Internationally certified 3rd degree black belt in Wado-Ryu karate in 2010

Performing for 11,000 people at the Oakland Coliseum in 1988

Co-author with Deepak Chopra, Jack Canfield, and Denis Waitley

Fox 17 interview

Channel 4 News at Noon interview

Decisions shape our lives. After living the stereotypical musician's life in the late 1970's, in 1980 David decided to grow up and become a serious professional musician. That decision led to many synchronistic happenings.

Shortly after he had the good fortune of listening to The Psychology of Winning audio cassette program by Denis Waitley. This totally changed his life when he learned that 'luck' was "the intersection of preparation and opportunity."

Then one of his drum students gave him a personal growth book, The Master Key to Riches, by Napoleon Hill. After reading this incredible book David was hooked on personal growth. He made the decision to commit to life-long learning and self-improvement at the age of 22.

He subscribed to Success magazine and Modern Drummer magazine, because that's what successful people do: they continually, grow, read and learn about their chosen industry or profession to stay sharp and on the cutting edge. In a word, they choose to evolve towards mastery of their mind, emotions, body, and life.

He committed to reading at least 30 minutes of personal growth material each and every day for the next 5 years, which he did.

He read such classics as The Magic of Believing, by Claude Bristol, As A Man Thinketh, by James Allen, Psycho-Cybernetics, by Maxwell Maltz, Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude, by Napoleon Hill and W. Clement Stone, and Science and Sanity, by Alfred Korzybski. These books, and many more, helped feed and develop his young mind.

David is absolutely convinced that his decision to commit to personal growth led to a successful career as a professional musician/drummer and now as an author and professional speaker. He had the privilege of performing with Timothy B. Schmit (Eagles), Lyle Workman (Sting), Myron Dove (Santana), Carlene Carter, Larry Stewart (Restless Heart), Steve Wariner, and the Gatlin Brothers. David also appeared with (opened for) George Strait, Alan Jackson, Alabama, Merle Haggard, Dwight Yokum, Lee Greenwood, and Marshall Tucker to name a few.

David says, "The difference between an amateur and a professional is that an amateur plays great when they feel great, a professional plays great no matter how they feel."

Intensely interested in any psychological technology that would give him an "edge" and help him be more consistently "on" as a drummer, he was led to Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP is a tool for mastering both your internal and external communication) in 1986. He became a Certified NLP Practitioner in 1990.

He had an insatiable appetite for knowledge, so he read about and studied Super Learning, Accelerated Learning, and speed reading techniques so he could learn more faster.

In 2007 he became a Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist. He researched REBT (Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy), EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique), and the Lefkoe Method for belief change.

After all of the work he has performed and information he has gathered for over 30 years, he read another 50 books on the subject of Happiness, because David believes that "the ultimate success is living a happy life."

David's 6,000 words synopsis of his happiness research is contained in Stepping Stones to Success, the book he co-authored with Dr. Denis Waitley (his first success coach), Dr. Deepak Chopra, and Jack Canfield. (Get it for free in PDF format here.)

David has been practicing meditation since 1980. A huge key to happiness, he says, is "living in the present moment" and "experiencing happiness in the NOW. Happiness happens in the now, not in the past or in the future. Meditation is simply a tool for training your mind and body to relax and be conscious (fully aware) in the present moment."

Becoming a 1st degree black belt in karate in April 2005, 2nd degree in October 2007, and 3rd degree in October 2010 has contributed to his training physically, mentally, and spiritually.

He incorporates the best of all that he has learned into his workshops: 'BLACK BELT' Time Management Training, Double Your Productivity using Microsoft Outlook, and The Happiness Workshop.

David's experience from presenting over eight hundred seminar dates to thousands of attendees in 48 of the 50 states and throughout Canada since 1999 has helped him breakdown complex concepts into easily understood language that anyone can understand. His clients ask him back and their testimonials speak for themselves.

David has conducted seminars for Verizon Wireless, DirecTV, Capital One Bank, McDonald's Corporation, Johns Hopkins University, the U.S. Army, Roche Pharmaceuticals, the training staff of ITT Technical Institute, and many others. He has been featured on Channel 4 News at Noon (Nashville, Tennessee) and Tennessee Mornings on Fox 17 in Nashville. Click here for a complete and constantly updated client list.

Comments commonly noted on feedback forms: sense of humor, personable, approachable, knowledgeable, energetic, held my attention the entire day, enthusiastic.

Highlights:

• Co-author of the Stepping Stones to Success book with Dr. Deepak Chopra, Jack Canfield and Dr. Denis Waitley
• Internationally Certified Sandan (3rd degree Black Belt) in the martial arts style of Wado-Ryu karate (way of peace and harmony)
• Award winning past-president of the National Speakers Association Tennessee (NSAT)
• Voted "NSAT Chapter Member of the Year" three times by his peers
• Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist
• Certified Practitioner of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP)
• NLP Master Practitioner Training
• Professional musician/drummer