A Janitor's Life

I invite you into A Janitor's Life, Volume 1: The Making of a Janitor, the first of my transformative trilogy, spanning the 1970s to 1989. This is my story, starting with a jangling key ring in a Colorado school. I transformed a teenager's janitorial role into a life-saving mission. From rural hardships to running a cleaning empire, I faced the sting of bankruptcy, rebuilt in St. Louis, and found resilience. It's not just my past; it's proof that janitorial work is a recession-proof path to leadership. Volumes 2 (The Salesman's Path) and 3 (A Legacy of Health) await, promising sales triumphs and global impact. With over fifty years in the trade, I owned and operated Maintenance Plus, I've cleaned gold-plated toilets and sold janitorial supplies, before starting the Academy of Cleaning Excellence, which you'll learn about in the third volume of the trilogy. My father Don, stepfather Virgil, and that trusting janitor all had a hand in shaping me, while my podcast sign-off, "healthy, positive, proactive," drives my mission today. I've touched hundreds directly, thousands indirectly, proving every scrub counts. This memoir isn't just my life; it's a call to recognize the dignity in our work. I turned mops into a movement, showing that where you start or end doesn't define you; it's the journey. I am a Janitor, and I Save Lives®.