How did it all start? The same place it starts for all of us of course - with our mothers, and our dads as well, but for me it was mostly my mom.
As the story goes my aunt was visiting my mother after my mom's 15th child was born.
My aunt asked her, "You're done right? This is your last child."
My mom replied, "I'm not going to tell Ben he can't be born." (Yes, she talks like this)
"How do you know the next one will be a boy?" my aunt asked.
"I just know", said my mom.
"Well, you will stop after him right?", questioned my aunt.
To which my mom answered, "Well, Ben will need a younger brother to play with since there are six sisters ahead of him."
And that is how I ended up the second youngest of 17 children. Nine girls, eight boys, same parents, no twins, 22 years apart to the day.
My dad died when I was four, which left my mom to cope with her army of kids on her own. While growing up in a large family with a single mother is not for everyone, I believe it really helped better prepare me for life ahead on my own. As a child I was given a great gift - the gift of freedom. Never being told what to do or how to act, I got the opportunity to explore and learn important life lessons on my own. I was able to maintain my childhood wonder and creativity.
I played sports growing up and when my children were young, I became involved in coaching youth sports. These initial coaching experiences inspired me to write my first book "I'm a Winner, You're a Winner - Remembering How Great You Are".
In my every day non-author world, I am an entrepreneur, CPA and Business and Financial Coach. I have been involved in creating several businesses over the years and use the experiences of those successes and failures to better help my clients. I live in White River Junction, Vermont with my wife, Kathy, and our two sons, Joshua and Matthew, and dog, Molly.
Enjoy the book and remember - You're a Winner!
Live with passion, live with love,
