Courage to Be Courageous

Kevin O'Connor grew up in a different lifestyle than most of us. He was a son of a Funeral Director and lived in the house where the whole funeral took place. The caskets and embalming were in the basement. The main floor was the funeral parlor. The first floor was where his uncle and their family lived . The second floor was where Kevin, his brothers and parents lived . His dad was also a funeral director . Kevin received his Bachelor Science degree in Political Science from Loyola university in Chicago and his Masters Degree in Education at the University of California at Berkeley graduating in 1977 .Kevin published an outstanding book called "Two Floors Above Grief " a memoir of two families in the unique place we called home. This is a combination of letters from many of his family members that Kevin compiled and put in this beautiful memoir. You're going to learn in the memoir how Kevin came out as gay to his father and the tremendous support his father showed him in a generation where it was not safe to come out. Kirkus review called it "a warm and sincere family history" .You are going to see the courage that Kevin displayed when he came out to both of his wives as gay and also his two beautiful sons who are now adults. You will see how he met his life partner and now his husband Leon . Kevin is living his best, authentic life. You will also see how he has done community efforts and had a voice for the LGBTQ industry and has written several programs for them and has been life coach for many of them .Kevin can be reached on his website www.kevino'connorauthor.com.

I had open heart surgery February 8, 2024 at Cleveland clinic which is number one in the world for open heart surgery. What started out as a routine procedure ended up in a wild ride for me and my partner John. This was an opportunity for me to embrace my fear and use courage to get through it. I had three surgeries; they had to repair the aorta, give me a bovine valve and repair my mitral valve. It was a seven hour surgery. I recovered in ICU for seven days then was assigned to a regular hospital room. After two weeks in Cleveland we were ready to check out. However, after two days at the hotel, I develop symptoms and had to be rushed to emergency where it was determined that I had pneumonia and sepsis. This was a time I had to really embrace my fear, and use courage to get through it . My partner, John was with me every step of the way and Cleveland clinic saved my life. This is a powerful podcast for those who have fear regarding their health needs and need courage to overcome their fear. You will find in this podcast what's really important in our lives and the importance of community. You will also see in my podcast the other programs which Cleveland clinic is developing to save lives. Telephone number for Cleveland clinic is 800-659-7822 and the heart Institute 866-320-4573. Their website is www.clevelandclinic.org

Access Anytime Anywhere | Cleveland Clinic Cleveland Clinic www.clevelandclinic.org for those who would like to learn more about Cleveland clinic and may want to make a donation. Cleveland clinic is a 5013c organization.

John Preston has a BS in Kinesiology and a Masters Degree in Exercise Science and Wellness from Arizona State University. He is certified in CSCS, EP – C, CPT ( ACE) , and TPI (certified golf fitness instructor). He has over 30 years in the physical fitness industry and is presently the Director of Fitness for the Village Club in Scottsdale Arizona, where he supervises 13 trainers and eight concierges. John discusses the benefits of exercise, i.e. cardio, controlling mood, managing stress and depression. He talks about not only commitment, but more important, behavioral changes. John is very insightful of how the viewpoint toward exercises has changed after Covid. John will talk about the importance of your technique when you are working out and the importance of a personal trainer and how to find one. This podcast will be so encouraging to those that are working out and those that want to work out and give themselves the best life that they would like to have. John will talk about the need for courage to overcome the fear of working out in a gym. This is a powerful podcast.

Dan Bolen, our podcast host, talks about the guests we've had on our podcasts from episode 27 through the podcast 47. He focuses on what The Trevor project has done in the last year 2023 and also what Outright International has done in 2023. These are two organizations that Dan supports financially through his book sales of "the Courage to Be Courageous". Dan talks about the atrocities that the Ugandan parliament and now the president has signed against LGBTQ +people and the people of Uganda taking away their rights. You will be shocked when you hear what has been done to the whole society in Uganda ie doctors, school teachers, parents, clergyman, landlords who do not report a "possible homosexual." They are given a six month sentence in prison, and some to the extent of 20 years. We must have a voice against this inhuman behavior.

Respond to these websites to give your support: https://outrightinternational.org/ To give a donation to Uganda www.outrightinternational.org/Uganda-fund. To donate to The Trevor project www.thetrevorproject.org To be a part of the heterosexual ally contact the website www.burstingthrough.com

Claudia Wilson who is the Asscciate Director of Development for Cleveland Clinic is our guest today. U.S. News & World Report ranks Cleveland Clinic number one in the world for heart surgery. Cleveland Clinic has held this position for almost 30 years in a row. You are going to learn about some incredible first time achievements in heart surgery from the 1950s 60s 70s and into 2024.

In the 1970s they did their first valve replacement and repair which became the number one facility to do it and is the standard which has been set for other hospitals and facilities throughout the world. The Cleveland Clinic just finished their 2000th full heart transplant In 2021. Cleveland Clinic has the world's largest database and research center for heart research. In the last few years Cleveland Clinic have expanded into cancer research and neurological care dealing with Alzheimer's Parkinson's, and Dementia. Their goal is to treat it before the symptoms start.

Cleveland Clinic, which is an educational center and hospital, is nonprofit. At the end of the year all the profits which are made go into their three prong mission statement: Research, Education and Patient Care. Because of this they are classified as a 501 c 3).

The Cleveland clinic is very close to my heart as I will be receiving open heart surgery there very soon. I have been going to Cleveland Clinic for over three years and I really know they are the best organization in the world. They treat their patients as family. If you would like to call them for any questions their number is 866-320-4573. Anyone that would like to make a donation to them please contact their website give.ccf.org. The Cleveland Clinic organization certainly helps anyone overcome their fear, and use courage to get through it.

David Cotton is a retired Brigadier General with the United States Air Force. He got his Masters Degree in Computer Data Management and another Masters in National Security studies. After serving over 29 years in the Air Force and doing consulting work for the Pentagon, he had to deal with who he was authentically. This sent him on a journey of reading all types of literature related to the LGBTQ community and watching podcasts to figure out who he really was. David finally realized he was a gay man. He realized the importance of providing a website/podcasts for the community. Many people come out late in life and they need a website and a community for support.

David's website is www.outlatewithdavid.com.

He also has become a life coach and is certified to help others.

You can find more information at https://www.davidcottoncoaching.com

David and I use our websites/podcasts to have a voice for our community. Both our websites/podcasts are free to listen to. David interviewed me last week on his website and I have the pleasure of interviewing him on my podcast this week. It is an incredible journey for both of us and how we used courage to get through our fear.

David Cotton interviewed Dan Bolen from his podcast/website www.outlatewithdavid.com.

David is doing a tremendous amount of work through his podcast for the LGBTQ + community. David is a retired Brigadier General from the Air Force who also came out as gay after retirement. You will get the opportunity to hear part of my life story which will be up on my audio portion on my website www.danbolen.com, and you will also be able to listen to the video on David Cotton podcasts www.outlatewithdavid.com. You will see how I used courage to overcome a tremendous amount of fear, and come out as my authentic self and why I wrote the book "the Courage to Be Courageous" and started doing my podcasts. My story is powerful, vulnerable, at times, riveting, and very honest. Many of you will know more about me than my own personal family knows. This will be a great podcast for not only the LGBTQ community, but also our heterosexual allies. I have the privilege to interview David on my podcast this week and it will be available after my interview podcast. Both David and I are committed to being a strong voice for our community.

Steve Petersen grew up in a farming town in Audubon, Iowa. He went on to get his BS degree in Fashion Merchandising from Iowa State University. He struggled with his sexuality and it wasn't until after college that he had to deal with who he authentically was. He went on to several different retail organizations, and ended up at Macy's in Manhattan, New York, in their merchandising group. Steve later move to Las Vegas, Nevada and eventually opened the heterosexual ally group called "Bursting Through". This podcast is for our heterosexual allies who want to have a voice for our community and want to know what they can do to support LGBTQ people. Most of the population knows someone who is part of the LGTBQ community. Statistics from Steve's website show that over 62% of the nations population know someone that identifies as part of the LGBTQ community. This podcast will give you some insight on how you can have a voice and offer real support to the LGBTQ community. Please check out the substack group at www.substack.com where you can be an active ally. Just look for the Bursting Through section. Steve Peterson's website is www.burstingthrough.gay

Nate Rhoton is the CEO of an organization in Phoenix called OneNTen. This organization has 18 satellite locations and helps the LGBTQ+ community with individuals in ages 11 to 24 years and homeless people between the ages of 18 and 24 years to be a support system for them. Nate has a BS degree in Economics from Arizona State University and after spending five years with General Mills and 12 years as Human Resource Manager for a construction company he joined OneNTen as the Development Director, and later moved on to be the CEO of the organization. Nate shows the powerfulness of courage by identifying who he was authentically and coming out to his parents. He showed courageousness when his father was imprisoned, and Nate moved on with his life and accepted his dad for who he was and appreciating the good gifts that his father gave him. Nate also learned lessons from his dads behavior which taught him not to follow the path of his father. Nate shows the importance of who you are authentically and not be complacent and to follow your heart and live as your authentic self. This is a wonderful organization which has a number of programs to help the young LGBTQ+community when many of them are kicked out of their homes by their parents and have no other place to go. For those of you, that would like to donate to OneNTen or would like to volunteer, here is their website www.onenten.org.

Harry Fox got his B.I.D. (in industrial design) from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, and his M.B.A. in finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He spent 30 years in the IT industry and ended as a Chief Information Officer for one of the large insurance firms. Harry struggled to find who he was and spent 12 years in therapy. He's always had an interest in the "mind" and so took a lot of courses and studies in psychology and philosophy. Harry married a beautiful woman and was with her for over 20 years and produced a beautiful son. Harry came to the realization that he was gay which ended in a separation from his wife and yet he spent the last nine months of her life navigating her clinical care when she was diagnosed with a rare, aggressive cancer, before she died in 2017.

Harry found a community in an organization called Gamma which was founded in 1978. Gamma is an organization that started in the Washington DC area, and now has expanded in different parts of the world. It was really an organization of men who were married to women and yet have same sex attraction. Harry became the facilitator of the meetings for gay, bisexual, or questioning men since 2013 and an average of two times weekly since March 2020 when Gamma took the meeting virtual due to COVID. Currently, Harry facilitates four different types of meetings: weekly meetings, open to all gay, bisexual, and questioning men; a meeting every every 3 to 4 weeks specifically for bisexual men; a monthly couples meeting for bisexual men, and their wives; and a separate monthly meeting just for the wives. Harry also works privately with gay and bisexual men as a coach as they step through their own personal journey. The website for Gamma is www.gammasupport.org and Harry's email for those that would like to contact him personally is [email protected] .