Howard Holley Presents Against All Odds: How Successful People Overcome Adversity

Success, Failure and Reality Checks: Listen as Jim talks with our hosts about how he developed his success because of his failures. And Jim Inglis has been working at success a long time, overcoming failures and struggling to survive as the son of a small church minister in Compton, Louisiana. He says that he grew up "not wealthy," sometimes hungry and struggled to achieve a good education. After meeting his wife and finally achieving a college education, Jim joined Home Depot in 1983 when there were only 8 stores across the United States. As Executive Vice President, Jim helped grow that company to the largest in the United States. However, he didn't get there without some bumpy roads and failures. Now 71, he continues to ply his trade as a consultant in international retailing.

Rebecca DeLorenzo, now President of the Flagler County Chamber of Commerce, had humble beginnings, experienced common challenges yet doesn't quite consider herself successful. For her success is an end-goal that is achieved through striving to do something different and overcoming and moving beyond the day-to-day challenges. Rebecca says that without getting a "hands up" by the people around her, gaining insight from those around her, she wouldn't be where she is today. She suggests that to stay on the road to success, you should trust your gut, ask for help and find a mentor. These will keep you on track for the end goal; success.

Jimmy Day, Vice President Operations and Founder of Flagler Spirits refers to himself as a "normal" guy; a "good" guy, not a great one. The son of a government employee born in Washington, DC. he settled in Florida in 2003. He comes from generations of family who have been in "whiskey" for about 150 years. But his career took him in a different direction. Jimmy was an undertaker who owned three funeral homes and a monument company; a flower shop and he even parked cars. But he decided that he had enough of emotionally draining and serious businesses and wanted to do something fun. So 2010, he returned to his roots with Flagler Spirits, a craft distilling enterprise that was the result of having an unsatisfying drink. It was "gosh awful;" he says. He knew he could do better. It took 14 months and 14 days to go from that awful drink to being licensed, but he made it happen. In this episode, he talks about his product being like a backyard grilled burger - there is more to it and it's better than one that is mass produced. He had a dream. He had challenges. Listen as Jimmy entertains hosts and listeners alike with his humorous approach to life, adversity and success.

Sara Hale is managing partner of Coastal Cloud which delivers superior client service through a unique delivery model that combines leading edge cloud (SaaS) solutions with a team of US-based, highly skilled, certified and cost effective professionals. In this episode, she speaks about how defining and measuring one's success is always changing; going from being very competitive to happy the baby slept through the night. Listen as she shares her perspective of success.

Sheila C. Johnson is a successful entrepreneur, impassioned philanthropist and an accomplished violinist. In her interview with Howard and Kristen, Sheila remarks that she is currently in the third act of her life. The first was as a violinist, the second as co-founder as Black Entertainment Television and now a a luxury hotel owner. It has taken more than 11 years to make her latest chapter thrive. But she says, "When you are faced with adversity, find a new road;" the way to success and fulfillment doesn't always have to be direct.

Pure Magic - Charlie Freeman, a suburban Chicago native, has worked in nearly every area of the Orlando Magic organization since he began working for them in 1996 as an unpaid intern, he was able to stick with it while living with friends. He says he didn’t know what was in store for his future, but “I had a passion for sports and believed that if you work hard and add value to whatever you do, you will be successful.” Upon reflecting on his journey thus far, Charlie's advises: Dream Big. Anything is possible. During this episode, Freeman shares the 5 pillars within his organization’s new "Pure Magic" campaign (excellence, experience, creating memories, excitement, and giving back). He also explains the importance of adding value to organizations and the necessity to go above and beyond in everything you do.

Dr. William Abare faces challenges every day as President of Flagler College that involve risk assessment and reward. The consequences for coming to a wrong decision could be profound. For each decision, he knows he has a good team on whom he can depend. However, he is still mindful of his mission to achieve and maintain his institution's goals. Hard work is, well, hard work; but does reap rewards on investment that benefit many. Listen as Dr. Abare talks about how a pragmatic and steadfast approach to decision-making is an everyday adversity that is overcome with time and patience.

Howard and Kristen contemplate and discuss the Driveway Moments that sum up each of our guests that joined us since July. By focusing on the characteristics, habits and tools each guest employed to overcome adversity and ultimately achieve success, our hosts arrive at Driveway Moments. Driveway Moments show us how overcoming the impossible, we must dig deep, be steadfast to arrive at our chosen goal or destination. C.S. Lewis says that "You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream."

Rick Rinaman's entrée into the world of Indy car racing came by way of racing go-carts outside of Pittsburgh, PA and carrying tools for Paul Newman's engine builder. Eventually, he landed an entry level, truck-driving position for Penske Racing in Reading, PA. From there, Rick went on to be one of the most successful Chief Mechanics/Crew Chiefs for Indy 500 winning teams that included Helio Castoneves, Emerson Fittipaldi, Al Unser, and Rick Mears. Rick had great successes while with Penske, but he did not achieve success on his own. In 2009, Castroneves said of his crew, “Some of those guys have been here 10 years. They know my style; they know what I like, and they know what I don’t like. But the good news is that we’re a team. We lose together; we win together." In this interview, Rick shares his thoughts on the importance of teamwork, and he reminds us all that sometimes failure just isn't an option.

Julie Mathis' life has taken her from the Gainesville and St. Augustine areas of Florida to Kentucky, overseas to Germany and back again to Florida. Julie now operates a successful real estate business in Palm Coast, Florida but has experienced an interesting career path complete with Pakistani carpets! Though she has found great success, her journey was not without gut-wrenching loss and heartache. She shares her own health issues and per personal experience of loss of a loved-one. Julie explains what it means to "be enough for others" and how she is fulfilling purpose every day.

Katrina Townsend, Director of Student Services for Flagler Schools was born and raised in rural Florida, she achieved great success in the education industry. Despite childhood dreams of a career as an attorney, Katrina found her calling as an English teacher. Like many of the show's guests, Katrina's path to success was anything but easy. Katrina talks about the challenges of teenage pregnancy and parenting. She opens up about the support structure that ultimately allowed her to achieve phenomenal success in the face of adversity. She provides some advice for others in similar situations and ideas for ways all of us can help support someone who needs us.

In this, the second part of our interview, Pastor Charles Silano talks about how he evolved through adversity, changing his life completely. Pastor Silano runs the Grace Community Food Pantry, helping to feed the increasing number of needy families in Flagler County.

In this first of two interviews, Pastor Charles Silano shares his story of entanglement in the criminal world and his journey into a different way of life. Born in Italy and raised in New Jersey, Silano eventually found his way to Florida, where he serves as Pastor of Grace Tabernacle Ministries International in Palm Coast. Although Pastor Silano now serves God and his community, he did not always walk that path. Silano led a life filled with drug dealing, smuggling and laundering money; he once used his student loan grant to fund his entre into selling drugs. Pastor Silano now runs the Grace Community Food Pantry, helping to feed the increasing number of needy families in Flagler County.

Mignon Williams' struggles and success remind us that, no matter how bleak things may seem, something better is always waiting; Mignon shares her story of reinvention in this interview. She quickly worked her way up the organizational ladder at Xerox. But after 25 years of service in corporate America, Mignon found herself out of work and unhappy. In the face of uncertainty, ill health and adversity, Mignon found the courage to reinvent herself. She has embraced her new path. Chosen by Huffington Post to be featured as 1 of 50 individuals over 50 who reinvented themselves. she was then selected as 1 of 3 from that group to be featured on The Today Show.

One of Ted's latest corporate projects has involved the creation of Nature's Nurse, Inc. and Nature's Nurse Fiji, Ltd. These affiliated companies are leading the creation of a viable herbal medicinal industry in Fiji to bring valuable natural medicinal substances to the world. Nature's Nurse, Inc. is a remarkable vibrant company helping many people. More and more individuals and groups like to be a part of our team because it has several powerful story lines: world exclusivity for producing and providing Fijian Red Mangrove™ - a powerful natural product for nasal-and- bronchial challenges; minority owned; supporting indigenous people; promoting the environment; caring for and creating peace for the children around the globe, all in a new model of conducting for-profit business that honors and considers all the aforementioned. It is life-and-business sustaining and brings out the best in all we do. Ted was trained as an Educational Psychologist specializing in human learning and performance enhancement. He received his undergraduate degree in psychology from Furman University in 1978 and his Masters and Doctorate degrees from the University of Georgia in 1980 and 1982, respectively. Ted's principle areas of professional service are The Customer Driven Leadership TM performance management system. He founded his corporate performance coaching firm in 1986. Prior to creating his private practice, Ted served as an Astronaut Training Manager and Flight Planning Analyst for NASA.

Like many of our other guests, Mark's road to success wasn't easy or simple. In this episode, Mark shares his personal struggles with substance abuse, and how he has proven to himself that he can do whatever he puts his mind to. Listen as Mark's story will undoubtedly remind listeners that, no matter what the obstacle, there is always hope and second chances. Originally from Kansas City, Mark achieved great success in Flagler County as owner of Gerling Travel Group, a family owned and operated travel company based in Flagler Beach, FL, which also includes Gerling Sports Travel and Gerling Safaris. Mark and his wife, Shayla, are committed to providing an incomparable level of customer service to their clients. In addition to providing travel services, Mark also serves as Chair of the Flagler Beach Area Council of the Flagler County Chamber of Commerce.

Carol Eaton PhD., originally from New York, has had a successful career in the community college space. With a background in mathematics and a love of education, she has successfully led community colleges in Maryland, New York, and Florida. In her words, Dr. Eaton "bleeds community college." But the path to success is never simple, and Dr. Eaton's path is no exception. Dr. Eaton shares the bumps and turns along the journey that has led to her becoming Daytona State College President in 2011. Dr. Eaton's story is sure to inspire and provide hope to those wanting to better themselves through higher education.

Originally from Pennsylvania and now residing in Arizona, Kathy suffered a life-changing spinal cord injury during her career as a landscape designer. She was paralyzed, confined to a wheelchair, and unsure of whether or not she would ever walk again. Kathy recounts her experiences as a landscape designer, an author, and an entrepreneur. She tells us about her life-changing accident and how she summoned the strength necessary to achieve success in the face of a frightening injury and prognosis. Kathy's unwavering faith and determination in the face of great adversity led her to a new career. She invented fashionable and useful products for the users of wheelchairs, walkers, rollers, and slings. Kathy is President of Wheelchair Solutions LLC, the firm she founded to bring these products to market and to brighten the lives of millions of the firm's clients.

In this episode, Mohamed Latib, PhD. talks about his difficult experiences in both South Africa and Pakistan, giving insight into how they shaped his outlook on success. Dr. Latib provides a window into his experiences during Apartheid, and shares how he has pursued his own dreams. Born in South Africa, Dr. Latib left during Apartheid to attend a British Boarding School in the Himalayan Mountains of Pakistan. Eventually, Dr. Latib settled in the United States and in 1999, he co-founded PeriscopeIQ, a Pennsylvania based firm commited to transforming customer and employee feedback into actionable insights for companies. With clients that have included Kohl's, Unilever, and the World Health Organization, Dr. Latib and his team have helped many clients better understand their customers.

David Alfin, a Realtor® with Watson Realty Corp., has a career that has spanned many industries including the fragrance industry, the deli meat industry, and the real estate industry. David shares his "secrets to success," passed down from his father, a successful in his own right as CEO of Chanel and President of Max Factor.

This is a recap of our episodes for the past quarter (April to July 2014). Hosts Howard Holley and Kristen Weitzel summarize each guest's show and call attention to the characteristics, habits, and tools each guest has used to overcome adversity and achieve success.

During this episode, Judge Hubert Grimes tells us about his passion for motivating youth by word and example. Listen as he talks with our hosts about his passion and his book, How to Keep Your Child From Going to Jail, in which he provides practical approaches to parents who desire to change their child's behaviors and point them towards a successful future. Retiring in 2013 with a twenty-five year career, Judge Grimes handled over 100,000 cases, dealing in many areas of law affecting the lives of untold numbers of people from all walks of life. During his last fourteen years, he specialized in family law delinquency, dependency and drug court cases. Judge Grimes was a "people's judge" who solved problems of human life on a daily basis. He saw human tragedies as well as victories. He terminated parental rights and created new families through adoptions and where necessary, sentenced others to jail or prison.

In this episode, Ken Mattison talks about how growing up as a missionary’s son in Latin America gave him a foundation of knowing that he wanted to accomplish God’s purpose for his life. Though he thought he might follow in his father’s footsteps, he realized that his gifts were better used in a different way. Ken talks with our hosts about his journey through the healthcare system and his commitment to building community relationships everywhere he goes. In 2012 Ken Mattison joined the team at Florida Hospital Flagler in Palm Coast, Florida, as President & CEO.

In April 2014, we interviewed Faith Coleman, co-founder of the Flagler County Free Clinic. On Sunday, November 30th, Faith, at the age 60, lost her battle with the cancer she had been courageously fighting for years. In this episode, Faith talks about how important her grandmother was to her; she inspired her to go into nursing. Later after her first journey through cancer, through establishing the clinic, she wondered if her grandmother would be pleased with the way her life turned out. She found the answer in a mistake engraved on a plaque given to her after a speaking engagement. The group offered to fix the engraving error after doing the photo op exchanging the plaque. Faith expected to see "Fay" or something similar. Instead she saw "Ruth Coleman" - it was her sign. Seeing her grandmother's name on that plaque, she new she had received a sign and chose not to change that plaque or divert her path. Listen as she talks about her journey, her courage and optimism shining through in this episode of Against All Odds: How Successful People Overcome Adversity.