My parents of course, in the way they stressed individuality in my upbringing while still enforcing a strong sense of family. My brother in that he inspired me a strong sense of competition, unbeknownst to him…I had to be more successful then him. Funny how your definition of success changes as you age.

A lot of people I have never met, John Goddard, Ernest Hemingway, Phil Keoghan. All of these folks have had a substantial impact on my life by the very way they live theirs, their writings, the dreams they shared. John Goddard has probably had the most impact on how I live my life. John Goddard sat down at the age of 15 and wrote down 127 goals on his "Life List" of all the things he wanted to experience in this world. Now, nearly six decades later, he has accomplished 109 of the items on his list, chronicling many of his adventures in places like National Geographic, Life, and Reader’s Digest. I’ve patterned a lot of what now do based upon my own list which for better of worse pretty much determines my course on a daily basis.

my recently passed uncle, who all my life was someone who "got me" [most everyone who knows me thinks i was dropped by a stork into my family of origin], always told me: "count higher". it's one of those rules of life that apply in almost every situation.