The Power of a Story

Rene Godefroy
Speaking Hero
May 2008

The Power of a Story
By Terri Marie

The Journey

He was under a truck, wedged between three tires of a big rig
in an attempt to cross the border into the land he’d dreamed
of for so long – The United States of America. After four hours
of a very painful ride, Rene Godefroy reached the point of giving
up. I asked him why he didn’t. “Survival has always been the
thing for me. I was supporting my own weight on my hands and
elbows. It got to a point where I said, ‘I don’t really know if I can
take it any longer.’ But that’s what we say to ourselves throughout
the journey all the time. Whether you own your own business,
or you work for somebody – there’s going to be some point where
you will be thinking about giving up. Because you have the thought,
doesn’t mean you have to entertain the thought. Right after I said
that I began to think of what lies ahead for me - the future in
America. Then I began to think of the people in my village who
were counting on me. When you have a “why” or you have something
that you are looking forward to, you can do it.”

Everyone loves a story like Rene’s. It’s similar to Dottie Walters
story - the power of an indomitable spirit. Rene uplifts thousands
of people each year during his many speaking engagements
around the world, from the National Speakers Association (
NSA) to corporate events.

After coming to the states and working various jobs from carpenter
to washing dishes, Rene ended up at The Renaissance Hotel, working
as a doorman and parking cars. It was there he discovered
something that Dottie Walters also loved…books. “Whenever
I’d see a book, I’d go to the bookstore and buy it.” Hungry for
knowledge, Rene would devour books. Rene also ordered tapes
from Nightingale Conant and attended seminars like “Unleashing
the Power Within” and “Personal Power” by Anthony Robbins.
Rene decided he wanted to try speaking. “I had fears and doubts,
thinking I could give Americans advice since I didn’t go to high
school or college in America.” But Rene did it anyway.

When Rene got his first check for $1500, it became a huge
motivator.” I still have this check to this day. I made a copy
of the check. I’m looking at it right now. So every time things
were tough and it appeared as if I was not going to make it,
I just look at my check and say, ‘There’s somebody who paid
me $1,500. There’s somebody else who would be willing to
pay me another one and another one.’ I tell people all the
time to be hopeful. Think about what lies ahead for you
in the future.”

Back to Rene’s Story… the Very Beginning of It

Born in Haiti in a small village, Rene’s mother left when he
was nine months old. He became very sick due to a poor diet
and little medical care. Those starving children you see on TV?
Rene was one of them. When he was 7 years old he left the
village to be with his mother, sister, and brother in Port-au-Prince,
living in a shack infested with rats and roaches. “I slept on the
floor with my brother and sister. The rats and roaches were
crossing us all night. Many nights I was just terrified to go to bed.”

Rene became involved in theater in a small Catholic church.
The group was invited to perform in Montréal Canada.
“America was the finest land to me, but going to Montreal
was great because I was closer to America - the land I dreamt
about. I’d say, ‘One day I want to go to the United States.
I wanted to come here to eat lots of rice and chickens.
I’m sick of rice and chickens now. Life is GOOD today in America.”

The Promise

“I found a way to come to this country. It wasn’t easy. There
was a price I had to pay.” Wedged between those three tires of
a tractor-trailer, covered with ashes dust and smoke. Rene
made a prayer. “God I promise you, if you help me make it to
America safe, I will do something with my life.”
God needn’t have worried about Rene.

“I’m a US citizen today and a very proud one. I’m not a
burden on the government. I believe that everything I will
ever have and everything that I will ever be in this country is
going to be by my own volition. I dare to believe that I can
step out and take massive action to make it happen.”

Rene went to Miami and taught himself English, learning 3 words
at a time. “I was writing them on my hand,” Rene said. He
eventually left Miami for Atlanta, Georgia with a parish council
group, living in a run down apartment and working at a K-mart
warehouse. “I was not making much money at all. I was loading
boxes in the truck but I was making progress because I came
underneath the truck. Now I was inside the truck.”
How’s that for positive thinking!

Eventually Rene got a job taking care of an elderly Jewish man.
He and Rene became good friends. The man died in Rene’s arms.
“I took great care of him. One of his children helped me get
a job at the Renaissance hotel.” Rene worked at that hotel
for 14 years. It changed his life.

Working at the hotel put Rene in direct contact with some
of the world’s best speakers. Rene learned from many of the
top speakers like Les Brown and Jim Rohn, “They each awaken
your awareness to different levels,” Rene says, Once Rene
made up his mind to speak, destiny took over. He got that
$1,500 check in 1998. In 2000, Rene was on the big stage.
That’s fast. Rene says, “I just learned how to speed up the process. “

Rene’s Number One Speaker’s Trait

“The ability to tell stories,” Rene says. “Because at the end
of the day, they really won’t not remember the points you made.
They can buy a book and read those points. But what they
can’t get are the personal stories we use to wrap around the
points we’re making. That’s what will make the message stick.
Most people will say, ‘I don’t have a story because I wasn’t
born like Rene, in a poor village in Haiti, or I didn’t climb
Mount Everest.’ That’s not true. We all have stories. The
stories that really connect us with our audiences at a deep
level are not the big stories, but the little pebbles,
little stories and vignettes.”

“That’s the beauty of it. You paint a picture. Everybody comes
and looks at the picture. They draw their own conclusions
from the picture. You share the story. You’re talking about
your grandmother, your cousin, your dog. Somebody sees
their dog in the story. Somebody else sees their cousin in
the story because they had some kind of connection with
their cousin. Somebody sees their grandmother in the story.
Everybody gets something different from it. You’re just never
going to please everybody in the audience. That’s why I say
to speakers, ‘The time to start your speaking career is NOW’
because there are people that I’ll never ever be able to connect
with for whatever reason. For some people it’s just because the
way I sound, my accent. Maybe I look like an ex-husband.”

Rene’s Gift

“Village Hero” is Rene’s gift to Haiti. It is an orphanage with
28 kids and a health clinic in Haiti. “I’m still struggling to
get my 501C, which means I have to find every little penny
that I have to support some of the projects. In December I
went to have dinner with the kids. It was the best Christmas
dinner I’ve ever had. They sang for me. They danced.
They performed. I served them. It was awesome. I believe that
God took me out of the village so that I can reach out to the village.
There are going to be a few chosen ones. We have to be wise
enough to understand that we are not chosen to drive a nice car,
or live in a nice house, or live a self-centered life. It’s because
at some point, we have to reach out and make a difference.”

A Free Demo Leads to an NSA Keynote

Here is a Huge Gift for You From Rene
“How to Get Your Demo Video Made”
Be sure to listen to the whole story on the audio
above find out how he did this. This is the short version.

1. Get the hotel manager to donate a room and finger food in
exchange for free staff training
2. Get speakers to agree to speak and train on that day
3. Get gift certificates and door prizes and publicize the event
4. Get an audience to fill up the room
5. Arrange for a videographer

“It’s something everybody can do, Rene says. “They can go
to the local hotel and set a meeting with the general manager.
Offer them a $100,000 package. Each speaker agrees to
do some kind of training for the hotel staff so you can g
et that room. Trust me, you can get bodies in that room.
And you can create that video.” By the way, Rene gave the
speakers some of the money back because he had money left over!

In 2000, Mark Mayberry, well known in NSA, heard about
Rene’s story and requested his video. Rene got an email
from the president of the NSA saying, “Congratulations.
You have a great future in this business.” The NSA
chairperson for the conference also called Rene and said,
“I just saw your video and I’m just so excited. I want you to
be in my program. You’re going to be on the big stage.”
I asked Rene how he felt. “I felt GOOOOD!”

I have to tell you how I met Rene. It was 2006. I was t
aking a conference from Declan Dunn and Jody Colvard
north of Atlanta and had to get to the train station, a long
cab ride away. I’d just met Rene two days earlier. When
he found out I was going to take a cab, Rene offered to
drive me. He insisted. That’s the kind of man Rene is.
On the seat of his car was a book...his own. He gave it to me.

Rene’s Hero

Rene’s hero is Sidney Poitier. “His family migrated from
Haiti to the Bahamas. He and I have kindred spirits.
He’s my hero. When I see all that he went through to be
where he is, that’s just incredible. He’s my inspiration.”

Rene has a great message and an incredible story. He wants
you to find your message and tell your own story. If Rene
believes in you, how can you not believe in yourself?
From Haiti to speaking in a land he once dreamed of,
Rene is a true speaking hero.

Live like a hero!

Terri Marie

RENE’S SPEAKING TIPS

* Don’t Take Every Bit of Advice You Get
“I don’t believe that we ought to take advice from
everybody. Depending on what level of success
they’re at, their advice may not be applicable to
me or you or to somebody just starting out.”

* Use Your Own Style
“There are some speakers who say you have to say
something to upset the audience, to stir up something.
I’m a nice guy by nature. I can’t go out there and try
to be in my audience’s face. It’s not good advice for me.
Fortunately for me, I understand what it is to start from
scratch. I have not distanced myself from that. I go to
national conventions all the time and see the newcomers.
I’m fully aware of the stretch, the sacrifice they make
just to be at the conference. I look at them and feel
where they are. I understand that they will be successful.
They will make money if they can just hang in there. I just
never forget what it was like for me when I started.”

* Get Into NSA by Going to Meetings
“Depending on where they are in their speaking career,
they might not be qualified to join NSA. I wasn’t when
I started either. I started going to meetings. Go to the
local chapter of NSA. Join as an apprentice. I get calls
from people who want to pick my brain. They want to
take me out to lunch. I don’t have time to have everybody
take me out to lunch and pick my brain or I probably
wouldn’t have a brain.”

“When they go to the local chapter they get to ask us
questions and have lunch with us. Get involved. Then
once you meet someone at that level you can say,
‘Is it all right if I call you for 10 minutes if I have a question?’
You limit the time. Then slowly work your way to getting
to know the people so you can ask them questions.”

* Volunteer
“I started volunteering from day one on different
committees. I’d carry the books or take care of the
audiovisual. I just wanted to be there and make
myself useful so I can be a part of the click so to speak.”

* Keep a Journal for Your Stories
“Little things connect us with our audiences. Why?
First, my audiences were not born in a village. They
really can’t identify. But the little stories – right off the bat,
they can identify with those stories. Early on I took
some classes in storytelling. I’d buy tapes and read books.
Life is storytelling in the making of it. You can’t wait to
go tell somebody about the speaker you’ve heard. You’re
not going to say “This speaker called out 5 points and I
want to share them with you.’ No. You’ll say, ‘I heard this
speaker. He told this story. It was amazing.’ Above all
when I share my story, I’m giving my audience the
permission to be open to their co-workers, to their friends,
to share their stories so they don’t have to be embarrassed
or afraid or ashamed. Really focus on the stories. Trust me.
No matter where you grew up – no matter what situation –
you have stories. There’s no such thing as
‘I don’t have any stories.”

* Learn From Every Speech
“My best advice is to record every speech from the beginning,
even if you’re speaking to your local civic club.”

* You Are Your Own Coach
“I believe in mentoring. I believe in coaches but I believe
ultimately I am my best coach. I know when I walk away
from the platform whether I did good or not.. Right after
the speech I know. I don’t really like feedback from the
audience. I get my feedback while I’m on stage from
the reactions I get. If they are laughing at my humor,
if they are reacting, or nodding, if I’m asking them
questions and they’re raising their hands,
I know I’m doing well.”

* Practice
“Speaking or telling a story is like learning a new step
or a golf swing or dance move. You can be awkward
for a long time but you keep practicing. Once you get
the step, like in a dance, you know you’ve got it.
You feel it in your body. You know that’s it. Don’t let
people tell you, ‘You’re not there yet.’ You know when
you’re not there. You just keep going back and keep
tweaking. Keep working it. Spend a lot of time working
on the speech because it’s the only marketing tool
that you actually have.”

* Knowledge is More Valuable Than Money
His latest book “Kick Your Excuses Goodbye.” has a
wonderful twist. One of those speakers from the
Renaissance Hotel wrote the foreword to Rene’s book.
Rene had helped him with his bags. The speaker
asked him, “I have $5 for a tip or a book. Which
one do you prefer? Rene said, Of course, the book.”
“I was a janitor in America. Whenever I would go to
the office to pick up the trash, I’d look at the letters
in the trash can because I didn’t speak any English.
I wanted to learn English, but more importantly I
wanted to learn how to write letters. I’d take the letters,
collect them and come home. I’d read the letters
to myself so that I could listen to my own voice.”

* Learn From Everything – Be Curious
Rene takes things from all sources and repackages
the info for his audiences along with a lesson.
Look for the best in everyone. Then emulate the best.
“Probably my biggest strength is that I learn from
people. I ask questions. When I go to meetings,
I seek out people. I’m not a pest. I’m very professional
about it. As you might know, I have a lot of contacts
with big names in the industry. But I don’t pick up the
phone. I go to the conventions where I know they are
attending. I get to go to lunch with them.”

* Staying Power
“I was watching an interview with Chef Boy R Dee years ago.
He said, ‘By the time I realized that I didn’t have enough
talent to be a chef, I was already too successful.’
What I got out of it was that if you stay in it long enough,
you may not be the best, but you will succeed at it.
Staying power is the key.”

Raising Little Heroes

Little Adrianna Rose is looking
forward to being raised like a hero

One of the most difficult
jobs on the planet has
to be raising caring,
successful children. We
get little training in doing
the job effectively.

Most of it is trial and
error.We do the job pretty
well on supplying their
physical needs in this country but it’s their little spirits that
need building. We need to put equal focus on building positive
traits within the child’s spirit. What if there were some guidelines
that really increase your effectiveness?

Through the years I’ve interviewed hundreds of successful
people. I often asked them what was the best advice
their parents gave them. This has given me some very
insightful answers which I’ve compiled this into a
list of traits.

Parenthood can seem overwhelming. It is an unending
responsibility. By knowing some qualities that can
help raise successful human beings makes the task
less daunting. Here are 5 strong character traits
to give your children the best chance at becoming
the hero of their own lives.


1. Tell the Truth
A mother was describing to other mothers how expensive
it was to get into a particular amusement park. In order
to pay the lower rate, the mother told her daughter Mary,
“You are twelve.” Mary, in order to obey her mother had
lie, to say she was twelve when she was not. Mary now
learns that it’s okay to deceive and cheat other people.
Children have a great sense of right and wrong. What the
mother may not realize is that an even more critical
thing is lost than the truth – trust. Will the child now
trust her mother knowing that her mother may also be
stretching the truth when she talks to Mary? The mother
is neglecting the laws of abundance, focusing on a poverty
consciousness - of not having enough without lying
or making other people pay. Poverty will, in all likelihood,
continue in her life.

Truth is the essence of integrity

2. Build a Team
I’m not talking about soccer and football, but being able
to organize and work within a team. Almost everything
that is to come in a child’s life will require a team.
A marriage is a team. Friendships are teams. There will be
teams in every career and in many social events. Most team
work is done for children. Young humans need to know how
to create teams themselves. They surely won’t do it
perfectly but they will learn. You must allow your children
the chaos of learning. They need to learn how to organize
themselves to create a project, build a tree house or do
whatever is at their level, so they can experience success
as a group. Show them how.

Teams will allow young children to succeed and build
self-es-team. Building a team that has any kind of
success will provide enormous satisfaction. The
child will learn how critical good relationships are to
having positive life experiences. At a seminar at John
Assaraf’s home, we were split into teams to put together
a puzzle. Heads of large corporations, authors, investors
and entrepreneurs were sitting down on the floor to see
who could put a puzzle together the fastest. This was a
large colorful puzzle made out of Styrofoam with only
50 to 100 pieces. Each team chose a leader. The clock
started. The team that won was lead by a mother who had
worked with her children putting puzzles together. Even
doctors and pilots were beat out by this mother who had
learned how to get children to cooperate, analyze and
make it a fun game, instead of a serious have to win
“project.” It opened everyone’s eyes.

Heroes need teams and they need to learn how to make a good team

3. Respect
Give children equal billing. Your children’s needs
are every bit as important as your own. When you
give respect to children, they will respect themselves.
A young girl was being yelled at constantly by her teacher.
It really bothered the child. One day the girl went to
her teacher and said, “Ms. ___ I don’t like it when you
yell at me. It makes me feel sad.”
The yelling stopped immediately.

The next day the teacher brought a stuffed animal for
the little girl and told her, “I really appreciated what
you told me. I had no idea I was doing that.” Since then,
the little girl has become the teachers’ favorite pupil.
That is respect. If the child didn’t have the confidence
to know that the teacher was being disrespectful and the
courage to say something about it, the teacher would
probably have continued to disrespect her. Now the
teacher is more aware of how she treats all children.

When I was filming with Olympic Champion skier, Stein
Eriksen, I asked Stein if I could film his son, Bjorn
who was then 10 years old. Stein said, “You will have
to ask Bjorn.” Stein allowed Bjorn the right and human
dignity to choose what he wanted to do.

Respect all life and you will respect your own

4. Use Your Senses
Nature enlivens the senses. The natural world expands our
sensual awareness in a way that doesn’t require extra
stimulation but provides us with an opportunity to merge
ourselves with something bigger than we are. Nature gives
us a more accurate sense of self. Nature teaches
us that we are all connected.

My father taught me about nature. He had me listen to
birds. We looked at waterfalls, trees, and autumn leaves.
I developed a deep love for nature and an awareness of
how to use my senses. When you understand your senses,
you pay better attention to what your body is telling you,
to what feels right and to what doesn’t. This prevents
all kinds of things from taking root that shouldn’t.
It helps children learn to trust themselves when they make
decisions, because they will have a good understanding of
what feels right to them inside. In addition, it helps
differentiate colors, smells, shapes and patterns. Your
child’s awareness grows stronger. Teach young ones about
nature – immerse them in it. Children need to know that
they are part of the vast outer world. It is theirs to
respect, and to learn from.

As we grow ourselves, we grow the world

5. Appreciate Beauty
Beauty is a great gift to the world. There is beauty in truth.
Beauty lies within a math problem worked out and solved.
There is beauty in the order of a clean home. There is
abundant beauty in a smile. My friend Constance Eykman
lived in Africa for 20 years and wrote about the native people.
She said, “When you smile at them, you get the whole
heart back.” Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could get our whole
heart to appear on our face?

Beauty is one of the core values of Jon Benson, author
of Fit Over Forty.
Beauty is a Platonian ethic. You don’t hate what is beautiful.
See the beauty within more and more people. When you look
at your children, practice seeing the beauty within them.
Look “into” them not at them and teach them to do the same.

Beauty is in the inherent patterns within all creation

May these traits help you to raise your children, not lower t
hem. Place these traits gently into their hearts and then
trust them. The little ones will not be perfect but they
will be much better equipped to become young heroes who will
create conditions for a much-needed kinder, safer world.
They will take that “hero journey” all through their lives and
not have to “undo” years of emotional and behavioral messes.
Their characters will be strong, courageous, bright and
fulfilled. A decent human being is going to act like a
hero when the need arises. It’s our birthright.

Parenting was the hardest, but most rewarding thing I’ve
ever done. As parents, if we can learn to raise the bar,
we will be giving our children a much better gift than
clothes, toys, or food. We will give them the right to
be themselves. We will be feeding their precious little
spirits the food of heroes. Our world needs those little
heroes like at no other time.

Song of Hope

Renee sings "When the Swallows Come Back"




Renée Bondi

Her story is as unforgettable as her voice. Her courage
immeasurable.

Renée Bondi, a successful choir director at San
Clemente High, had built up the program from 18 to
150 students. Her wedding was just two months away.
“I was doing what single people at 29 do - having lots of
time after work to play and be with friends and family,”
Renée said. That changed the night of May 16th, 1988
at 2:00 AM. No one knows exactly how it happened.

During the night, Renée fell out of bed, shattering her
spine. She eerily described this as a “wave of silence,”
with a whooshing sound that went down her body.

The morning after the injury, Renée’s eyes fell on her
pastor, Monsignor Martin. Renée whispered, ‘Am I
that bad?’ When a priest sees you in ICU, it’s usually
to give you last rites. He smiled and said,
‘When you do it, you certainly do it big.”

“I heard the surgeons’ words. I heard him define what
quadriplegia is. I knew my life wasn’t completely over
because I hadn’t died. It was hard to comprehend my
new life. You still think the same. Your mindset is the
same. How in the world can you be dancing one evening,
planning your wedding, and the next day told you’ll never
walk again, never have functional use of your hands?”

Renée called off her wedding. “Only because I didn’t think
it was fair to Mike at all. When he proposed I was
able-bodied and functioning. Now I was extremely
different from the person he proposed to.” A year later
Mike asked Renée, “When are we going to reschedule
the wedding?” That’s true love.

Renée is surrounded by heroes. “Every member of my family
has the ability to reach out and not be selfish. My siblings
don’t have a selfish bone in their bodies. I think it comes
from the WWII era, from my mom’s Basque background -
a culture of farming, music, and food.

As I often say, ‘Tragedy either brings a family closer together
or blows them apart.’ I think that’s how God uses tragedy -
to draw us closer to him. It’s real unfortunate when people
run away. They’re running from the very God who will help
them through their valley. If you don’t go through that valley,
you don’t know God the way you do after.”

“When my mom was asked after my injury, ‘How do you keep
going,’ she answered very clearly. ‘Do we have a choice?
What are you going to do? Sit in the corner of your house and
say ‘Woe is me when your kids need food on the table?’ We
would’ve never have chosen this. It’s not easy.
It’s definitely not fun. But what’s your option?”

Talking with Renée, she is so personable you can easily forget
that she has accomplished amazing things. A few of her awards
include: Best Contemporary Acoustic Songwriter. Woman of the
Year- California State Senate.

Renée’s book, “The Last Dance But Not the Last Song” is poignant,
bold and sparkled with humor. “It was really important to me that this
wasn’t a holocaust book. That’s just not me. There are times when
you have to laugh. And there were things that were funny. I remember
the physical therapist teaching my sister Michelle how to transfer
me from the wheelchair to the mat in the hospital. We landed in a
heap on the table, in a heap laughing. We had to laugh, otherwise
we were going to cry our eyes out.”

Renée and Mike made a thoughtful decision twelve years ago - to
have a child. Her son Daniel is now 11. What she most loves about
Daniel is,” How incredibly compassionate he is. He is very, very quick,
to see the good in people.”

Her first public performance after her accident was at San Clemente
Presbyterian Church. Concerned she didn’t have the lung capacity
to sing, Renée wanted her sisters to cover for her. But the pastor
wanted Renée there for another reason - to reassure her students,
saying, “They need to hear you and see you publicly.” “I thought it
was really insightful on his part. So I agreed. I did have a heart for
my students so he knew how to get to me. It felt very good to be
onstage again, especially in San Clemente because they’d been
so incredibly supportive.”

Today Renée speaks and travels nationally to share her story and
more importantly, “What I learned from being in this wheelchair.
After really analyzing what I’ve learned, ironically, it spelled CPR.
It stands for: Choices – Prayer –and Responsibility.”

You must read the miraculous story of Renée’s first meeting with
the pope in Denver. Renée spoke of, “All the little divine appointments
that happened to get me there - that was the presence of God.” Renée
saw the pope again in Toronto when she was the last performer before
Pope John came onstage. “Looking into his eyes is like looking into the
eyes of the ultimate grandpa. So much peace in his warm blue eyes.
So much compassion. When one truly and sincerely puts himself in the
presence of the Lord as often as he did, it’s easy to recognize the Holy
Spirit within. That's what you’d see in him, not just the Pope, but the
Holy Spirit dwelling in him."

The story deepens. After this unmanageable tragedy, the unthinkable
occurs. Michelle, Renée’s sister, the one who laughed with Renée as
they tumbled onto the hospital bed together, became paralyzed in a
tragic off-road accident. Michelle too, is a hero, especially to Renée.
Renée says they help each other by relating to each other’s situation.

The Longed for Vacation
“Part of my burden that most people don’t realize is one of most
disabled people. It takes close to three hours to get up in the morning.
You start your day so much later than the average person, yet have as
much to get done. There’s days where I just want a vacation from the
quadriplegia. I want to be able to jump out of bed, take a shower, get
dressed without help. If there was one thing I’d want to change,
that’d be the one thing.”

Only dreamtime sometimes sets Renée free from quadriplegia
“Sometimes I’m in the chair, then all of a sudden out of the chair
walking and running. Then back in the chair.”

Renée loves to go to God’s greatest cathedral- nature. “We’re very
blessed. We have a wheelchair-accessible motorhome It’s so nice to
camp under the beautiful trees and outdoors and not be stuck in a
hotel room. It is so healing.”

Music is life to Renée. One thing that surprised her doctors is her
lung capacity and the ability to speak and sing as strongly as she
does. With a voice that continues to inspire people around the world,
Renée has 5 CDs. “I’m really pleased when I read fan mail saying how
much my music has helped them through difficult times Music changes
the atmosphere of a home very quickly. When I feel everybody getting
crabby, I say, ‘Time to crank up the tunes. Get the music on!”

Renée believes nothing is a coincidence. She went back to teach youth
choir at her church. Counting up the students, she said “148, 149, 150.” –
the same number of students she had before her accident.
Looking up she said, “Wow. You are one detail-oriented God!”

Last spring, Renée was starting to feel burnout because of all
the traveling. “Not physically. but emotionally.” Renée and her
booking manager were driving to Renée’s performance and
discussing this. “I’d been wondering if I’m supposed to go back
into teaching because my mind goes there a lot.’ When we got
home, I listened to my voicemail. There was a message from
the music coordinator from Capistrano Unified saying ‘Renée
we have a couple job opportunities we’d love for you to consider.”
I laughed saying, ‘OK God. You got my attention.’ I’m now
teaching choir again but at that other school - Capo Valley .
Although I look better in red and black than I do gold and black,
I am now a Cougar instead of a Triton.”

Rally Round Renée was formed from parents and students of
San Clemente “Their first goal was to get me back on my feet
so to speak, and make sure that Mike and I were still able to
maintain our relationship. Their second goal was for me to be
a productive member of society again. I need for them to know
that I am back in teaching. So much of it is because of what
they did in those first few months and years of my injury.
Their goal has been reached.”

Few could go through as deep a valley as Renée and come
out with as victorious a glow as emanates from her being.
From her amazing voice comes a spirit that carries a song of hope.

I cannot possibly tell Renée’s full story or her struggle here,
or adequately describe the gift she has in her angelic voice.
You must read her own words, “The Last Dance but not the
Last Song” available at Joy’s Christian book Store. in San Juan
Capistrano or www.renéebondi.com.

You can hear Renée if you travel a few miles to the Swallow’s
Day Celebration March 18 and 19th in San Juan Capistrano.
To hear her sing “When the Swallows Come Back to Capistrano,”
go to www.heroesamongus.blogspot.com

Live Like a Hero!

Terri Marie
Award-winning author of “Be the Hero of Your Own Game”

Renée’s Life Lessons

• See the Good

“I have times where I’m sad and angry but it’s how long you
stay there that can and will become a problem. There comes
a time when you really do have to open your eyes to the good
and the beauty that still exists.
You just have to choose to look for it.”

• Use What You Can

A teacher uses much more than a voice to get across the
nuances of music. Renée couldn’t use her body, so she
learned to use her shoulders. “It wasn’t something I intentionally
planned. I used anything I had to get across to the students
what I was trying to communicate. That’s probably my
biggest frustration, that I cannot conduct the way I want to.”

• Give it All to God

Renée learned to go to God every day. “I wasn’t able to do
this the first couple of years of my injury but now, 18 years
later - I put my day at the foot of the cross and ask Jesus to
help prioritize my day. When I pray this way sincerely in the
morning. I find that I’m not only emotionally fine throughout
the day, but it’s amazing what I am able to get done.”

• Receive Graciously

Renée says that learning to receive is still difficult for her.
“I think the hardest is having to ask. I can see how eventually
the disabled or the elderly become homebound because you
just get so tired of asking for help. I know I do.”

• Balance

With her quadriplegia, Renée has additional and very
time-consuming extras to balance in her day. She
considers it a priority to balance work
and family life.

• You Always Have a CHOICE

“I don’t wake up every morning with a good attitude.
There are many days when I don’t.” When she’s in a bad
mood, Renée tells herself. “I’ve got to get out of bed, get
outside and see the clouds. See the sky and beautiful
Southern California. See the ocean. I have to see that
movement. I may want to be alone. If I have to get a lot
done then I have to bulldoze through
my depression and get done what I need to.”

• Use CPR

Renée tells teens, “Make the right Choices in your friends
and eventually who you marry. I share about Mike staying
with me. I hope that teens think ahead and make the right
choices in their relationships because you never
know when that relationship will be tested as ours was.”
“Put it to “Prayer.” Seek God’s guidance and direction in
all things.“Responsibility” in a society where nobody takes
responsibly for their actions. Teens are being raised to think
that it’s never their fault. It’s ALWAYS somebody
else’s fault when they make a mistake.
The fact of the matter is we all make mistakes.
What we do with those mistakes is what separates
the men from the boys.”