011. Suddenly, Lacombe, La residents, Tyler and Cheyenne found themselves all alone and scared.

In an article for People Magazine, Cheyenne says, "I was so scared of not having a mom, having no one to come home to, having to deal with grown-up things like bills, I felt so alone."

Cheyenne and Tyler soon found they were not alone after all. People Magazine reports that friends, neighbors and total strangers came together to help the newly orphaned teens stay in their childhood home.

“Their mom's friends Gwen Babin and Karen Labatut agreed to be the children's legal guardians and started a rotation with family friend Pam Taylor, taking turns cooking dinner and staying overnight at the teens' home. A men's Bible study group mowed their lawn. A local pizza business donated meals. And Jackie Dantin, head of the local nonprofit Community Christian Concern, Inc..set up a fund to help pay their monthly mortgage, groceries and other bills through this summer.”

The community efforts on behalf of Cheyenne and Tyler have allowed them to stay in their home and finish high school. The teens still worry. Tyler is committed to making sure they can stay in their home. "I think about [my mom] every single day," After she passed away, I felt really lost. My sister gives me hope. It's my instinct to protect her. I'm going to be there for her no matter what."

The siblings are doing well. Tyler, 19, is working in construction, and Cheyenne,17, will start college soon. They are grateful for the support of their community.

Cheyenne adds, "I never thought all these people would want to help so much. It's been amazing."

The residents of Lacombe, La could have easily gone on with their busy lives leaving the teens to deal with social service agencies and fend for themselves. Lacombe would have none of that. The town came together and rallied to the aid of Tyler and Cheyenne.

The residents of this small town of 8000 have shown the country and the world how to do did the right thing when nobody is looking by not turning a deaf ear and blind eye to two of their community residents that needed them.

Lacombe, La has heart!

For more on the principle of “Heart,” see “Don't Seek Success – Be Happi.”

Be Great!

MB 

Share Some Enthusiasm in Honor of Fathers Day

In “Don't Seek Success – Be Happi” I define “Enthusiasm, the second core principle in the book, as “The cheerful giving of one’s time, attention and energy to particular activities, causes, goals, or persons.”

For Fathers Day yesterday, Marlo Thomas recalls a story about her legendary father, entertainer, Danny Thomas. In a touching video, she recounts how her dad was always on the road while she was growing up. At 12 years old in the 4^th grade, Marlo wrote an essay that basically said she wished her father was home more, not tomorrow, but today. She entitled it “Viva Today.” When her father called from the road, she read him the essay and it changed Danny Thomas and his families life forever. Thomas called his agent and told him to get him off the road. He returned to Beverly Hills and his family and became a television star with his long running comedy series, “Make Room for Daddy” which aired for more than a decade in the 1950s and 1960s. Watch MarloThomas tell the story on the video here. She recounts an interesting story of how the show got its name.

Marlo missed her father. She was wishing he would cheerfully give her his time, attention and energy on a regular basis and he simply could not do that on the road. Mr. Thomas got the message and found a way to share his enthusiasm with his family by returning home and staring in his own television series. Danny Thomas also found time to share his passion and enthusiasm for helping children with cancer by founding St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in 1962, passing that passion and enthusiasm on to his daughter who has championed the cause since the death of Danny Thomas.

My Father, Charles “Chuck” Brooks is also an excellent example of sharing enthusiasm. Whether it was coaching my little league team, spearheading a community fund raising drive and ballot initiative to build a new community swimming pool in his home town, Chuck was always cheerfully giving of his time, attention and energy. He also had an incredible gift for making everybody he came in contact with feel special and worthwhile.

I tell the story in Don't Seek Success – Be Happi about how it did not matter whether it was a waitress at a restaurant or a blackjack dealer at a South Lake Tahoe casino; by the time his visit was over he had made a new friend out of a complete stranger and knew their entire life story. He would listen and learn about their aspirations, challenges, joys and sorrows.

Years ago, I accompanied my father to his favorite Tahoe casino. As we were walking through the casino floor on our way to have dinner, I was amazed at the warm greeting he received by what seemed like every blackjack dealer working that night. My father was not a high roller or an especially big tipper by any stretch of the imagination, yet the dealers who were not busy wanted him to stop and talk. They all had a story they wanted to share. He listened, asked questions and encouraged them.

You could see, from their expressions and demeanor that they enjoyed him and appreciated his interest. He was sharing his enthusiasm with them by cheer-fully giving them his time, attention and energy and they loved him for it. Over an hour later we finally arrived at the restaurant where he immediately struck up a conversation with the young hostess.

My Father passed away several years ago, but his enthusiasm did not go unnoticed. Today, Charles “Chuck” Brooks has a park and swimming pool named for him in our home town of Woodland, California.

Happy Fathers Day, Dad. I miss you.

In honor of Fathers Day, why not share your enthusiasm with family, friends, and total strangers. It will make their day and yours too.

For more on the principle of “Enthusiasm,” see Don't Seek Success – Be Happi.”

Be Great!

MB

Cameron Lyle has Heart! Shortens College Athletic Career to Donate Bone Marrow and Save a Man's Life

University of New Hampshire Track and Field athlete Cameron Lyle was looking forward to his senior year conference championship meet when he received a one in five million phone call that would ultimately cut his college athletic career short.

That call informed Cameron he was a potential bone marrow match for a complete stranger in need of the transplant. After more tests, the match was confirmed. Lyle had a huge decision to make, end his college track and field career early to save a strangers life or decline the donor request. Transplant patients are not told of a potential match until the donor agrees, so the stranger would know any different if Cameron Lyle declined.

Cameron tells Good Morning America/Yahoo News, that the decision was easy, "It was kind of a no-brainer for a decent human. I couldn't imagine just waiting. He could have been waiting for years for a match. I'd hope that someone would donate to me if I needed it."

Watch the GMA Video with Cameron Lyle here.

After saying yes, Lyle slowly realized his season was over and he had to tell his coach, a conversation he was nervous about and not looking forward to having. After the procedure, Lyle, a Shot Put and Hammer Throw specialist will not be allowed to lift more than 20 pounds over his head, effectively ending his season. "It's just a sport," he said. "Just because it's Division I college level doesn't make it any more important. Life is a lot more important than that, so it was pretty easy." (Good Morning America/Yahoo News.)

It turns out there was no need to be nervous about telling his college coach that he would no longer be able to compete. UNH Track and Field Coach, Jim Boulanger was supportive and proud of his athlete whom he had coached for four years.

"Here's the deal," Boulanger told Lyle. "You go to the conference and take 12 throws or you could give a man three or four more years of life. I don't think there's a big question here. This is not a moral dilemma. There's only one answer. “

“I don't have any doubt that he's very compassionate and it was just a given that he'd do it. "You can't ask for any more out of a person than to help another person," said Boulanger.

Cameron's mother, Chris Sciacca is more than pleased with her son's choice too. "I am beyond words proud. He is my hero," Sciacca said. "When your children inspire you to be better people, you know it's come full circle and he's inspired his mom to be a better circle." (Good Morning America/Yahoo News).

Cameron competed in his final event in April and a few days later he was in the hospital to complete the donor procedure. The transplant patient is a young man with leukemia. Lyle was told that the man only has six months to live without the transplant. Lyle and the recipient have to remain anonymous for at least a year, but can then sign consent forms to release their identities should they choose.

"I really want to meet him," Lyle said, "and I hope he wants to meet me."

Cameron Lyle has “Heart” in a big way. He sacrificed his senior season college athletic career to save a man's life whom he had never met. Cameron used his “Moral Heart” to do the right thing.

In a self centered world Cameron Lyle is truly an inspiration.

Do you think most people put in a similar situation would do the follow Cameron's lead? What would you do? Comment below.

For more on the principle of “Heart,” see Don't Seek Success – Be Happi.

Do you know of an inspiring story that exemplifies one or more of the core principles of Don't Seek Success -Be Happi (Belief, Enthusiasm, Heart, Attitude, Passion, Purpose and Imagination), email me at pbi2012@aol.com.

Be Great!

MB 

Disabled Vets Dale Beatty and John Galina Find Passion and Purpose Helping Other Purple Hearts

In Don't Seek Success – Be Happi of write of many individuals who have found a new passion and purpose in life as a result of a personal tragic event in their lives. Veterans Dale Beatty and John Gallina are a perfect example of this.

In 2004, North Carolina National Guardsmen Beatty and Gallina's Humvee was blown up by a homemade bomb in Iraq. Beatty lost both his legs and Gallina suffered traumatic brain and severe back injuries. Upon their return home, among the many issues they had to deal with (Gallina also suffers from PTSD) were homes that did make dealing with their injuries and disabilities any easier.

Beatty tells Yahoo News, “Before I had a house that was accessible, I crawled around on the floor, or my knuckles scraped on the door every time as the wheelchair was going through.”

Beatty was fortunate to have a community that cared and built an accessible home for him and his family. “After all the build and project was done, John [Galina] and I sat back and kind of looked and said, 'Is every veteran receiving this best-case scenario?”

The answer was of course no. Thousands of disabled veterans return to their communities and homes that make their lives even more difficult in transitioning back into society. Dale Beaty and John Galina thought they should do something about that. The result is , Purple Heart Homes, a non-profit formed in 2008 to either build or make homes accessible for disabled Purple Heart veterans from all eras.

“Since its start in 2008, Purple Heart Homes has become much more than a foundation that modifies or provides homes for disabled veterans. It also helps bridge them together with their community. Beatty says, 'The community is the key. They are the key hinge point between Purple Heart Homes and the veteran because when Purple Heart Homes is done with this project and we go on to the to the next one, this person’s neighbors are the ones who become their support system.'” Galina added, “A major part of reintegration is not just simply from the veteran's perspective,” Gallina. “It’s also from the community showing that they accept him back.” (Source: Yahoo News.)

Galina also tells Yahoo News that co-founding with Beatty has been therapeutic. “Having post-traumatic stress, traumatic brain injury, it really became a focal point that enabled me to find my own healing. To be able to grow myself and come out of my shell, to not be sitting in the house three or four weeks at a time, and I can have a purpose that was greater than myself."

Watch a video on Purple Heart Homes from Yahoo News below;



To date, the organization has built or modified accessible homes for Purple Heart disabled veterans with 6 more to be completed soon. One of those projects to be completed this summer is on behalf of Staff Sergeant Sandra Lee

Sandra was deployed to Iraq for almost a year surviving four separate roadside bomb attacks. She suffered a concussion and a Traumatic Brain Injury in the first attack, and with each subsequent attack her TBI symptoms increased. Sergeant Lee now has memory problems, constant headaches, and balance issues. She also was sexually assaulted by a fellow soldier.

In her own words on the Purple Heart Homes website, Sergeant Lee says; “From the fire fights, seeing what I saw and had to deal with during combat and from the Military Sexual Trauma, I suffer from severe PTSD. I have night terrors, debilitating nightmares where I wake up in a panic and cold sweat, I'm affected by being in a crowded place, don't handle stress very well, depression, suffer from panic attacks, severe muscle strain from constantly being vigilant and more. At one point, I was on 14 different medications on a daily basis. When I finally was able to get help from the VA and other organizations like the DAV, I was able to start recovering.”

Her new home built by Purple Heart Homes volunteers from her community in Manchester, CT, Staff Sergeant Sandra Lee's recovery and transition to civilian life will be greatly enhanced.

As I wrote in Dont' Seek Success – Be Happi and previous posts, there are two choices when personal tragedy strikes somebody or a member of their family. One choice is to crawl in a hole and become bitter and angry. The other is to use your personal experience as a result of the tragedy by turning it into a positive and doing something to make a difference in the lives of others. Indeed, as John Galina said, finding new passion and purpose by way or a tragic event in your life can be therapeutic and healing.

A question we often here is why does a benevolent God or higher power allow these things to happen. I do not claim to have the elusive answer to that question, but I do believe that we are all here on earth for a specific purpose and it is our job to discover what that purpose is. Maybe, just maybe, a personal tragic event in your life is a clue as to what direction you should look to find the purpose you were born to complete.

Should tragedy ever strike, rather than displaying a why me attitude resulting in bitterness and anger, use your imagination to bring about something good and positive to help others who may be going through what you experienced.

For more on finding passion and purpose in your life, see Dont' Seek Success – Be Happi.

Be Great!

MB.