To many, Don Johnson is living the kind of life that many people only dream about: a loving family, a nice home, nice cloths, plenty to eat, and lots and lots of grown-up toys. But Don's life hasn't always been this good.
Abuse, neglect, hunger and most of all the absence of love marred Don's childhood. He came to believe very early in his life that he was worthless and unwanted. Don lived with his mother and stepdad. He spent most of his time trying to stay out of the way of his abusive stepdad who would take out his rage and frustration on Don and his mother. There were no luxuries, the family didn't own a TV and Don had no toys to play with. Don's mother and stepdad didn't even think a bed was necessary for Don to sleep in so he slept on the floor.
As a youngster, Don's playground was the cement pavement of the downtown-shopping district. Don would be left to play among the storefronts and parked cars while his mother and stepdad visited the bars alone the boulevard. The lack of supervision resulted in Don being hit by a car on four separate occasions between the ages of five and eight. As Don got older his self-image and self-esteem plummeted. At school he was constantly reminded of everything he wanted and longed for but could not have. So to compensate, he resorted to stealing clothes from the local department stores in order to have the clothes that he felt would help him fit in.
At night Don spent hours sitting at the window in the small two-room apartment that he called home waiting for his abusive stepdad and neglectful mother to come staggering down the sidewalk from their nightly routine of drinking at the local bar. Don was petrified of his stepdad and for a good reason. There were many nights when Don's stepdad would come home in a drunken rage and yank Don from his sleeping spot on the floor and slap him around just because he was there and unwanted. If Don wasn't hiding for cover himself, Don had to listen to his mother's tortured screams as his stepdad slapping her around and twisted her arms.around and twisted her arms.
At one point, Don's sister made an effort to rescue him from the isolation, hunger, and abuse that he suffered through living with his mother and stepdad. But her family of six kids already stretched their meager resources thin. While Don now had food to eat and a family to live with he had little else.
As he neared his teenage years, life for Don went from bad to worse. He began to hang out with a bad crowd of kids. Their idea of fun was to get into trouble with the law. Life became so tough for Don that he secretly wished he would get arrested and sent to a detention home where he felt as if he would fit in and feel equal to everyone else. Don spent the next several years in and out of trouble with the law and eventually at the age of fifteen was sent to the Durand Boys' Farm School in Durand, IL. Don spent a year there but it was to be a year that turned his life around.
TURNING POINT
At the Durand Boys' Farm School, Don found the kind of environment that he had always longed for. The staff was strict but supportive and they truly cared about the boys under their care. They treated Don like the parents he never had. They showed that they cared about him by teaching him discipline, responsibility, respect, and the value of hard work. And in response Don volunteered for difficult work details and worked harder than anyone else there. Don's hard work and attitude eventually earned him many school honors and privileges like head of the table, dorm daddy, and the highest school honor, Privileged Character (PC) which meant that he moved into separate quarters with his own TV.
It was at the Durand Boys' Farm School that Don began to realize that he had the power to bring value and respect to his life. And he liked the way that felt. It was at this time that Don made a pivotal decision. He decided that whatever he chose to do in life he would strive to be the best at it. So after twelve long months, Don Johnson was released from the Durand Boys Farm School with a sense of direction and a new attitude.
So Don moved back home with his mother and stepdad. Don now found himself 16 years old and in the same environment that had gotten him into the Durand Boys' Farm School, however something had changed. Don had changed. He was no longer a defenseless child at the mercy of a drunken stepdad and an irresponsible alcoholic mother. Due to the nurturing and structured environment at the school Don knew that he was a worthwhile human being and that he could take care of himself.
PUT TO THE TEST
At seventeen, Don decided he'd had enough and it was time for him to move out of his mother and stepdad's home. Don hooked up with a friend and the two of them moved to Arlington Heights, Illinois. In Arlington Heights Don found his first full-time job at a paper manufacturing company. While Don was glad that he was able to earn his keep, the position was an unimaginative second shift job that made eight hours seem like eight days. So when a position opened up as a set-up man for the machinists Don jumped at the chance to do something challenging. However, Don's supervisor said that Don wasn't big enough for the job. Don pleaded with his supervisor to at least give him the opportunity to try and finally the supervisor relented.
Don quickly found out why his supervisor was concerned about his size. Part of this new position was to set rolls of paper onto a metal dolly. The problem was that the rolls of paper weighed approximately 3500 pounds and they had to be lifted up and over the front lip of the dolly. At 5' 7" and 130 pounds, Don could see that this job was not going to be easy but he accepted the challenge anyway. Don worked for hours trying to figure out how to get that first roll of paper onto that dolly. He tried pushing, he tried pulling, he tried lifting but nothing seemed to work. After three long hours all Don had accomplished was to be able to roll the roll of paper faster and faster but he still hadn't figured out how to get it up over the lip of the dolly.
Then suddenly, quite by accident, Don made an incredible discovery. He found that his knee was just the right height to hit the middle of the roll. So Don built up some momentum with that first roll of paper and as the roll hit the lip of the dolly he used his knee as leverage and, without much effort, popped it up and over the lip and into the cradle of the dolly. Don was elated. He had managed to do what many much larger men had not been able to accomplish. His size, which his supervisor had thought was a disadvantage, actually turned into the advantage that Don needed to accomplish the task.
To make a point, Don set up 30 of those heavy paper rolls and then one after the other he delivered them to the machinists. By the time he was finished, the machinists were so impressed that they all stopped what they were doing and applauded him. That was the beginning of a wonderful working relationship with the machinists. By striving to be the best at what he was doing, Don managed to make himself invaluable to the machinists. Don became such an asset to the machinists that when he decided to move on a year later, all twelve machinists begged him to stay.
DON'S LIFE TODAY
That success did a lot to confirm Don's new belief in his ability to have the kind of life he had always longed for. Today Don's life is very different from his early beginnings. Don's positive attitude, his optimistic outlook, and his work ethic have allowed him to succeed at every challenge he has taken on, from sales, to inventing, to composing, to business.
In the early 1970s Don discovered that he had a gift for sales, which has continued to be the backbone of his working life. Don has distinguished himself as a top-notch sales representative selling products ranging from food and beverage to the amusement industry. He has won countless sales contests and commendations and was even selected for inclusion in the 1995-96 edition of Who's Who in Executives and Professionals.
In 1985, Don decided to put his talents to use in his own dry cleaning business. Again his goal of being the best at whatever he does rang true. He began to offer home delivery and pick-up service and expanded the business into the commercial arena. In less than five years the annual sales volume increased by 400% and the number of store locations grew from one to eight drop-off and pickup locations.
Don has also earned the distinction of being known as an inventor. He has designed and developed two innovative products, the Tournament Master and the Mobile Office. The Tournament Master is a reusable display board for tournament tracking which has gained renown all over the world. The Mobile Office is a custom designed office system that fits into a mini-van. Don uses it for his own business and has marketed it to other mobile professionals.
Don's creativity also extends into the music industry. In 1992 he composed two beautiful pieces of music, Eternally and Ride the Wind. Not being content to let his compositions sit in a drawer, Don sent them to the world famous pianist/composer/orchestra leader, Mr. Henry Mancini. Mr. Mancini was so impressed that he took the time to personally write to Don and commend him for his talent.
For the past twelve years, Don has been running his own very successful marketing business, D.L. Johnson Marketing Group. The company's logo is "QPII, Quality Products, Innovative Ideas". He also decided to take another chance at becoming an employee again. This time for the nation's largest office coffee service. And in no time at all Don has again established himself as one of the company's top achievers. Don enjoys the challenge of finding companies to represent that operate with integrity and offer products of quality that he can trust and believe in.
Don's philosophy is to fight for what he believes in. That's why he is eager to share his secrets of success with people who have the heart to hear his message. He has taken the principles he learned at the Durand Boys' Farm School and developed tools that he uses in his own everyday life and business. Some of these tools include Words With Meaning, Copyright © 2001 Don L. Johnson, Web of Deceit, Copyright © 2002 Don L. Johnson, The Analogy of the Farmer In The Sell, Copyright © 2001 Don L. Johnson, and the Acronym of the P.H.O.N.E, Copyright © 1997 Don L. Johnson.
Inspired by the Durand Boys' Farm School staff, Don has been able to rise above the neglect and abuse that he suffered as a child. He's convinced that he's not unique in being able to overcome adversity in life but people need direction in order to reach that destination. That is why he created M.I.T. Motivational Integrity Thinking. Don hopes to inspire others to be all that they can be just like the staff of the Durand Boys' Farm School inspired him. The Durand Boys' Farm School no longer exists but it is alive in Don Johnson and he hopes to bring that inspiration alive in others so they can rise to the challenge of overcoming their past and realize the future of their dreams.
- Linda Kleczkowski