a great ride begins with a dream
I've always loved to drive the 101 Hollywood Freeway, passing by the Hollywood sign and winding around the hills and palm trees to the north and the historic entertainment district to the south. There's something about the creativity, freedom and excitement of Hollywood where people come from all over the world with great passion and sacrifice to fulfill the visions and dreams of their lives.
My own Hollywood dream halted suddenly in 2007 when immediate cancer treatment outweighed the importance of career goals, with my own visions and dreams quickly blurred by the distance of time and the unknown outcome of a rapidly advancing case of stage 4 Burkitt's Lymphoma.
The greatest challenge I faced during my cancer battle was envisioning what life would be like on the other side of treatment. The physical battle was one thing, but how would I survive financially?
Through the miracles of modern medicine, the love of my partner, family & friends, and the many miracles from heaven, the chemotherapy and bone marrow stem cell transplant was a success, and I've somehow survived the financial storm of a catastrophic illness.
But I am one of the very fortunate ones who had a safety net of health insurance, access to some of the world's finest healthcare professionals and services, and the love and support necessary to beat the cancer battle. Throughout my health-related challenges, I could only keep thinking of the scores of other people out there who don't have a support system. I was compelled to do something to help those facing their life challenges!
Soon after my treatment, I spoke with Leron Gubler, longtime President & CEO of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce about the fascinating proposed Hollywood Freeway Central Park over the 101 Hollywood Freeway. While I found it intriguing but very improbable, he said "it's totally possible -- it all begins with a dream!" It really made me think about the visions and dreams that are essential to both battle life-threatening and critical health conditions and to motivate us to be creative and do things that make a positive impact in the world.
serious gear shifting...
Having been given a shot of Leron's infectious optimism, I set out on my own new ride starting right in Hollywood... with the goal of helping people to get a vision for their lives and empowering them with the tools and resources to make things happen!
The first step would be creating the getavisionFUND, a microfunding program which would get much needed cash into the hands of people facing health & financial challenges. With the encouragement of people like financial industry specialist Richard Roscher and others, it seemed like something that just HAD to be done.
The next step was to discover that I was not alone in my conviction that LOVE was integral to my cancer journey. In fact, the new "Science of Love & Health," pioneered over the past several decades by Dr. Stephen Post, provides the scientific validity of the healing nature of love. The Director of the Center for Medical Humanities, Compassionate Care, and Bioethics Department of Preventive Medicine at Stony Brook University, his research compelled me to push further for other solutions to healthcare crises.
Coming across the work of Dr. Edgar Cahn, the creator of Time Dollars and founder of TimeBanks USA, the community building elements of Time Banking and a global Barter Exchange seemed to be a very natural progression for people seeking physical and financial health for themselves, their friend, families, and communities.
Finally, Stanford University's Dr. BJ Fogg's global Peace Dot Innovation would complete a full vision for taking a transformed personal life into the community in such a way that one could become a true change-maker in the world.
Now, partnering numerous businesses and non-profits such as the National LGBT Cancer Network and supporting the Lance Armstrong Foundation and the community of fellow survivors, I look forward to embarking on an exciting journey to draw together a "radically inclusive" family here in Hollywood and around the world.
Join us for the ride!
- John Boswell
