Letters To Our Younger Selves: A Combat Manual For Mindful Living

Paul, Nate, and Justin are professionals who have achieved success through little more than hard work, perseverance, and getting some good advice along the way. Their path to success was far from a smooth ride, and all of them have learned some painful but essential lessons. They would like to share some of these lessons as well a few mistakes they made through the telling of humorous, sometimes tragic, but always honest stories. The topics covered in this book include several universal rites of passage such as struggling, failure, finding purpose, and generating fulfillment
Each chapter in this book is succinct and reads like a "combat manual" for mindful living. Ideal for any young professional or new college graduate, the advice contained in this book is timeless, encouraging, and applicable to life. Sometimes sarcastic and sometimes serious, the authors never stray from the central theme; don't take yourself too seriously.

Paul Frank Martino was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1971, the eldest of two boys born to Italian immigrant parents, one of which came to the United States of America from the Molise Region of Italy, and the other came to the United States of America from the Naples (Campania) Region of Italy. Paul was raised as a practicing Roman Catholic in the town of Ronkonkoma, on Long Island, in the state of New York, and graduated from Connetquot High School, in Bohemia, New York in 1989. He graduated from Dowling College, in Oakdale, New York with a B.A. in Natural Sciences and Mathematics in 1993. He earned his Master's in Exercise Physiology from the Human Performance Laboratory at Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana in 1996, and later earned his Ph.D. in Physiology from the Medical College of Wisconsin in 2006. After earning, his Ph.D., Paul moved on to a two year American Heart Association, post-doctoral fellowship at Wright State University at the Boonshoft School of Medicine in the Department of Neuroscience, Cell Biology, and Physiology, studying the neuro-physiological effects of carbon dioxide regulation in the brain.
After his fellowship, he moved on to a short stay in the biomedical/pharmaceutical industry as a study director designing research studies for evaluating and understanding potential new drugs. During his stay in industry, he also simultaneously managed and mentored a small group of laboratory research technicians. He learned a great deal about managing and mentoring people in his short stint in industry. He also learned that the business side of research is very different from research in the academic world.
Since 2009, he has been a full-time tenure-track faculty member in the Biology Department at Carthage College, a small Lutheran affiliated liberal arts college in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He was awarded the prestigious "Teacher of the Year Award in 2017," for his outstanding teaching of Anatomy and Physiology to upper-classmen from across the Carthage campus. He currently leads the Carthage Biology Department as an Associate Professor and Chair. In addition, he also holds several other academic positions, which include Associate Adjunct Professor of Physiology at Medical College of Wisconsin, as well as a faculty member of the Stress and Motivated Institute (SMBI). He loves teaching and mentoring college students (Nate was one of my students.) to help them find their way in life, and has mentored 80 plus undergraduates in his active and collaborative research lab at Carthage. He has co-authored 21 peer-reviewed scientific articles on strength training, glucose metabolism, respiratory neurophysiology, sleep, antioxidants, and behavioral inhibition. His current research, which is in part a collaboration with Justin Miller and several other Carthage colleagues' focuses on the physiology of college age students who have the behavioral temperament, called behavioral inhibition. This book signals a new stage of his professional life and one where he hopes to help even more people navigate the struggles of life and to succeed. Justin Robert Miller was born in Maywood, Illinois in 1985. He was raised in the northwest suburbs of Chicago where he spent most of his early years being a fat kid, but got in shape by wrestling throughout grade school and high school. He graduated from William Fremd High School in 2003, and became a novice-level competitive bodybuilder taking 1st place in the NPC Mid-Illinois Bodybuilding Competition mixed pair division with his mother in 2004.
He graduated from Northern Illinois University in Dekalb, Illinois with a B.S. in Biological Sciences in 2007, and earned his Doctorate in Physiology from the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 2013. After earning his Ph.D. Justin completed two years of post-doctoral studies at the Milwaukee Veterans Affairs Hospital in the Department of Anesthesia Research. He has co-authored 12 peer-reviewed scientific articles studying respiratory neurophysiology, brain plasticity, opiate effects on breathing, and behavioral inhibition.
Since 2015, he has been a full time faculty member in the Biology Department at Carthage College. He currently teaches anatomy and physiology classes for health professionals at Carthage, and a one-month beer brewing class during J-terms. His current research involves studying the effects of behavioral inhibition among college age students.
Justin and his wife Therese have two daughters, Evelyn and Fiona ages 7 and 2 who are always providing inspiration for his writing. He takes great pride in being a dad and enjoys spending time outdoors with his family. He also enjoys fishing, automotive restoration, and brewing beer although most of his free time is spent fighting never-ending battles against diapers, dishes, cat hair, and chin fat. He is excited to share some of his stories and hopes he can help others develop tools for success, while also enjoying life. Dr. Nathan Paul Gerowitz, a family chiropractor, heeds a deep calling to help people unconditionally love themselves and participate in life. He was born in the suburbs of Chicago in 1990. His father, Rob, is one of the world's leading experts in Orthokeratology, regularly lecturing around the globe. His mother, Korreen, is the CFO of three companies all while supporting Rob, Nathan, and Miranda in anything they desired to achieve.
After graduating from William Fremd High school in 2009, he attended Carthage College in Kenosha, WI. It was here that he met Paul and Justin. In 2011, he went to Nicaragua for the first time, participating in Carthage's J-term class. Upon returning, his class began building a non-profit organization to create sustainable, clean water for the island of Ometepe. This organization, Carthage World Relief, is still operating today. After graduating with honors in 2013, Nathan moved to Marietta, GA to attend Life University.
Whilst completing his Doctor of Chiropractic degree, he regularly attended advanced seminars in the art, science, and practice of chiropractic. In 2015, he began serving as a facilitator for MLS Adjusting Seminars. He continues that service today, teaching students and doctors to serve with integrity, ease, and authenticity. During his time in Georgia, Nathan also became a practitioner of Divine Intervention and Spontaneous Remission, and Quickening: Accelerated Conscious Evolution, a shamanic healing art and shadow processing modality respectively.
After briefly serving in southern California, Nathan returned to his hometown and founded Innate Life Chiropractic. His focus is on helping families to heal, grow, and thrive through vitalistic chiropractic care. He lives in the suburbs of Chicago with his partner Maddie and their dog Milly.