Change Starts Here: Leaning Into the Present

 

Facing adversity from a young age, Dr. John “Push” Gaines, a professional speaker and leadership consultant, was not sure where his life would end up – but he was sure of one thing: he would persevere. On this, Dr. Gaines speaks to host Dustin Odham about his experience in persevering and the importance of leaning into the present.

“Persevere until something happens,” said Dr. Gaines. Dr. Gaines grew up in the Hilltop community in Tacoma, WA, a community notorious, at the time, for the crime. Now a mentorship advocate, Dr. Gaines’ childhood was unfortunately filled with traumatizing experiences, including finding his deceased mother, who passed away from a crack-cocaine overdose.

Despite this, Dr. Gaines continued to push through the pain to persevere. Although born with drugs in his system, he found an educator who helped him change his life. Decorated with pictures of inspirational changemakers, his childhood classroom teacher asked the class to write out their dreams.

Seeing a picture of a man who looked like him, Dr. Martin Luther King, Dr. Gaines knew two things: He wanted to be like the man he saw on the wall and a football player. He said, “I remember looking up on the wall and I saw a man that kind of looked like me that was doing something great…and I said ‘I want to be like him’…I want to change and inspire the world…” Dr. Gaines teacher told him that she believed in him. He reflected, “Her belief in me changed my life…that was the first time that I believed in myself.”

In addition to his goal to be like Dr. King, Dr. Gaines knew he also wanted to be what he never had: a present father. “I’m always thinking about my family. How am I elevating my family? How am I representing my family? How am I leaving a legacy for my family? So, who I am drives what I do,” said Dr. Gaines. As a husband and a father, everything else secondary, he said.

“Right now, I am in a season of perseverance until something happens and I believe that that is the core and the foundation of ‘push’ because I believe that perseverance is developed through pain,” reflected Dr. Gaines. While opportunities to continue or quit will come along, how you respond and who can support you in this response is key.

Every young person is one “I believe” away from changing their life, said Dr. Gaines.

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Image

Latest

digital freight invoicing
ODeX Is Leading the Charge in Digital Freight Invoicing
April 24, 2025

Global shipping continues to grapple with fragmented billing processes, often delaying cargo movement. According to McKinsey, adopting an electronic bill of lading could save $6.5 billion in direct costs and enable $40 billion in global trade. As vessels carry goods for thousands of shippers per voyage, the administrative burden of managing and reconciling invoices…

Read More
Human Intelligence Movement
Just Thinking… about Reimagining Education for the AI Era with the Human Intelligence Movement
April 24, 2025

As artificial intelligence reshapes education, work, and daily life, educators are grappling with how to prepare students for a future where human skills—not just knowledge—will be paramount. In fact, a growing number of reports highlight that employers increasingly value collaboration, communication, and emotional intelligence over memorized content. Amid this transformation, the Human Intelligence Movement…

Read More
The Value of a Restoration Team with Healthcare Experience
The Value of a Restoration Team with Healthcare Experience
April 24, 2025

In this episode of Inside Restoration & Recovery, host Martha Lewis welcomes Jason McClaren, Director of Facilities Operations at Reunion Rehabilitation Hospitals, to discuss the critical advantage of partnering with a restoration team experienced in healthcare. A former firefighter and military veteran, Jason has spent the last decade managing safety, risk, and emergency preparedness…

Read More
Science of reading
Educators Must Combine 1:1 Tutoring with the Science of Reading to Close the Reading Gap
April 23, 2025

Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, the education system faced a seismic shift. Learning loss, especially in foundational literacy, was a national crisis. In 2024, only 31% of fourth graders in the U.S. were reading proficiently, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Meanwhile, tutoring exploded as a top strategy to recover…

Read More