A lot of Americans are down on their luck these days, but few have had to endure the unexpected knocks of life that Kevin Lawler has over the past four years.

Two-thousand-eight was to be a promising year for the Rockland County, NY husband and father.  That was the year the former Merrill Lyncher opened his own financial services firm.  Two months after its doors opened, world markets collapsed. Mr. Lawler’s family’s life savings were soon after stolen by a Ponzi schemer — they lost virtually everything — forcing him and his wife to sell their homes — just as he learned that he had Multiple Sclerosis, severe bouts of which took away his ability to walk and speak. He fought back time and again in a physical rehab center to re-learn how to walk, only to find out last year that he had Stage Three cancer, all at the age of 51.

Mr. Lawler, the father of a work colleague, is seen speaking here at a church in Piermont, NY. Strikingly missing from his remarks is any hint of bitterness. Indeed, he exudes an utter sense of serenity, far more than so many of us with jobs, homes, and good health do. 

I’d appreciate those of you who get something out of Kevin’s talk to pass it along. He and his story are worth more people knowing.