The Photos from Extraordinary

The speakers from Spectrum Sound and Lights.

The actual equipment from the DJ business I started at thirteen. Frank Beskidniak at Bes Music rented these to a kid on a handshake. I still have them, thirty years later.

The original Spectrum Sound and Lights t-shirt.

Multiple Best Men still have theirs. This one came from Brian Laur, thirty years later. The guys who helped run the DJ business in high school kept the proof.

With the Sugar Hill Gang.

The kid who broke down at a podium at seventeen ended up on stage with the Sugar Hill Gang. The butterflies never went away. I just learned to get them in formation.

Monaco — that night.

Mary Beth and I with the Sugar Hill Gang after the show. From a fifth-grade recital gone wrong to a stage in Monaco. The courage arc took thirty years.

Monaco — the next morning.

Outside the Monte Carlo hotel, right after breakfast the next morning. "Man, you killed it last night."

Mario's friends in their caps and gowns.

Kids I coached from kindergarten through eighth grade asked me to get in a picture with them. I was the only adult that day they asked. One of them said, "We have to take a picture with the winningest K-8 coach in the history of volunteer coaches."

Senior Night — women's high school basketball.

Four years earlier, the same thing happened. The senior girls asked Coach Ken and Coach Geno to be in the Senior Night photo. Once is a nice moment. Twice is a pattern.

The bourbon cabinet.

Almost every bottle in it is a thank-you gift. The crystal globe is the John Duffy Award. The Splunk awards sit next to the bourbon. Career receipts and gratitude sharing the same shelves.

Youth and Government — Sesser-Valier delegation, Illinois State Capitol.

Behind the Governor's desk in Springfield with my delegation from Sesser-Valier High School. Multiple Best Men and lifelong friends are in this photo. The scene that became the rest of my life started here.

With Governor Jim Edgar — the Schwing.

Presenting a Bill Book from Youth and Government to the late Illinois Governor Jim Edgar. Craig, Chip, and Adam — all Best Men, thirty years later — pulling the "Schwing" from Wayne's World. Lifelong friends start as kids messing around in front of governors.

Geno Jr. — IHSA Sectional Champions, 2021.

He has a permanent spinal cord injury. He had to quit football, wrestling, and lacrosse. During COVID, he built his own fitness system when nobody was watching. The varsity team called him up as a freshman for the state playoffs. This is what BE-DO-HAVE looks like.

Geno Jr. — State playoffs.

They finished third in the state. He scored in one of the playoff games. The crowd went nuts.

Matt's son's school assignment.

A child wrote the entire thesis of this book in his own handwriting. "Give someone a hand if they need it. Be respectful always to all people." The traits he admired in his coach weren't athletic. They were "leadership" and "kind."

Cooper's letter to Coach Geno.

"You are the best coach ever in the world." He gave me his Antonio Brown football card — the highest currency a kid that age has.

Mom's Practice.

During Respect Week, every player brought a rose to practice for their mom. The kids are proud. The moms are surprised. Dynasty on a football field at sunset.

Graduation day — Tony, Dad, Mom, and me.

This is the day my brother Tony handed me Stephen Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. That book became the foundation of every system I've built for thirty years. Tony didn't write The 7 Habits. He just knew who needed to read it.