Sam Bracken grew up in a family best described as a cracked-out version of The Brady Bunch, living in rundown apartments and trailers on the fringes of Las Vegas. Mobsters and motorcycle gang members were his role models. Horrifically abused by his wannabe mobster stepfather LeRoy and his sadistic older stepbrother, Sam started drinking and doing drugs by age 9.
Sam's love of sports - track and especially football - became his salvation. His dream of being a professional football player led him to a radical decision as a 13-year-old: to quit drugs and drinking and find a path out of the dark life he was living. He languished in special education classes until an eighth grade teacher discovered he just needed glasses. When Sam was 15, his mom, who'd often worked three jobs to support the family, suffered a mental breakdown and abandoned him to become the den mother of the notorious Hessian motorcycle gang.
Despite being essentially homeless throughout high school and working to support himself, Sam beat the odds and graduated with a 3.9 GPA as #11 out of a class of more than 700. He also accomplished something that only 1/10 of 1% of all high school football players achieve: He won a coveted, full ride football scholarship at a Division I school - Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. When Sam left Las Vegas and headed to Georgia Tech, everything he owned in the world fit into an orange duffel bag he'd received as a kid at a football camp. That bag, which Sam has kept all these years, became the inspiration for MY ORANGE DUFFEL BAG: A Journey to Radical Change.
After a standout year as a freshman Georgia Tech football player, Sam suffered seemingly career-ending shoulder injuries. Coach Bill Curry was at his hospital bedside when he awoke from his reconstructive surgeries, and he reassured Sam that he'd still have his scholarship whether he ever played football again. Once again, Sam beat the odds. He rehabilitated himself and re-earned a starting position as an offensive lineman on one of the best football teams in Tech's history. He was nominated for the Brian Piccolo Award for coming back from his injuries and graduated from Georgia Tech with honors. Sam turned down invitations to professional football camps in order to serve as a missionary for his church.
Today the abused, homeless teen in special education classes has grown into a man who lives the American dream with a beautiful family of his own. He serves as the global director of product management and marketing for FranklinCovey, the world's leading training and leadership organization with services in more than 145 countries. |
