Our friend Joe passed away from cancer on April 26, 2006 at the age of 39. These are a selection of his books that we found among his things. Joe was a wonderful, loyal, honest and generous man, and I wanted to find a way where others could still learn from him and learn about him. I created this profile, registered these books and will release them to continue his legacy. Please enjoy Joe's books and then pass them along to others so they may enjoy them too!

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Joe was born In Pennsylvania (hence a big Pittsburg Steelers fan!) and moved to California with his mom when he was 9. He was very active in the boy scouts and went far in that organization which nurtured his love for nature, hiking and backpacking. I met Joe at UCLA, where he was an engineering major. Joe, many of our good friends and I developed strong friendships while we partied the days and nights away, had tons of fun, and tried to actually graduate. He could beat anyone at quarters and got better with each beer!

After college, he worked in financial management. As his career progressed, Joe gravitated towards philanthropy and self-development, so he became a life coach and dedicated his career to helping others reach their full potential in life.

Joe loved Oingo Boingo (a love I share with him), Concrete Blonde, poker and golf. He was a master of ping pong (esp. beer pong). He was a great writer (so funny and creative!) and dabbled in acting. I think he would have been very successful in an acting or writing career where he could have fully developed these talents.

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During Joe's last days, many of us sent him letters telling him how much he meant to us. Here is a selection of quotes from a book made from these letters:

"I knew instinctively that we’d be friends from the moment I saw you. You turned out to be quite a Leader, with a capital L, a good friend, a great coach and someone I could always count on to listen with compassion and understanding!"

"You know what we love about you is how you were able to put away platefuls of steak and lobster on the Alaska cruise and the sit back and say 'so, now, where are those desserts?' And were D-- and N-- ever impressed when you picked up the ping pong paddle, it was as if the paddle was magnetic, the ball would never stray far from the paddle."

"Thanks for being my partner in party crime and getting the party going....you could always get a party going."

"You’ve inspired so many people to be open and not take that 'safe,' protective route but to break the pattern that others made in the world and to find our stars together."

"You are just the total package. Intelligent, attractive, witty, and a poet."

"You have a genuineness and warmth that made me want to know you and talk to you about anything and everything from the very first time I met you - my hopes, dreams, fears, and disappointments — without concerns of being judged, and with a great deal of empathy. And, we always had a great laugh along the way, which is incredibly refreshing and very therapeutic!"

"You are warm and compassionate. You are hilarious. You are f***ing goofy. You dance like a white boy and are damn proud to show it off. You have enriched my life simply by living parts of yours with me."

"Your genuine love, your authentic spirit, your generous heart, your thoughtful presence, your enthusiastic playfulness, your willingness to step into the unknown, your brilliant grace in leading others, your passion for abundance, your naturally warm friendship have always and will continue to fill my heart and being."

"Joe was like family. When I went to UCLA, I was incredibly lucky to come across a group of people whose friendship I would cherish for life, and Joe was at the very center."

"There was a time in my life when everything felt like it was going wrong — my marriage, my job, my path in life, and my balance. And then you came along and made my heart laugh at a time when I couldn’t see the sun in the sky because my eyes were full of clouds...You helped me get on a path of joy, and I’m trying to never look back."

"Joe, what I will always remember about you is your gentle and loving presence; you created the space for me to be whole and loved exactly as I was."

"Being instant friends for 20 years comes with so many memories of fun and wonderful moments...each moment surprisingly genuine and true…but that’s what you get from Joe....Your enthusiam and energy had an impact on me from the get-go. So kind and so generous and so easy-going, EVERYONE always wants to be around you."

"I can always count on you Joe…for anything…definitely to make me laugh. Whether it be from Vogue-ing or dancing the Joe swagger to making funny faces or neck dancing, or just sunning in the backyard hanging out."

"You have a great laugh, an infectious smile and a love of fun that adds a sense of play to everyone around you."

"You were the embodiment of positive energy, and our fraternity depended on it, fed off of it, and was fueled by it....You cut across artificial social divisions and loved everybody. You seized the opportunities for friendships, and you lived the experience to the maximum"

"Keanu Reeves can't even compare in handsomeness to you Joe, but is still doesn't stop me from pointing out EVERY gorgeous, tall man we see to my husband and proclaiming one word: 'Joe!'. That's my standard for 'scrumptious, tall, all-American'"

"We love you Uncle Joe...It doesn’t surprise us that you are so well loved by so many. You are certainly loved by us.

"Joey, you are one of the best people I know. You are kind, sincere, creative, funny, generous, loyal and thoughtful. And did I mention funny?"

"Who you are makes me think of a pebble thrown into a still lake. The ripples keep going and expanding, on and on. You will never know how many lives you have touched."

"We were sitting in the hospital last month discussing things. You mother was there...We were praising your virtues. She was talking about how even as a little kid you were always very compassionate to others especially those less social. You could find the dorkiest kids, take them under your wing and become good friends. You shot back to me 'and why do you think I’m hanging out with you?'"

"I don’t think you have a mean streak anywhere in your body."

"The Joe we know is this enormously 'present' soul who captures your attention with the intensity of his listening. It was always impossible to NOT be present with you – like you have a magnetism that forces others to be present to themselves and the moment – good, bad or otherwise....it’s OK to be who we are, feel what we feel. You were the one that we could go to, be with, to just 'be.'"

"‘Just shut up and grovel’ was just lesson one from Joe. As we traveled the highway of life together from college to real life, Joe and I had countless adventures together and he went on to teach me many lessons such as: how not to gamble in Vegas; why a Tommy’s burger taste better at 1am; how to master the quadruped-back; why it’s not fun to be Keystone Boy; and poker. I appreciate those lessons. Now my friend Joe is very sick. Ultimately, he has given me one more lesson, one I think he does not really recognizes. For me, the world is now and forever different place. I will never again take for granted the rain, a smile or a good friend. It is a brutal, most painful lesson to learn."

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I close with some words written by Joe himself.

An invitation:
Stand — For yourself, your loved ones, and for everyone you encounter.
Stand — For greatness, for growth, and for endless discovery.
Stand — For the miraculous, for the unreasonable, for possibility.
STAND. For no reason other than having a life worth LIVING.

A recipe from Joe:

Inspiration Soufflé
1. Share yourself liberally.
2. Sprinkle in some authentic communication according to taste.
3. Add above to a base of unreasonable requests and/or promises, and then simmer.
4. Garnish with some compassion, forgiveness and acknowledgment.
5. Serve. Will feed an unlimited number of guests.
Use this any time. Call me if you need support finding any ingredients.
Love and Greatness,
Joe

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This profile was created by and is maintained by MonkeyGirl.

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