Paying It Forward: Please Help if You Can

Entrepreneur's OrganizationOctane magazine published by the Entrepreneur’s Organization (EO) ran an article I wrote of inspiration and determination.

First, if you’re not familiar with EO, it’s a great group. Nearly 9,000 entrepreneurs are active in EO chapters around the world. Average revenue for EO member companies is $18.4 million. You could say EO members are extraordinarily lucky and most of us realize we’re privileged to be members of a pretty exclusive group.

For those of you EO’ers visiting this blog as a result of the article, because of our respective fortune, I’m asking for help for someone who has not been quite as lucky – through no fault of his own.  If you read my blog regularly, or if you’ve seen some of my articles, you’ve probably guessed that I’m referring to my best friend, Pete Quinn.  The most recent article is The Power of Pete.

Pete worked hard and successfully in sales for 20 years before his life was horribly altered after being hit by a reckless driver. Even today, Pete continues to work as much as he can as he undergoes therapy to walk again. (I won’t recount all the details surrounding Pete’s situation now, but if you would like to know more, please see my earlier posts on Peter Quinn and his family).

Peter remains a strong individual and he refuses to be defined by this accident. He also is a husband (wife is Rita) and the father of three beautiful children:  Katherine (age 12), Henry (9) and Andrew (6).  The family has additional responsibilities and expenses because Andrew is autistic.  His condition requires special care and the family is doing everything necessary to ensure that Andrew lives a normal and well-adjusted childhood.

This is a wonderful family that has been dealt a serious and life-altering blow. With your donations, Peter will be able to continue receiving the necessary therapy sessions so he can realize his dream: running (he’s a marathoner) and playing soccer (he was a coach of his kid’s team prior to his injury).

For videos of Peter’s progress, check out the website:  http://petersplace2011.blogspot.com/ If you want to help, please donate directly at Peter’s Place.

Thank you.

A Good Cause. A Great Family. The Chicago Polar Bear Plunge.

The Chicago, IL Lakeview Polar Bear Club has chosen to support two great causes for the 2013 Polar Bear Plunge.

One of the two is my best friend Peter Quinn and his family.  Here’s info from their website.

“Peter Quinn loved to run – including the Chicago Marathon in 2010.  But on April 16th, 2011 Peter was out running when he started to cross the street.  A speeding van ran a red light and struck Peter.  He flew 30′ from the impact and suffered many injuries, such as:  broken ribs, a collapsed lung, broken tibia and a major spinal cord injury.  Peter spent 1 month in the hospital and was given a 2% chance to walk again.During the hospital say Peter had surgery to insert titanium rods in his spine and he underwent 3 surgeries on his lungs.  He was then moved to rehab for 2.5 months before finally being healthy enough to move home.  Since the accident, Peter’s life has been all about family, friends and rehabilitation.  Peter rehabs 6 hours/day, 4 days per week.  Another five days each week he travels to Rockford, IL for hyperbaric chamber treatments.  Peter’s family and friends have sacrificed a lot of time, money and energy to ensure that Peter gets to all of his appointments so he reaches the ultimate goal – walking again.

The rehabilitation work is definitely hard, but the benefits are starting to show.  After 9 months Peter was taking steps with the help of orthotics.  Each day has victories and setbacks, but all of the physical therapy that he has completed, Peter is slowly making progress towards walking on his own.

Peter remains a strong individual and is not defined by this accident, as he is also a husband (wife is Rita) and a father of three beautiful children:  Katherine (age 12), Henry (9), and Andrew (6).  The family has additional responsibilities and expenses as the youngest child, Andrew, is autistic.  His condition requires special care and the family is doing everything necessary to ensure that Andrew lives a normal and well-adjusted childhood.  This is a wonderful family that has been dealt a serious and life altering change.  With your donations, the LPBC is able to provide Peter with the necessary therapy sessions to have him walking & playing with this children in the near future.  For videos of Peter’s progress, check out the website:  http://petersplace2011.blogspot.com/

If you want to help, you can support the Lakeview Polar Bear plunge or donate directly at Peter’s Place.

Thanks for the Wonderful Support of Pete

Thanks for all of the wonderful support of my friend Pete.  Since the article in the Star Tribune on Monday, there have been dozens of emails, phone calls, and donations.  Some of you asked how to donate (the online version of the article cut off the URL).  You can donate at Pete’s video blog or directly to Pete via PayPal.

I also received a some business-related inquiries related to the book offer.  To answer at large:

 

 

  • If you make a donation of $1,000 or more, I’ll send 100 copies of my book (a $1,000 value)
  • If you make a donation of $2,500 or more, I’ll deliver a 1.5 hour webinar on leadership, sales, or entrepreneurship (and include 100 copies of my book)

While I’m a past instructor the University of St. Thomas Graduate School of Business Management Center and sometimes conference/corporate/sales meeting presenter, with two toddlers, my priorities have changed and I’ve semi-retired.

That said, if you make a donation of $10,000 or more, I’ll travel to your location, within the Continental U.S., and deliver a talk on a topic TBD but within my areas of expertise (with expenses and 100 copies of my book included).

Thanks again.

Remembering What Matters, One Step at a Time

Peter Quinn is my best friend.  We met at the University of St. Thomas during a karate class.  From day one, he was a joker.   He’d line up next to me in karate and do a funny sounding kiya (the sound you make as you finish a punch or kick).  I’d laugh.  The instructor would stop class to ask me what was so funny.  That was the start of a 25-year friendship.

After graduation, Pete moved to Chicago, got married and had three kids.  I remained in Minnesota, also got married, and adopted two kids.  Though in different cities, we’ve stayed close.  We talk most days usually to share a funny story or chat about our kids (we’re each godparents to the other’s youngest child).

Something happened a year and a half ago that fundamentally changed his life (and, obviously, the lives of his family).  While training for a marathon, Pete was struck by a driver who ran a red light.  It left Pete paralyzed.  His commitment to walk again is inspiring and, given he was a runner and the Twin Cities Marathon is less than a week away, I wrote an article the Star Tribune was kind enough to print in on its business OpEd page.  You can read The power of Pete here.

For me, as I shared in the Star Tribune article, I’ve gained tremendous perspective on what matters in life and what’s a real problem vs. just a nuisance.  If, after reading the article, you feel fortunate, I’d encourage you to visit his video blog and make a donation to offset his medical expenses. (As my article explains, Pete was between employers when he was struck, leaving him without a job, without disability insurance, and healthcare insurance limited to the COBRA required time limit).

As thanks for anyone who makes a donation, I’ll mail you a copy of my book Building a Winning Business: 70 Takeaways for Creating a Strong Company during Good and Bad Economic Times.  Just fire me an email at: tsalonek @ intertech.com with your address.