I was born and raised in New York City. I spent 12 years in Catholic schools and then started college. I received my B.A. in Psychology from Hofstra University; my M.A. in Psychology from St. Bonaventure University; and then my Ph.D. in Social Psychology from the State university of New York at Albany. I also spent a year in a post-doc program at the University of Kansas. I was the proverbial professional student staying in school until I was 27. Then it was time to move on to the real world (so my wife said).

Throughout my tenure in college, I trained in psychology research and statistics. Besides the science part of psychology, I also learned a great deal about people and how they operate in the real world. At Kansas, I also trained in a group home program that refined my skills that I use with people all the time.

Since then...

After graduation, I worked in all types of mental health programs. I had positions in residential treatment centers, group home programs, psychiatric hospitals, foster care programs and special education programs in public schools. As you can see, all of my experience was with children. The thing I enjoyed the most was that I got to use all the knowledge I had learned in school to help youth and families.

When I turned 40, I realized that I was not going to achieve my goal of financial freedom doing what I was doing. So I started to learn the principles to take care of my family financially. It meant learning the ways to create an income in the business world. I started to listen to experts on tape and in person and started to read a great deal. I then applied what I learned and was able to quit my real job at 52. I learned how to make money without having a boss.

Here are some of the principles that I learned. A job is a J-O-B, just over broke. People with jobs that work for other people probably will not retire early or financially independent. They usually live paycheck to paycheck and any serious bill could create financial hardship. The secret to financial freedom is two-fold; first, you live by the motto that you pay your bills from 9 to 5, but what you do from 6 to 10 sets you free financially. Secondly, you have to have your own business and lead people to their own financial freedom.

Following that formula, I was able to leave my full time job after six years of hard work. I was able to pay off my mortgage and car payments during that time. This left me free to do what I wanted.

Getting into Writing....

I published a parenting newsletter for seven years and had an online newspaper for eight years. Both of those have been put to rest now. But they taught me something important about myself. I like to read, I like to write about what I learned and I like to teach other people what I have learned through reading and experience.

So, that leads to this website. The first purpose is to write blogs about leadership, personal growth, relationships, parenting and spirituality. These will be turned into mini-books or newsletters for people down the road. The information in the blogs will come from reading experts in the those fields and my personal experience.

There is one more purpose to the website. I am working on a book that will be composed of letters from moms and dads with children with autism. The book will allow parents to tell some of their story and how they did with their experience. But it will also be a resource for parents to learn about how parents in similar situations may have dealt with the issues they might be facing. Once the book is done, I expect to provide a way for people to download the book from the site for free.

So I hope this introduction into my world lets you know why this website exists. And I hope you find it enjoyable and educational to read the blogs. See you down the road.

Bob Kalle