A Boyhood Hero Obsession Came to Life in a Personal and Professional Journey

A personal brand comes in all sizes, shapes and aspirations.

For me, the sport of golf in many ways defines the leisure part. From past to present, it has always occupied a great room in my identity house.

Back in the day as a young boy growing up in Northeastern Pennsylvania, if you loved golf as much as I did, Arnold Palmer quickly became part of your hero worship.

Talk about an iconic personal brand. A 'hitch-up your britches', athletic swagger dripping with charisma down every fairway. No one had seen anything like that before on TV in the 1960s modern era.

Arnold Palmer changed the sport, and made it a game for the masses, forever.

That was The King!

For me, he was larger than life. And along with his wife Winnie, the Palmers were the rock stars of their day.

I wanted to be just like Arnie.

After all, we're just two guys from PA, right?

So, I mowed lawns in the summer heat just to be able to earn some $$, learn the game, and play 36 holes one day each week.

I remember it like yesterday... walking 18 holes with golfing buds in the morning at Green Pond Country Club, grabbing lunch at the snack bar, then going out to walk 18 more in the afternoon.

Sometimes I paid. Sometimes I didn't. My dad knew the pro. A first lesson in 'connections.'

I also practiced alone in my backyard, orchestrating chipping and putting tournaments and initialing the golf balls with the leading pros of the day....AP JN, GP, BC, BD, DS, etc. Not surprisingly, the AP ball won a lot. (test...can you name the other initials?)

It was Heaven for a 13-year old boy and his hero worshipping.

I'm also a firm believer that personal situations in life connect to professional opportunities later, and when they happen, they do so for a reason.

Carpe Diem!

Fast forward 40+ years from that backyard, and I was offered the opportunity to be the head of marketing at Orlando Health in Central Florida. Sealing the deal for me at that last interview was being handed a golf visor autographed by Arnold Palmer. Show me the papers, I'm ready to sign this deal!

You see, Orlando Health is home for two very special healthcare facilities...Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies.

These two wonderful healthcare organizations make up Arnold Palmer Medical Center, and are a huge part of the Arnold & Winnie Palmer Foundation and the Palmer brand legacy. The physicians, nurses and caregivers in these two facilities birth babies, care for 'preemies' and sick children, perform miracles and save lives everyday.

So, you might have already guessed where this is going.

Part of the thrill of my journey in building a professional career and personal brand was the opportunity to support the marketing of those two organizations, formally meet a childhood hero - Arnold Palmer - getting to know and work alongside his daughter Amy, other family members, as well as those in the golfing and corporate world, play in a few AP Invitational pro-am tournaments, all while building life long friendships.

I will never forget shaking Arnold Palmer's hand for the first time at a luncheon at Bay Hill, and as people would always say, having him look you in the eye with a greeting as if you're the only person in the room.

That was Arnold Palmer.

Those nine years in Orlando were special. A professional and personal joy.

Today, it has come full circle. I'm back home in PA supporting healthcare organizations as a consultant and using what I learned all along the journey to now 'pay it forward.'

In life, our personal brand will cross paths with certain people for a reason. We are supposed to meet them. When it happens to you, seize the opportunity.

What started as an obsession to be like my hero, turned into meeting my hero. And now, that experience is grounding for me to support others while borrowing a mantra often used by Arnold Palmer..."live a life well played."

And the beauty of the experience and all those memories is that I can still tee it up at Green Pond today with my best buds as the journey continues.

'Long live The King...'