I had a tendency to take chances in life, maybe too many. I graduated from the University of Hard Knocks. When I was four years old, I punched the paper boy in the groin and knocked him down on his knees; that's when my parents knew they had something special on their hands. At 13, I started to smoke marijuana and hanging out with the big boys. During that time I started shoplifting, going into convenience stores and stealing chocolates (I loved Kit-Kats). At 14, my 6' 2" 220-pound math teacher beat me up for getting on his nerves. He did it in front of the school faculty, and no one stopped it. (By the way, it was my fault I got beat up; they blamed me.) At 15, I got attacked by a child molester out in the desert; he was an older man who hung around with my brothers friends. Luckily, I was able to get away, but not before I punched him right in the face. At 18, I was falsely accused of aggravated assault and arrested. For a crime, I did not commit. At 33, I lost my home, job, income property and filed for bankruptcy. At the age of 34, I had a nervous breakdown and was thinking about suicide. At 35, I was arrested in a sting operation in Orange County, CA for advertising a business without a contractor's license -- always taking a risk and trying to shortcut everything. At the age of 38, I was homeless with a family of four. During this crazy life journey, I happened to work in 25 jobs in 20 years. Even with all the obstacles, I manage to keep going and not give up. Recently, I won two international speech contest with Toastmasters. I wrote this book and started my website www.joerodriguez.co. All this happens within the last six months. My dream of becoming a speaker/coach an author is becoming a reality. Happily married for 22 years with two beautiful kids. Life is awesome right now. Here is my story. www.joerodriguez.co