The HPU graduate’s book discusses how to overcome adversity
April 2 — HIGH POINT — If you ask JT Jester, there really aren’t any bad days, just tough days.
In fact, the 2018 High Point University graduate — who is now a motivational speaker — believes in this mantra so strongly that he wrote a book about it. “No Bad Days: How To Find Joy In Any Circumstance” was published last month by Forefront Books.
“The book is about how we all have adversity in our lives,” Jester said in a phone interview from his home in Detroit. “We all have those times in life where we get knocked down, and my book explains how we can overcome them.”
Jester, 26, knows a thing or two about overcoming adversity. Born with VACTERL syndrome – a rare combination of several birth defects – he had spent around 250 days in hospital when he was 3 years old and he had undergone 16 major surgeries by the age of 16. childhood marked by one physical challenge after another.
On top of that, he suffered from severe dyslexia and short-term memory loss, which made learning almost impossible. In fifth grade, after his school principal informed him that he couldn’t go to school the next semester, Jester recalled lying on his kitchen floor crying, “Mom, all I want to do is read and write like all the other children.”
Today, however, Jester says he is blessed.
“I’m super lucky to have had amazing doctors in my life,” he says. “I have a busy and active lifestyle, and I can do just about anything I want to do.”
With the right kind of help, he was also able to overcome his learning disability and do what the so-called “experts” said he would never be able to do – he graduated from high school and college. university, earning a degree in business administration from HPU.
Now, as a motivational speaker and bestselling author, Jester’s goal is to share his inspirational story with others so he can help them reach their full potential too.
In “No Bad Days,” for example, Jester writes about the importance of surrounding yourself with the right kind of people who can get you through those tough days.
“The book expresses how important it is to find your tribe of people — people you trust — to help you through these tough times,” he says. “It’s super important, because people can either take us down or take us, and having the right people on your team will only push you to do better and better.”
For more information about Jester, visit his website at JTJester.com.
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