Look and Listen

Biography

I was born and raised in Tampa, FL and starting at age twelve my summers and weekends were spent working with my dad, a general contractor, building homes and buildings. I contracted my first home at age nineteen and built my own home by age twenty. I spent 12 years working for local government administering federally assisted housing programs where I was promoted to Director of Community Improvement. Because of the success of these programs I was invited to testify on housing issues before the Housing Subcommittee of the United States Congress. While at this job, the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials published my first book on housing rehabilitation. I resigned that job to do writing and consulting full-time. I started a publishing company called the Rehab Notes Library we published a monthly newsletter (Rehab Notes) with subscribers in all 50 states, Canada and England and I wrote and published seven guidebooks. I also did consulting and public speaking for agencies and organizations in cities across the country. Unfortunately, housing assistance programs were drastically cut in 1980 and my business suffered so I took advantage of my construction experience and started a handyman and woodworking business. For over thirty years, first in Tampa, Florida and then in Austin, Texas, I built hundreds of small and large projects for individuals, companies, churches, and government agencies. During these years I began writing about my woodworking business experiences. I wrote a couple of books and published a monthly newsletter on woodworking with limited success. My two latest books on the handyman and woodworking business are selling well. The titles are The Handyman’s Guide To Profit and Woodworking Business: Start Quickly And Operate Successfully. Both are available from Amazon.com and my own web sites at: http://woodworking-business.com/ and http://handyman-business-guide.com/ In 1998 I began to learn about computers to help my wife keep her computer running for her writing. That led to acquiring my certifications including A+ and Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer and a job as Network Administrator for a large hotel. Now I do that job and run my writing, publishing, and web design business, Positive Imaging, LLC. In 1986 I moved to Austin, Texas where I now live with my wife, Barbara Frances. We have three adult children and eight grandchildren.

Inspiration

Earl Nightingale, Stuart Wilde, and Wayne Dyer contributed to my self-motivation and fearlessness that allowed me to jump in and learn how to do things. Kahlil Gibran is a great inspiration for living a full, happy, healthy, and loving life. Anthony DeMello and Leo Buscalia were great inspirations on how to love others unconditionally. All of these were or are great writers but I was inspired by what they wrote not how they wrote. While I have enjoyed the writing of many writers over the years, I can’t name one that inspired me to write. My desire to write has come from a desire to share my knowledge about subjects that interest me.