Transformation leads to positive outlook on life

John Sommerfeld quit school and traveled the country as a teenager.

“It’s all about surrounding yourself with the right people. It’s so easy to get with people who can persuade you to do things that are not right. You know they’re not right, but you just want to fit in like I did. I wanted to be like these guys. I wanted to feel that I was liked. And it ended up going in a really bad direction. It took me to places in my life that I really didn’t want to be.

“But I learned that if you surround yourself with positive people, people who will uplift you without bringing you down, then it’s a really positive thing to do in your life. I’ve cut out a lot of people who were really negative. They still try to contact me today, and I just don’t want to have anything to do with them. They’re still out there getting messed up, doing the same things they did 15 years ago.

“People I hang around with now are about being kind, doing the right thing and treating your fellow man like you want to be treated. It makes me feel really good about myself that I’m associating with people who would rather shake your hand and hold the door for you than flip you off and be rude.”

— John Sommerfeld, 40