James has always been the guy in our women blogger group. He has stood with us, and mostly taught us all how to do awesome videos…althought, I’m still not there. But, he is and that makes us awesome. You should follow Busvlogger on all the things. For my marketing peeps, early on he found his brand, owned it, developed it and drew us all in. Now, he is expanding that brand to a new sales venture. But, he is a YouTube sensation, a stay at home dad, and he has house trained a pig. I know…he is a fun friend. He is supportive, intuitive and always cares. Plus he just somehow gets the rest of us and continues to circle the loop. Oh, and he served as a Little Debbie ambassador for a year. Who doesn’t want to be friends with a guy with access to swiss cake rolls and oatmeal creme pies? HELLO!

Plus, he was the second dude to say yes to participating in this series and I’m always impressed by a guy who is willing to be vulnerable and share from his heart. And, I’m grateful for the words he had to say.

• What have you OVERCOME?

I went my whole public school career trying to compensate for a learning disability that was intentionally left undiagnosed and unrecognized. My parents didn’t want me to be labeled and publicly set apart; as it turned out, my struggles in the classroom set me apart anyway. When I started school in the early 80s, the legislature that ensured appropriate education for exceptional students was still pretty new; the whole country, including my parents, were still figuring things out. Because teachers had no official means to make accommodations for me, I stayed in from recess daily to catch up on my own. (a practice that is now illegal)

Though ADD/ADHD is now pretty normalized, and perhaps over diagnosed, it was a tormentor for me. With every drop of a pencil, cough, neighbor shifting in their desk, I had to re-read the sentence I had been on; let alone the distraction that having a reading group work on the other side of the room was for me. It was like having a buzzing hive of bees in my brain. It was inescapable; I felt like a captive.

I was a rural only child, with no neighbors, unable to socialize with peers outside the classroom except for the rare times I got to go to recess. (only a handful of times from first-fifth grades) I was alone in a crowded room or left to catch up during recess with the class’ bad apple, who was staying in for bad behavior; a recipe for failure. The message I started to take to heart: If I was just a little bit more than I was, life would be better; I’d be acceptable. I tried. It was always just out of my grasp. My young life was underlined with frustration, loneliness and fear of the future.

• What was your TURNING POINT/PIVOT MOMENT?

Becoming an active Cub Scout was a respite. Having a tribe of peers to call my own was a balm, a chance to breath easy. The weekly meetings and weekend outings with friends were a mercy, but I was still broken; incomplete.

I was invited to our church’s youth group in seventh grade. There, I didn’t learn about the judgy, intolerant Jesus that we often hear about in the media. I found out about a God that didn’t make a mistake when He made me. He had a purpose for me. I was exactly who I was supposed to be. The things that made me different were my super powers!

I was enough. I surrendered to Him that knew better than I did.

• 5-word life mantra – Progress is progress… is progress.

• Quote you live by – My sign off for my YouTube videos: “Life is what you make it. Let’s get our hands dirty!” and “You can only do what you can do.” -me also (I’m very inspiring)

• How to connect with me:
  • blog/website: https://busvlogger.com/
  • Busvlogger on YouYube: https://www.youtube.com/user/busvlogger
  • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Busvlogger
  • Twitter https://twitter.com/busvlogger
  • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/busvlogger/
  • Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/busvloggerpins/