Frank Johnson

Frank Johnson

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Posts by Frank Johnson

Are You Ready to Be a ‘Silent Angel’ ?

Fantastic Frank with Angela Leigh Tucker

Fantastic Frank with Angela Leigh Tucker

A friend of mine, Angela Leigh Tucker, was recently awarded the “Silent Angel Award” by the Brain Injury Association of NY State (BIANYS). You can find her story, along with mine, in The Chicken Soup for the Soul: Recovering from Traumatic Brain Injury.

The Silent Angel award “Recognizes those who make it possible for others to be in the forefront of the association’s activities.”

I just love this concept of a “silent angel” and came to find, from searching the internet, that there are many, many “silent angels” out there. I found groups related to animal rescue, real estate, Rett syndrom, etc… the point is that, there is help.

A great quote from one of them is: “So why are we silent? Because doing the right thing is all that really matters.”

This got me thinking of all the ways that each and every person can be a silent angel to someone else. Don’t be daunted – it doesn’t have to involve raising millions of dollars to charities….. How about a smile?

What is it that you can do to uplift another person?

No matter what your own circumstance, there is something you can do/share/be. Take my friend Angela Leigh Tucker – she incurred a traumatic brain injury in a car accident that killed her husband. And she found a way to make a difference. Sometimes when we lift others up, it uplifts our own spirits as well.

Give it a try.

Researching The Proper Knowledge Can Save Your Life

Fantastic Frank JohnsonThe Brain Injury Association of NY State (BIANYS) recently had its Annual Conference, at which I had the opportunity to talk to an audience of about 200 people. Something rather eye-opening was that about half the audience was not aware of the resources I was telling them about!

This really shouldn’t surprise me, because I encounter it all the time, perhaps even more outside the “differently-abled” community. When someone is “differently-abled” they know on some level, to varying degrees of acceptance, that they need help.

How about you?

What keeps you up at night?

Is there something you need help with, and are afraid to admit it?

My life-saving advice to you, is to take the first step, by researching help on the internet. You will be amazed at the wealth of resources available for every kind of challenge. Once you see there are others that share your pain, it will become easier to make the next step, which is to reach out to someone and share your story.

Depending on your needs, many organizations and professionals provide confidential services in which you may remain anonymous. The key is to PRESUME THERE IS HELP, and look for it with the EXPECTATION that you WILL FIND IT.

 

 

 

Fantastic Frank and Michele Camacho on WROC CBS News – Hear why I wear a cape!

WROC Ch 8 interview with myself and Michele Camacho. Michele wrote the story “Fantastic Frank”, which is published in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Recovering from Traumatic Brain Injuries. Hear my answer to the question of why I wear a cape!

by Fantastic Frank Johnson
Author of “From Flawed to Fantastic”

PS – Do you need an Inspirational Speaker? Check out my site and get in touch to see if I have your dates available http://www.fantasticfrankjohnson.com/speaker/

“Fantastic Frank” Story by Michele Camacho in Chicken Soup for the Soul – Rochester In Focus Interview

WHEC, Rochester In Focus, interview with myself and Michele Camacho. Hear the endearing backstory of why “Marvelous” Michele wrote the story “Fantastic Frank”, which is published in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Recovering from Traumatic Brain Injuries.

by Fantastic Frank Johnson
Author of “From Flawed to Fantastic”

PS – Do you need an Inspirational Speaker? Check out my site and get in touch to see if I have your dates available http://www.fantasticfrankjohnson.com/speaker/

Arsenio Hall Meets Fantastic Frank Johnson

Arsenio Hall and Fantastic Frank Johnson shake hands in the studio of the Arsenio Hall Show in Los Angeles.

Fantastic Frank Arsenio Hall

by Fantastic Frank Johnson
Author of “From Flawed to Fantastic”

PS – Do you need an Inspirational Speaker? Check out my site and get in touch to see if I have your dates available http://www.fantasticfrankjohnson.com/speaker/

Want to Get the Most Out of Your Mentors?

To get the most out of your mentors, don’t take their advice 100% of the time!
Now, that may sound like I’m telling you to disregard them, but that’s not where I’m coming from.

Listen to them carefully, and then use discretion when deciding what to do, because YOU are the only one that has the full perspective of YOUR life.

Having and using mentors is crucial to success – I even dedicated an entire chapter to mentors in my book “From Flawed to Fantastic.”

The thing is, blindly doing whatever a mentor tells you to do is recipe for disaster.

You choose mentors because they have had phenomenal success in a particular area of expertise.

You may have one mentor for marketing your business, another for financial investing, and another for exercise.

One theory I want to dispel is that concept that if you do exactly what someone else has done, that you will get
the exact same results. This is false.

Why? Because you are unique. Your talents and your life circumstances are different than your mentor’s.

Let’s say for example that the famed opera singer, Pavarotti, mentored me to sing opera, when he himself was at the height of his career.

And let’s say that he allowed me to live with him and shadow him 24/7, so that I could do the same vocal exercises, rehearsals, etc.

The result would have been an utter failure!

You see, my vocal chords were damaged by an emergency tracheotomy that saved my life. It is a medical condition, and I will never be able to sing because of it.

The reason following some one else’s advice “exactly” doesn’t yield the exact same result, is because you are unique! You can never walk in another’s foot path the same way that they are teaching you! Even if you had the determination to do it, you cannot do it “exactly” the way they have done it – the parameters have changed!

So what do you need to do to grow and become successful ?

First, you must be aware of this fact that it’s highly unlikely that you will get the same results as the person whose previous feats got you enthusiastic.

Next, you must be guided by your own sense of what will work for you!

It may be that you tweak their instruction, by adding or subtracting various other components of the plan that they are asking you to perform!

Now I am not saying that this will guarantee you will have the level of success that you may have hoped for….

It may just become a bigger “problem” than before – that’s when the tough get going!

Take responsibility for your choices, consult with your mentors on your new status, and boldly move forward!

by Fantastic Frank Johnson
Author of “From Flawed to Fantastic”

PS – Do you need an Inspirational Speaker? Check out my site and get in touch to see if I have your dates available http://www.fantasticfrankjohnson.com/speaker/

Fantastic Frank Johnson on WXXI Need to Know Rochester

Sharing Triumph over Tradgedy! This interview on WXXI, Need to Know Rochester, starts off with a story of me being published in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Recovering from Traumatic Brain Injuries, and then goes in depth about my journey and my mission to inspire millions.

by Fantastic Frank Johnson
Author of “From Flawed to Fantastic”

PS – Do you need an Inspirational Speaker? Check out my site and get in touch to see if I have your dates available http://www.fantasticfrankjohnson.com/speaker/

Would You Endure What This Man Did, to Fulfill a Heart’s Desire?

Last night I asked my friend out to a movie that he desperately wanted to see. I had no idea how much pain he’d have to do endure to make it happen.

He uses a motorized wheelchair – the bulky kind that doesn’t collapse, and can’t be put in the trunFantastic Frank Johnsonk of a car. He had a service which provided transportation with a specially designed van – but he had let the service expire.

Most people, I suppose, would have just stayed home, and part of him was ready to give up. But, he wanted to see this movie so much, that we started brainstorming how to make it happen. He chose the only option that seemed feasible, which was to leave the wheelchair home, and use his walker.

This sounded simple to me, until I witnessed the degree of pain he was in when using his walker. He had not used it in 3 months, and he had lost much of the strength required to walk with it. At first it looked like he was in discomfort, but by the time he finally made it to the seat in the movie theater, he looked like he was really suffering. Any further, and it would have been agony.

I travel all across the county inspiring people to find the Hero In You, and last night, I was the one learning this lesson from my friend. We must all learn from one another, cherish our moments together, and love without judgment.

Here’s to You, and Your Hero Within.

by Fantastic Frank Johnson
Author of “From Flawed to Fantastic”

PS – Do you need an Inspirational Speaker? Check out my site and get in touch to see if I have your dates available http://www.fantasticfrankjohnson.com/speaker/

Going Beyond Challenges for New Year’s

It’s New Year’s Eve and excitement is in the air! Why not start “ringing in the new” with new ways of going beyond challenges that sneak up at this time of year? Here are some ideas:

Do you fit any of these descriptions?

1) No idea whose New Year’s Eve offer to accept

2) No offers to accept!!!

3) No incentive or the drive to call up and ask someone what to do.

4) No way to be creative in getting yourself invited somewhere
(You feel like a party crasher, and maybe feel left out, and so you are lost)

5) No plans, as you may have let things go to the last minute (like I have done!!)

and finally

6) No desire to participate in celebration madness.

 

My suggestion for anyone who feels this way is to think out side the box like I have,
and come up with these ideas to energize your life this New Year’s.
Here are some possible solutions:

1) Listen to a Blog Talk Radio Show tonight and tomorrow,
and connect with people who are in the same boat as you are!!

2) Take care of yourself, mentally, spiritually and physically.

3) Make a list of your accomplishments or activities that I had fun doing through out the year.
This can be a challenge if you have not made up a list that you add to on a periodic basis!
Think of this as a game that you can do for yourself if you are alone, or with your partner.
Be sure you keep this record someplace easily accessible, to update throughout the new year.

5) Set your goals (which I call outcomes) for the next year.

6) Start your budgeting process for the upcoming year, with money allocated to your personal growth.
Most importantly, be optimistic about the coming year,
and have fun!!!

Don’t let your circumstances or your disability control your life!!

by Fantastic Frank Johnson
Author of “From Flawed to Fantastic”

PS – Do you need an Inspirational Speaker? Check out my site and get in touch to see if I have your dates available http://www.fantasticfrankjohnson.com/speaker/

A Way to Bring Happiness and Good Will Into the Holidays

It’s that time of the year when you are thinking about how to spend your time, money (or resources as I like to call them!!!)

Whether or not you have a traumatic brain injury (TBI), you may have these kinds of challenges: 

1) no money to buy gifts
2) no idea as to what to get the people on your list
3) no list
4) no way to be creative in writing out a holiday card.
5) you may have let things go to the last minute (like I have done!!)

and finally

6) no desire to want to engage in any of the holiday madness!!

My suggestion for anyone who feels this way is to think outside the box like the clients at the Freedom Center. We have decided to visit a nursing home in the area, and give not money nor purchases, but rather something more meaningful – we are giving our presence to people who are shut-ins.

You may be wondering how this will help you with other people like friends, family members, acquaintances, whom you may feel you have let down. I have the solution for that situation… when you give love by doing something like our group is going to do..take a picture of the event or incident, makes copies of it and give them away as “presents” to your friends, family members and acquaintances.

Because that is what Holiday Giving is all about – Giving Love!

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