A Story To Tell!
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Added: 12/20/2003
Type: Summary
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A Story To Tell!
Joshua was born in Chicago, one of seven children, and lived in 14 states while growing up. At the age of four, he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. The doctors said he had a week to live and his chances of survival were zero! That was over 30 years ago, so it’s been a long week! A series of treatments saved his life, but he still contends daily with physical challenges from the ordeal. Josh came through with a deep interest in helping others, a story to tell, and more importantly, a message for everyone: “Life is what YOU make it”.
When he was 10 years old, Josh convinced his pastor to let him use an abandoned church building on Saturdays to speak to anyone willing to listen. He went around the neighborhood knocking on doors and inviting people to come. “Many people laughed,” Josh recalls. “'This short kid, speak? But some people came, and I did it for almost a year until we moved away. On our biggest night, we had 75 people.” Joshua was hooked, and after graduating from College he was on the road full-time. “I’ve spoken at churches, schools, businesses, and many other places – I’m here to show people, Hey, I had cancer and they said I wouldn’t make it. But if I can, you can, too.”
A part-time interest in computers eventually led Joshua to move from Tennessee to join WebMD and he now speaks several times a year. Not as much as he’d like to, of course. But he has expanded his campaign to include books and inspirational pamphlets that tell his story and convey his message of hope and encouragement. He writes letters and mails materials all over the world – to regular folks and not-so-regular folks. And they respond. Joshua has received letters of thanks from Queen Elizabeth, Princess Diana, both President Bushes and Barbara Bush, Dick Cheney and others. “Everyone has problems and difficulties in life, but you don’t always remember that famous people do, too. Why is the divorce rate and drug use so high in Hollywood? Fame doesn’t bring happiness, a lot of those people are unhappy. That’s why I send my brochures to people like Princess Diana, the President, and others.”
It’s not all work for Joshua, though. He enjoys golf and is an avid traveler. In the past 3 years he has visited Poland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, and England.
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