Most of who and what I am today began in 1981 that's not when I was born but when my life changed forever. It was the day that I first met DoraLynn. 

As I look back and think about my life before DoraLynn I realize how very different it could have turned out. I was born in Anchorage, Alaska in 1971. My father was a construction worker who moved from job to job. As a child I lived in Anchorage and Fairbanks and more little towns and fishing villages than I can remember ... towns like Kwethluk, Bethel and Yakutat. Each summer, and a couple of winters I would go to Eureka, Montana and live with my maternal grandfather, Nick, a WWII veteran and avid outdoorsman. My Grandpa Nick taught me to hunt and fish and how to be a man. Yet like most children who move around a lot, I often found trouble. As a kid I decided that my key to survival was being tough and I often settled disagreements with my fists. But my life began to take a turn that day in 1981.

You see DoraLynn is my baby sister. My parents brought her into our family in 1984 and eventually adopted her. DoraLynn is Eskimo and when she was little she contracted spinal meningitis, which left her developmentally delayed and profoundly deaf. As I spent time with my grandpa he would tell me" your family is everything ... never turn you back on your family." He told me that since my father and mother had separated, I was the "man in charge" and I could judge my life by how well I accomplished this one task.

Don't get me wrong; I still got into plenty of trouble in my teen years. But, when I did I would think of my little sis and my love for her would motivate me to try to be a better man. This is an excerpt from an essay I wrote when I was 16: 

Rejoice! She is happy all the time. DoraLynn is very warm inside and very fun -loving. She accepts people for what they are, not for what they have. Dora judges people by their feelings and emotions, not by their looks and appearances. She speaks with love and concern, with happiness and excitement. For Dora does not yet understand that other people are different from her. My fun-loving little sister can't hear. She can't hear the bad things or the ridicule, or the anger from other people, for she doesn't want to hear all this... she only feels these things. If you show her sadness, she gives you happiness. If you show her loneliness, she gives you companionship. If you show her remorse, she gives you joyfulness. DoraLynn will not allow you to be negative -only positive. She has learned that other people are the different ones and they have the problem with society, not her.

In 1987 we moved to Spokane, Washington where I spent my high school years. The first few years were tough as I continued to try to solve problems with my fists and by fighting anyone who thought they were tougher than me. In fact, at one point I left Spokane and moved back to Alaska by myself and spent some time in some Boys Homes. But, as I matured, I realized that in order to take care of my family and be the man that my grandpa challenged me to be I would need to focus my energy on more positive endeavors. In 1989 my mother bought me the book, "The Art of the Deal" by Donald Trump. I read it cover to cover and promised my mom that one day I would meet Mr. Trump. I used the success that Mr. Trump had achieved as motivation to work hard and find a way to provide for my family in such a way that they would never have to worry about money. In 1989 I graduated from Mead High School in Spokane and wrote as my senior quote: "Trump, I'm coming"! I made this my quote because my momma told me if you make a goal a promise and commit to it, you have to keep your promise. What better way to commit than to put it in my high school yearbook?

After high school, college was just not an option, as both my mother and sister needed financial support. So, I hit the streets to make my fortune. I did anything and everything to make a buck ... I started a party promotion house, a t-shirt company, and in 1994 opened my own health club. While working on various entrepreneurial efforts I also worked for the Morning Star Boys' Ranch outside Spokane. Father Joe at the ranch was a great inspiration to me and helped me focus my energies into a boxing program for the troubled boys at the ranch. For me, the job at Morning Star was a way to help other boys who were in the exact same situations I was as a youngster, but who had not yet found the type of inspiration that DoraLynn, Grandpa Nick and Donald Trump had given me. And, in a way, by working at the Boys' Ranch I was learning the skills and finding further inspiration to help me fulfill my obligations and promises to my family.

After several years in the health club business, first teaching Karate and then starting and owning a club, I decided to take the leap and put into use the lessons of "The Art of the Deal" ... I decide to get into the mortgage and lending business. By 1995, using the tactics I'd learned from Mr. Trump's book, I was a top producer for new hires for Cherry Creek Mortgage in Spokane, in both fee income and volume. By 1996, I was in management for Royal Mortgage Bank in Boise, Idaho with a proven track record of being able to break into new markets. Living in Boise I discovered that one of the best schools in the country for the deaf and blind was nearby, and I began to make plans to move my sister and mom to Boise.

Through the years my mother had many health issues and was often ill. In 1998 she was diagnosed with Lupus. At this point I had been promoted by my employer, WMC Mortgage Corp., and was moved to Denver to help launch the company there. However, upon hearing the news of my mother's diagnosis I decided that now was the time to move both Mom and DoraLynn to Boise where there were better medical facilities for Mom and a top-notch school for DoraLynn. I left my job and moved back to Boise. With the help of my older sister Cynthia and my brother-in-law Michael, my entire family joined me. This is when, out of necessity, I truly cut my entrepreneurial teeth. When you've got no job it's amazing how motivated you can get. I began to use my experiences in the mortgage business to buy and sell real estate while at the same time working at various banks and mortgage companies. 

As my real estate portfolio grew so did my borrowing power, and I eventually began using a personal line of credit to lend money to people and finance my own dealings. Ever the opportunist, I also began to realize that I dealt with a lot of self-employed people and small business owners and with health insurance rates skyrocketing and in the news I knew I could learn the health benefits industry and have one more group of products to offer my clients. 

The move to Boise proved fruitful in more ways than one. Not only did I find a thriving business community close to the mountains and streams of my childhood but while working at US Bank I found my beautiful wife Crystal. The first day I met her I told a friend "I'm going to marry that girl!" ... And that's one more promise that I've kept. We were married in 2003 and just ask my Grandpa Nick ... I done ok!

As I look back it's amazing the turns my life has taken. Today I'm a lender, a mortgage broker, a benefits consultant and a real estate investor. My momma and DoraLynn live in a house I was able to purchase for them and I've been to New York and fulfilled a promise. I surely don't know where all this will lead but it's going to be fun finding out!

Credit: troymcclain.com