HOW I BECAME AN AUTHOR

Initially, I never thought of myself as an author. Sure, I had written many papers from a professional perspective but I did not see myself that way.

I was involved in the Rural Floor Budget Neutrality (RFBN) litigation and was immersed in that process for six years. Once the RFBN ended, I immediately turned my attention to work on a foundation that I had created.

After the passing of several years, I reflected on the RFBN process and realized the effort that it took, the enormity of what we did, and also that many folks might want to know the story of what happened. It was at this point that I decided to write the book – Beyond Fear.

The title was provoked by a conversation with one of my attorneys after the appeal had ended. She mentioned that you know most people would not have prosecuted this litigation. When I responded why, she said most people would have feared what the government would do to them.

It was at this moment that I realized that there was a risk in what we did and what and who we took on. I thought – “Was I crazy?” In reality, I was just doing what I thought was right.

The book turned out to be a bestseller in the Medicare area and has received many positive professional reviews.

Once I got bitten by the writing bug, I realized that much of what has affected me in my life actually has many parallels to my racing endeavors. This sparked the idea for another book – Focus Forward. The working premise of this book was the notion that everything I need to know in life I learned for racing.

The parallels are quite striking. It’s about goals, purpose, progress, setbacks, improvement, determination, willpower, teammates and relationships, caring, catastrophe, injury, recovery, and repositioning. This is, in fact – life. But despite what we encounter in life, in the end, we need to keep moving forward despite any setbacks.

Focus Forward is cast in many racing stories and the lessons learned from those stories. Hopefully, it will tell you a little bit about what we do in this racing game and the obstacles we encounter – and, importantly, how we overcome them as individuals and as a team.