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| The Heroic Journal
Living A Resilient Life
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Happy Spring and new beginnings...
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| Our Life Evokes Our True Character |
The most heroic parts of our journeys are often the least known
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Within the sorrow there is grace. When we come close to those things that break us down, we also come close to those things that break us open and in that breaking open, we uncover our true nature. (Wayne Muller, author - How, Then, Shall We Live?)
Even if you had never had the pleasure of hearing a radio program of Jerry Dahmen's, you would probably suspect he was a broadcast journalist. His calm, confident and resonant voice snags the listening audience, relaxes the interviewee, while the topics covered speaks to the heart.
As a young boy, Jerry experienced the initial CALL of one of his heroic journeys when he began to dream of becoming a radio announcer and public speaker like Earl Nightingale. Nightingale was best known for The Strangest Secret and later co-founded Nightingale-Conant Media. As Jerry listened to Nightingale's radio shows, his dream became a passion. To most, Jerry's dream would have seemed unreachable. What the world saw was a very shy young boy with significant speech impediments: stuttering and trouble saying R's (like "wascally wabbit"). Since people can be very cruel to those with a "disability," he was bullied, beaten and teased by his schoolmates and even teachers participated. The cruelty became one of the many trials which actually propelled Jerry to the next level of growth. Joseph Campbell, author of many books on the hero's journey said, "Saints and madmen swim in the same waters, what transforms one, drowns the other." With the aid of a very special, yet unassuming person, Jerry's life was transformed.
A transformational crisis occurred at the age of twelve. After years of being teased about the speech impediment, he was forced to recite a speech in class. As Jerry shared this incident with me, I could imagine the palpable shyness mixed with the awkwardness of early adolescence. It was easy to visualize the panic the young man had shown during the horrifying attempt at Hamlet's Soliloquy. His classmates and teacher were so cruel in their critique; Jerry left the room in tears. Upon reflecting on the memory, Dahmen added, "I was emotionally, spiritually and physically broken. I didn't matter and I was a loser."
During a heroic journey it isn't unusual for a person who feels broken to give up or instead, to will themselves to take one more step. There is a surrender to the journey and although he described being "broken," Jerry was not defeated and chose to take one more step. That afternoon, with his passion to be like Earl Nightingale as strong as ever, 12 year old Jerry picked up the phone book and began to call speech pathologists in his hometown of Sioux Falls, ND. Call after call was met with rejections for help, until he reached Mary Patterson. Mrs. Patterson was a speech and drama teacher at Sioux Falls College. Sensing her caller's determination, she agreed to meet with him the following Saturday. Patterson selflessly gave Jerry her professional time every Saturday for years. The professional gifts she shared with Jerry were essential, but her encouragement was priceless. Mrs. Patterson was a true mentor.
Jerry proceeded to practice seven days a week. "I would literally stand up on the steps of the basement of my parent's house and read everything from the local newspaper, school books and even the Gettysburg Address!" During the interview, Dahmen said, "Nothing takes the place of perseverance. Education will not. Talent will not. Genius will not. Perseverance is unstoppable." The simple actions he took daily further fueled his passion and, as Oprah says, "Passion is energy" and that energy kept the action going.
After Jerry had studied with her for two years, she entered him in the Optimist Club Oratorical contest to be held at a local television station. After writing and memorizing a five minute speech, Jerry won third place, with his mentor looking on. He had begun the process of transcending the voices of taunts and teasing and they now held little power over him. With the added public recognition, he realized his could turn his dream of becoming a radio announcer and public speaker into reality and that began to occur during that same year. The 14 year old started on-the-air shifts at the radio station at the college where Mrs. Patterson taught.
As his career officially began, he was so driven by his passion; he challenged himself by literally calling every service club in town. "You name it: Kiwanis, Sertoma, Optimist - and dozens of churches. I basically told the people who arranged the speaker's schedule that I was a young person who wrote a speech ("Youth's Approach Toward World Forces") and would love to share it with their members. The more speeches I gave, the more my confidence rose. Instead of having lunch at school, the folks at the service clubs would pick me up at school, take me to the meeting place where I spoke and then returned me to school."
Later that same year, Earl Nightingale was to do a speech in Sioux Falls and Jerry, emboldened by his newfound abilities and confidence, called Nightingale's manager and asked to meet the one who first sparked his dreams. The manager not only agreed, but took Nightingale to Jerry's home and to dinner before the speech, which he also was able to attend.
Once Jerry was hired as a disc jockey at the age of 15, he suddenly became popular with the other kids in his school. "I was now playing the hot songs of Rock N Roll every night? Instead of being called "Jerry the Stutterer," I was now nicknamed "JD the DJ!"
By seventeen, with the same determination which had brought his thus far, Jerry contacted the Presidential campaigns of Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Joe McCarthy and Nelson Rockefeller. The then 17 year old was the only local broadcaster to get on the air interviews with the candidates.
Just as Jerry had been helped by Mrs. Patterson, he recognized the importance of reaching out to others. The young journalist developed a strong interest in social issues which continues to this day. Dahmen began to interview those who had suffered at the hands others. In the early 70's, with the world not yet "Oprahized," so what he did to help those living in isolation and shame, without the development of victim support groups, was a bold and courageous move.
During his thousands of interviews with well-known and unknowns persons who made it through difficult challenges, Jerry began to change communities. By the early 90's, I had the great pleasure of collaborating with Jerry while he was News Director at WSM radio in Nashville, TN (the station which aired the Grand Old Opry nationally every Saturday night). It was during his time at WSM that he took the broadcast journalist's world by storm and won many prestigious awards. As someone who was a victim, now thriver of crime, I personally understand the hope and encouragement received by his broadcasts. Individuals heard examples of how others got through hard times: assault, serious illness, business "failures" and more. Jerry's news shows gave millions the sense they were not alone and they had unseen mentors and allies on the journey. "I Love Life" became a show that Tennesseans (and more) grew to love and schedule in their day. Every week, a new person sat down with Jerry and told their story of surviving and thriving. Every weekday, three times a day, parts of that interview would air. Eventually, his show became a book. I Love Life, In Spite of It All received great reviews by Earl Nightingale, NBC Nightly News, Willard Scott on the Today Show and even Oprah (unfortunately before Oprah's big book club days). A second book, I Love Life: The Real Survivors was published in 2005.
Jerry Dahmen has been recognized by his professional peers around the world and has won awards indicating he is the best of the best in broadcast journalism. Among the hundreds of awards his shows have won are (several awarded multiple times) : The George Foster Peabody Award, The Edward R. Murrow Award, Scripps Howard, National Headliner Award, New York Festivals, the National Sigma Delta Chi Award, Eric Sevareid Award and the Best News Program in the World.
The scores of awards which indicate he is respected by his professional peers do not tell the story of his greatest achievement of all. In my view, his personal story is an example of a heroic journey and has been the primary catalyst for his great professional success. Jerry's greatest accomplishments go way beyond the Oscars of journalism he has won. From when he first showed the tenacity to keep going in the face of extreme adversity, time and time again, to dedicating his career to helping millions of listeners, he has changed lives and communities.
"After interviewing 1,500 real survivors on my 'I Love Life' radio, along with pursuing my dreams, I have learned this about the Heroic Journey: Winning in life doesn't mean never being knocked down by situations or circumstances. Rather, it is learning how to get back up and overcoming them. Thanks to Mary Patterson, I got back up and triumphed over so-called impossible odds! I transcended the adversities through the 4 P's: Purpose, Passion, Positive Mental Attitude and Perseverance."
Unfortunately, for those of us who live in Nashville, Jerry returned to his hometown in Sioux Falls in 2002. The community greatly misses his memorable and beautiful voice and his important and heartfelt stories. But now, another community gets the gift of Jerry Dahmen. Like the prodigal son, he is now news director at KXRB, in his hometown of Sioux-Falls, ND. When I think of Jerry, another Joseph Campbell quote comes to mind, "Our life evokes our character."
Jerry Dahmen's books are available online at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. He may be reached at KXRB or jerry@kxrb.com in Sioux Falls, SD. |
| Famous People Who Overcame |
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Jerry Dahmen is in good company among well-known communicators who overcame their struggle with learning disabilities, speech impediments and more. |
People known to have dealt with speech impediments:
Bruce Willis
Carly Simon
Julia Roberts
Tiger Woods
Robert Merrill
Anthony Quinn
Jimmy Stewart
Rowan Atkinson
Sir Isaac Newton
Teddy Roosevelt
Washington Irving
James Earl Jones
Joe Biden
People known to have dyslexia:
Charles Schwab
Paul Orfalea
Pablo Picasso
George Patton
Alexander Graham Bell
Tommy Hilfiger
Winston Churchill
William Hewlett
John Stocill
Tom Cruise
Julia Roberts
Erin Brockovich
Jay Leno
Robin Williams |
| Do you have a story to tell? Be a mentor |
Do you have a heroic story to tell? The Heroic Journal is looking for those who have faced life trials and made it through them transformed. If you would like to help others by telling your story, please contact Missy Bradley at The Omnibus Center heroicjourney@comcast.net .
Stories coming in the next few months: a person who had to retire because of debilitating health problems and is now wowing the world at the age of 80; a person recovering from a traumatic brain injury; a family who faced the sudden loss of their son; overcoming bullying and more.
We are looking for individuals willing to be interviewed:
-those who took their idea(s) and turned them into a successful business
-someone who faced financial collapse, then survived and thrived
-a business or community that overcame difficulties
-a veteran who experienced war and was transformed in positive ways
-anyone who experienced a near-death-experience and how it changed your life in positive ways
-anyone who faced the recovery after an accident
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Quotes |
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The journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step. (Lao Tzu - Chinese Philosopher)
Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear. (Ambrose Redmoon)
What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. (Raph Waldo Emerson)
Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all. (Dale Carnegie)
No one can set sail and expect to forget the wind. First you stand in the open air, feel the wind touch your face and take note of its direction and force. Then you set your sail to carry your boat toward your gaol. And you continue to recheck the wind because it is ever changing. Like a sailor, we must continuously fine-tune our life bearings. Whether a chance is welcome or not, we must respond. Our main choice is not what will change but how we respond. If we hold too tightly to willful thinking, we are not attuned. But if we make peace with change, we grow. We will be transformed into more than we could ever imagine. (Excerpts from Hazelden - www.hazelden.org)
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| Resources for April |
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www.giftfromwithin.com - Resources from the excellent work of dr. _______ who was one of the first to label Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Susan Boyle
Nick Vujicic
Patrick Ireland
Copy This! How I Turend Dyslexia, ADHD and 100 Square Feet Into A Company Called Kinkos - Paul Orfalea |
| Resilience and Heroic Journey Seminars |
| CEU's for Clinicians, Medical and more... |
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The Psychology of Resilience: A Multi-Modal Approach to Thriving Using the Heroic Journey will be presented in a full-day format in these cities in the United States in the upcoming months.
April 29, 2009 - Redondo Beach (Torrance), CA
April 30, 2009 - Anaheim, CA
May 1, 2009 - San Diego, CA
May 27, 2009 - St. Louis, MO
May 28, 2009 - Evansville, IN
May 29, 2009 - Indianapolis, IN
June 16, 2009 - Marietta, GA
June 17, 2009 - Atlanta, GA
June 18, 2009 - Birmingham, AL
July 8, 2009 - NASHVILLE/BRENTWOOD, TN*****
July 9, 2009 - Knoxville, TN
July 10, 2009 - Asheville, NC
Three Stages of Healing: Counseling Victims of Trauma will be presented in a full-day format in these cities and provinces in Canada in May.
May 13, 2009 - Regina, Saskatcheon
May 14, 2009 - Calgary, Alberta
May 15, 2009 - Edmonton, Alberta
For more information on location, registration and course content, you may upload a brochure at www.theomnibuscenter.com (Go to 2009 schedule and click on the city link).
Seminars are available in half day, full-day and multiple day formats for clinicians and general public. Please contact Melissa (Missy) Bradley for more information call 615-377-6002 or heroicjourney@comcast.net |
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| The Heroic Journal Newsletter |
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