Published by Hybrid Global Publishing 301 E 57th Street, 4th fl New York, NY 10022 Copyright © 2019 by Craig Duswalt All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by in any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. Manufactured in the United States of America, or in the United Kingdom when distributed elsewhere. Duswalt, Craig RockStars: Inspirational Stories of Success by 100 of the Top Business Leaders, Athletes, Celebrities, and RockStars in the World ISBN: 978-1-948181-67-9 eBook: 978-1-948181-68-6 Cover design and Photoshop work: Joe Potter Interior design: Claudia Volkman Craig Duswalt Photo : Robert John Disclaimer: The purpose of the book is to educate and entertain. The authors or publisher do not guarantee that anyone following the techniques, suggestions, tips, ideas, or strategies will become successful. The authors and publisher shall have neither liability or responsibility to anyone with respect to any loss or damage caused, or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the information contained in this book. TABLE OF CONTENTS Featured Authors Introduction and What Is on Your Bucket List? – Craig Duswalt Making a Difference in the World – Leigh Steinberg I’m Still Standing – Russell Hitchcock Man of Steel – Dean Cain The Best – Bo Eason Win/Win – Natasha Duswalt Workforce Reduction into Lemonade – Derrick Hall A High School Break – Ray Parker Jr. A Babysitter and a Firefighter – Jeffrey Finn Gal with a Clipboard – Dawn Eason Full Circle – Garrett Gunderson Forgiving the Unforgivable – Captain Charlie Plumb “Teamwork, Tone, Tenacity” Triumphs Over Stage IV Cancer – RADM Paul Becker High Hopes for Your Future – Les Brown Jr. Tidbits – Craig Wayne Boyd Letting Go—A Life PhD from Mistakes University – Nick Lowery Teamwork Is Life—The Rest Is Just Details – Roland Williams Professional Golf on Hold – George Gankas One Key to Victory – Dr. Carol Soloway I’m Gonna Be Somebody – Tim Gillette The Letters W and M – Jacqueline Lucien The Maverick Mindset: What Set Me Free! – Paul Finck Rock Your Ears and Rock Your Life – Mary Lou Luebbe-Gearhart, Au.D. Success Is Within Your Reach – Ceola McClendon Contributing Authors No Safety in Numbers – Robin Ahn An Empty Nester’s Journey – Gale Barbe Cancer Lancers – Janie Becker “Never Give Up, Give Out, or Give In”: Life Lessons from My Mother – Kelly Bennett #GoingFor81: Zen in Mountain and Life Projects – Eileen Bistrisky How I Flunked Kindergarten But Got a Master’s Degree in Life – Christine Blosdale Climbing Over Rocks – Naomi Carmona-Morshead Two Weeks Before My Sixteenth Birthday, My Dad Died—I Thought I Killed Him – Toni Caruso Starting Over – Laura Cipres It’s Safe to Be Me – Natalie Clayton A Backyard Roller Coaster – Hayden Duswalt I Found My Passion – Ryan Duswalt Childlike Courage – Tyler Duswalt Don’t Stop Believing – Maryann Ehmann Wilderness Survivor – Vivian R. England Living Happily Ever Cyber! – Sandra Estok Worth Fighting For – Susie Fabrocini Harness Your Vision and Rewrite Your Life Story – Elayna Fernández Some Whisperings Rightfully Need Increasing Awareness – Jay Fisgus A Clean Colon Equals a Focused Brain – Elle Flores Life Goes On—Bent But Not Broken – Katrina Garcia Passion and Persistence – Jason A. Gardner The Making of a Champion – Del Gerard Living on Empty – Marsha Gleit From Invisible as a Ghost to Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient – Raven Glover Crafting a Path Forward – Ayse Gokdemir From Starving Artist to an Abundant Life Outside the Box – Lisa Gold How to Create Your RockStar Brand – Amber Griffiths It’s All in the Details – Stephanie Hastings When Do You Choose You? – Annette Jacobson Money Isn’t the Root of All Evil: Dishonesty Is – Dee Jones Music—A Soothing Remedy for These Anxious Times – Eleanor Jones Inner Transformation – Deborah Kahler Forgiveness to Freedom – Michelle Kavanaugh Living the Multi-Platinum Life – Linda Kaye Fat Cats Don’t Make Good Hunters – Scott A. Kent If You Have to Have a Disease, Have One You Can Reverse – Shannon Kent What Elvis Presley, Elizabeth Taylor, and Johnny Carson Taught Me – Melody Keymer Harper Compassion and Balls – Leigh Koechner The Detour – Linda Kruse Figure It Out – Janet Kunst Radiating Hope – Janie Lidey The Power of a Set Mind – Laura Louise Overcoming Cancer with God – Pamela Malinchak From Shame to Sobriety—My Journey – Sue Mandell Remembering What Is Really Important – Fred McGaver Rocking Opportunities – Crystal Meisner I’ll Fight for Your Brand – Andrei Mincov Man in the Mirror – Jade Molina Take a Trip That Will Change Your Life – Shantha Mony I’m an Artist? That’s News to Me – Kari Murata Pushing the Limits Ten Dollars at a Time – Lynn Murphy Born for Success – Christina Nepstad From Zero to 50K – Rachelle Niemann Leadership on Fire – TK O’Geary Gratitude: Our Success Is Not Entirely Our Own – Ivano Ongaro The Secret to Business Success – George Partsalidis Welcome to Finishing School – Roberta Perry Why Not Choose Life? – Cinda Roffman, C.Ht. Power of Wisdom – Cali T. Rossen Hey You, Life Is Calling: Chasing Happiness from Mediocrity to Extraordinary – Nicole Russell Things Don’t Always Go as Planned . and That’s a Great Thing – Scott Schneider Nothing Is Impossible! Expect Miracles! – Robert Sidell A Very Proud But Humbling Experience – Frank Stichter The Silver Lining of Cancer: It Really Does Take a Village – Karen Strauss Building Your Dream Life – Stacey Stuart Catapulted into Business – Bonnie Taub The Fear of Public Speaking – Mellissa Tong The Dream That Came True – Carol Ann Wagner The 90 Percent – Pat Walley Hope for Change – Paul Wenner Forgive Like a RockStar – Kelly White Rescuing Panda – Jennifer Williams Just Get On with Life – Chuck Woodson I Beat Sugar – Donald Wright When Life Gets Blurry, Adjust Your Focus – Lori Zapata WHAT IS ON YOUR BUCKET LIST? Craig Duswalt have two big items on my bucket list. Well, actually, three, but I’m pretty sure I won’t own the Kansas City Chiefs football team anytime soon. I My wife and I started a nonprofit a few years ago called the Band Together Foundation. We put on events and concerts to raise money for other charities across the world. We have donated money and items to disaster areas in Miami, Houston, Kenya, and Mexico, just to name several. I toured with Guns N’ Roses as Axl Rose’s personal assistant in the early 90s, and with the Australian pop band Air Supply in the 80s. I made a lot of friends and connections on the road, and I’m still in contact with most of them to this day. At my BootCamps I always try to get a RockStar to interview or play a few songs at my events. I have been blessed to have the following RockStars on my stage: Eddie Money, Kevin Cronin of REO Speedwagon, Mickey Dolenz of The Monkees, Duff McKagan of Guns N’ Roses, John Waite of The Babys, Ray Parker Jr., Russell Hitchcock of Air Supply, and many more. I’m blessed to be in a great situation where I can ask a RockStar for a favor, especially if it’s for a good cause. As Axl Rose’s former assistant, I was the liaison between him and numerous famous people, so I got to know a ton of RockStars a little more than if I just met them in passing. One great story involved Steven Tyler of Aerosmith . On June 5, 1992, Guns N’ Roses got together at a rehearsal and sound check with Lenny Kravitz, Jeff Beck, and Steven Tyler and Joe Perry from Aerosmith for a live Pay-Per-View show the next day in Paris. I ran Axl’s teleprompter when I first started with the band. We had the words to every song in the Guns N’ Roses repertoire in our computer, but when the band sang a song by another band, we had to enter those words into the teleprompter so they would appear on the monitors, and Axl could sing the song. These days, that’s easy. You go on the internet, Google the name of the song, and voila, you have the words. A simple copy and paste, and you’re done. Since Axl didn’t know the words to “Train Kept A-Rollin,” he said to me, “Go to Steven’s room and get the words to ‘Train Kept A-Rollin.’” So I grabbed a pen and a pad of paper and headed down to Steven Tyler’s room, and I’m thinking to myself as I get into the elevator that this will probably be the coolest thing I will do on tour with Guns N’ Roses. I knocked on the hotel room door, and Steven Tyler, the lead singer of Aerosmith, opened the door, dressed in only a towel. “Hey Steven, my name is Craig and I work with Axl, and we need the words to “Train Kept A-Rollin” for tonight’s show so I can put them on Axl’s teleprompter.” Steven says, “Sure dude, come on in.” And I walked in. No one else was in the room, just Steven, his towel, and me. Getting right to the job at hand, Steven said, “You ready?” “Uh, yes. How do you want to do this? Do you have the words somewhere? I can just make a copy.” “I’ll sing it to you. You ready?” And Steven started singing his song “Train Kept A-Rollin” a cappella. I was such an Aerosmith fan, and for the first time on tour I actually felt like one of the Guns N’ Roses fans that I encountered every day.