Interviewee Profiles

The following is directly from Lifeworth and are the introductions to each candidate before they tell their own story.

• Jesse's Journey—John Davidson • Giddy Up for Wishes—Martha Birkett • Spitz Cracked Wide Open—Tom Droog • Cody's Dream—Lindsay Sears

• Getting Off the Couch—Jeanelle Mitchell, Susan Wetmore, Dawn Straka • The "F" Word—Katy Hutchison • One More Goal—Paul Henderson • Climbing Back—Al An Hobson

JESSE'S JOURNEY—JOHN DAVIDSON

A splendid thing happened to John and Sherene Davidson on April 10, 1980. Their son Jesse came into their lives. Little did they realize the impact their child would have on them and on others. Raised in London, Ontario, with his older brother, Tyler, and younger brother, Tim, Jesse was diagnosed in 1986 with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a life-threatening condition that affects boys almost exclusively. Jesse was six years old. Few survive beyond their teens.

In 1995, at age fifteen, Jesse became recognized across Canada for his courage and determination through the charity that quickly became known as Jesse's Journey. Jesse's father, John, who was forty-nine years old at the time, pushed Jesse in his wheelchair 3,300 kilometres across Ontario, as part of a fundraiser that generated $1.5 million to fund research into a cure for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. When father and son returned home from that ordeal, the Toronto Maple Leafs asked Jesse to drop the ceremonial puck during the season's opening night at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

Jesse had previously met with Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and received a standing ovation in the House of Commons. In 1996, Jesse received the Order of Ontario and, a year later, he met Queen Elizabeth II at a tree-planting ceremony in London, Ontario. In 1998, Jesse flew to Paris, France, to assist the French Muscular Dystrophy Association (Association Francaise contra les Myopathies) with its thirty-hour telethon, not an easy task for someone in a wheelchair. The telethon generated $116 million CDN.

Jesse's Journey has provided the research community with more than $3 million in funding and the Jesse Davidson Endowment, which continues to fund research, has now surpassed $7 million. John wrote and released his first book, Jesse's Journey: A Canadian Story, in 2001. His second book, The Right Road: How Far Will You Go?, was published in 2010. Mike Sheffar, of Sheffar, Potter and Muchan, referred John to us. Here is John Davidson in his own words.

To learn more, visit www.jessesjourney.com.

GIDDY UP FOR WISHES—MARTHA BIRKETT

Martha Birkett is an accomplished horsewoman from Cochrane, Alberta, a ranching community northwest of Calgary. She has three daughters, one stepdaughter, and one stepson, as well as four grandchildren. Along with her daughters, she owns two yoga studios and centres for healing, one in Red Deer and one in Cochrane called The Amaryllis Centre Inc.

At age forty-seven, Martha wanted to do something to help children in need. Out of the blue, she woke up one morning and decided to ride a horse from Ottawa to Cochrane to bring awareness to, and raise money for, the Children's Wish Foundation. Her ride, Giddy Up for Wishes, took place in 2008. It took Martha nearly four months, six days a week, averaging six to eight hours in the saddle, every day. Why would someone want to do that? Here is Martha in her own words.

SPITZ CRACKED WIDE OPEN—TOM DROOG

In 1970, at age twenty-two, Tom Droog decided to leave Holland, where he was born, to explore Canada. He was one of a group of young men who decided to make Canada their next life adventure. Most of them ended up settling in Ontario and other parts of Eastern Canada, but something about the West was calling Tom. He wanted to check out what he had heard about the wide-open spaces of the Canadian prairies. Once Tom saw the country around Bow Island, in southeastern Alberta, he was hooked. Tom worked as a farmhand for the next four years, slowly learning the trade and, in 1974, with the help of a 95 percent government-backed loan, he purchased his first quarter section of land (160 acres or 65 hectares).

Tom mastered the art of farming, but soon realized that he did not want to be left at the mercy of the Canadian Wheat Board, dictating what he could sell and for how much. Following a ten-day farm tour to the United States, he saw that farmers there were having good success growing sunflowers and selling the seeds, usually as bird feed. In 1978, Tom made a calculated gamble and started growing sunflower seeds, establishing a company called Spitz. Over the next three decades, he grew Spitz into an international empire and Spitz Sunflower Seeds became one of the most popular snacks in Canada and the U.S. In 2008, Tom sold Spitz to PepsiCo.

In 2010, Tom's wife and business confidant, Emmy, lost her three-year battle with cancer. For decades, they had been perfect for each other, in business and in marriage. As Tom describes her, Emmy was quiet, conservatively grounded, and treasured her family and her privacy. She also had a keen sense of what was "enough."

Although a driven businessman, Tom has a history of giving back to the community, both at home and around the world. He also has a passion for helping youth. He would be the first to acknowledge his good fortune, but he is paying it back and paying it forward. Here is Tom in his own words.

CODY'S DREAM—LINDSAY SEARS

Lindsay Sears is a world-class barrel racer in the Professional Rodeo Association and the Women's Professional Rodeo Association. At twenty-nine years old, she has had a life full of peak experiences of the type most people wouldn't have in an entire lifetime. She hails from a ranch set in the foothills of the Alberta Rockies, growing up near the small ranching town of Nanton, south of Calgary.

Lindsay has been around horses all her life, and attended Texas Tech University on a rodeo scholarship. Following graduation, she tried to figure out what she wanted to do with her life. She gave an office job a chance, but soon realized that the business world was not for her. Although she did not win many barrel races during her high school years, the competitions sparked something inside this remarkable young woman, something that would shape the next phase of her life. Lindsay currently lives in Texas. Here is her story in her own words.

GETTING OFF THE COUCH
—JEANELLE MITCHELL, SUSAN WETMORE, DAWN STRAKA

The people whose stories we have told in this book have achieved significant milestones and reached their personal peak experiences in unique and sometimes dramatic ways. But peak experiences occur in everyone's lives and can be of different magnitudes. What is most important is that the peak experience actually takes you out of your Comfort Zone.

In this chapter we share the stories of three individuals who achieved peak experiences without making huge transitions in their day-to-day lives. They pushed into the Lifeworth Zone right from where they were in life. These women, from various parts of Canada, have clearly identified their life's passion and purpose and have found unique ways to fulfill their goal of making a positive impact in the lives of others. Each time they reached out to help others, they created a peak experience within their Lifeworth Zone. They moved out of their Comfort Zone and aligned with their core talents and passion.

For more information about Jeanelle's cookbook, see www.loveofsoup.com.

THE "F" WORD—KATY HUTCHISON

Katy Hutchison of Victoria, British Columbia, was referred to us by Tim Mitchell and Michael Diamond, both of Toronto. Katy Hutchison's story is one of heartache and triumph. Her life path was, initially, what she had planned for herself: marrying Bob McIntosh, having children (Emma and Sam), and living in a respected Vancouver neighbourhood. Life was good. But on New Year's Eve 1997, all that changed when Bob decided to go up the street to check out a loud house party that seemed out of control.

In a haze of alcohol and drugs, the youth at the party, including a twenty-year old man named Ryan, ganged up on Bob and began beating him. Bob died of his wounds that same evening. Life for everyone involved that night changed forever. Emma and Sam, then only four, lost a father; Katy lost a husband; and the killer would live with his mistake for the rest of his life.

In 1998, Katy met her future husband, Michael Hutchison, her lawyer through the course of the legal proceedings, and has been happily married to him for the past thirteen years. She has started a new life in Victoria, and the twins, eighteen years old at the time of this interview, are doing very well. Although it was a long and difficult road at first, Katy turned something ugly into something truly inspirational. She recounted the events of that tragic night in her best-selling book, Walking After Midnight, which formed the basis of the Lifetime Network film Bond of Silence. Katy is a sought-after speaker throughout North America, primarily presenting to schools, youth and parent groups, and justice groups. Both she and Michael work with Leave Out Violence (LOVE), an organization formed in 1993 by victims of crime. Its purpose is to educate Canadian youth to eliminate violence in schools and everyday life.

Katy believes that how you react to events in your life is even more important than what actually happens to you. Here is Katy in her own words.

To learn about Katy's experiences, visit www.katyhutchisonpresents.com.

ONE MORE GOAL—PAUL HENDERSON

A flick of a hockey stick made Paul Henderson a hero on September 28, 1972. It was the 1972 Canada-Russia Summit Series, and Henderson's goal has been called a defining moment for Canadian pride. It's still referred to as the "Goal of the Century."

After eighteen successful years of professional hockey with various teams in the National Hockey League and World Hockey Association, Paul's life took on a new and somewhat unexpected focus. For the next twenty-six years, he would become a Christian leadership mentor to hundreds of men around the world. Paul believes his ministry eclipses the fame of that Canada-Russia hockey series, and his hockey career in general.

Regardless of your particular faith beliefs, the commitment and dedication with which Paul has lived his entire adult life is remarkable. Your faith might not be Christianity, or you might not find faith in organized religion, but don't miss the over arching message: dedication and commitment to something deep inside each of us is larger than human comprehension.

In November 2009, Paul's life took another unexpected turn when he was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Paul tells us he doesn't have any angst or fear whatsoever. We were referred to Paul by Bruce Etherington.

In his own words, here's how Paul arrived at his incredible sense of peace.

To learn more about Paul's leadership speaking and training, visit www.leaderimpactgroup.com.

CLIMBING BACK—AL AN HOBSON

As a boy, Alan Hobson dreamed of climbing Mount Everest after seeing pictures of it in books. There was something alluring and magnetic about Everest for him, because, at 8,852 metres (29,035 ft.), it is the world's tallest peak. Although it has claimed the lives of hundreds of climbers, to many other climbers and millions of would-be adventurers worldwide, it is seen as the ultimate physical challenge on Earth. But, as it turned out, Everest was not to be Alan's toughest climb.

It took Alan and his teams three separate attempts and more than a decade of fundraising, training, and organizing to reach the top of the world and return safely. All of his trips were self-guided, self-organized, and corporately sponsored. To stage each of them, he and his teammates had to raise $250,000 to $500,000 in cash, equipment, and supplies. They gathered four to nine tonnes of gear, and recruited between twelve and twenty international team members for each attempt. Despite this massive financing, logistical, and organizational effort, Alan's first two expeditions did not make it to the top. They were deemed failures by most outside observers, but not by Alan and his teammates. It was on his third attempt, in 1997, that he and long-time friend, Calgarian Jamie Clarke, finally set foot on "the Gable of the Gods" that is the roof of the world—a jet stream-scoured cone of snow about the size of a cafeteria table.

Alan thought climbing Everest would be the biggest challenge he would face in his life. Little did he know he would soon tumble from the top of the world to the bottom. It would be a very long fall, and an even harder and longer climb back.

Now living in Canmore, Alberta, in the majestic Rocky Mountains west of Calgary, Alan has written half a dozen best-selling books and is considered to be one of the best adventure speakers in the world. But, like all lives, his has not been without its challenges. By meeting them head-on, he has gained a unique perspective on what can pull us back from the brink, and what can drive us forward to a brighter and wiser future. Alan was referred to us by Dale Ens. Here is Alan in his own words.

For more information on Alan's books, speaking presentations, and the Climb Back from Cancer Program, visit www.climbback.com.