Spirit to Soar : Inspiring Life Lessons and Values for a Victorious Life: The True Story of Former Orphan & POW, Lt. Col. Barry B. Bridger, US Air Force (Ret)

On January 23rd, 1967, Lt. Colonel Barry Bridger and his copilot, Dave Grey, launched a mission over Vietnam in their Phantom F-4 fighter jet in treacherous weather. It was Colonel Bridger’s 75th mission and the only one he had attempted in the daylight hours.

Suddenly, his plane was split in half by a ground-to-air missile. He and Grey ejected while the plane was going 600 miles per hour and began their descent into the unknown below. When Bridger finally landed on terra firma, he found the North Vietnamese army waiting for him. They arrested him and Grey and checked them into The Hanoi Hilton: a place designed to break the spirit of all who entered.

Lt. Colonel Bridger not only survived this horrific ordeal; he thrived. He says his deeply held values saved him and his fellow prisoners.

Are your values compelling enough and ingrained deeply enough to sustain you through a situation in which, like Barry, you are captured by a savage enemy and subjected to years of torture? Are your values such that you can make it through the inevitable tough times we all face periodically that make it hard to continue?

The Spirit to Soar is filled with valuable life lessons about how to thrive and how to use every experience to help you successfully face the next one.

Jim Petersen PhD retired from the financial services industry at the end of 2018, having served in multiple positions in both the field and the home office. He completed almost a twenty-two-year career in the United States Navy and United States Naval Reserve as a submarine officer retiring with the rank of Captain (0-6). Jim graduated from the United States Naval Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree, and he earned Master of Science degrees both in management and financial services from The American College of Financial Services. On June 1, 2017, he became the first financial services manager to be awarded a PhD in financial and retirement planning from The American College. He is the past president and emeritus of the Alumni Board of The American College and Chairman of The American College Penn Mutual Center for Veterans Affairs. He serves as the Roger Hull/James S. Bingay Chair of Leadership for The American College, specializing in leadership, comprehensive financial planning, ethics, and organizational behavior.

Jim is the Chief Executive Officer and Founding Principal of Diversified Professional Coaching, LLC. As a former financial services executive, he is committed to leading a company that coaches business executives, advisors, and clients to pursue their financial goals and lifetime dreams by bringing sound business acumen, financial knowledge, and trustworthy advice to a lasting relationship with each person he serves. In addition, Jim is the President and owner of the Professional Business Coaches Alliance, LLC which is committed to training and supporting the future of business coaches. Jim authored two other books From Combat to Client Service and From Combat to Corporate Life both of which deal with recruiting military veterans for business. Jim and his wife, Louise, split their time between their homes in Fort Worth, Texas, and Orlando, Florida.