Jim Greene

Over the past 30 Plus years, Jim Greene aka...The HOPE Guy has worked in the healthcare field as a Crisis Counselor where he has dedicated his life to helping others to find HOPE in the midst of the most adverse life situations. Having suffered through and overcome two bouts with clinical depression himself when he even considered giving up on life, Jim has a keen understanding of what it means to feel hopeless. Having "been there", he is uniquely able to sympathize with those he counsels. As a result, Jim's daily mission continues to be one of giving others hope and inspiration by sharing his stories and experiences of overcoming adversity. In doing so, he is able to utilize his own life experience as a "Wounded Healer" to help others find H.O.P.E, which to him, stands for, HOLD ON POSSIBILITIES EXIST.

Jim Greene is no stranger to adversity. Throughout his life, Jim has suffered through and overcome numerous physical, spiritual and emotional obstacles. As a child, he suffered from undiagnosed attention deficit disorder which caused him to fail miserably in the classroom for most of his young life. While in elementary School, he was frequently in trouble with his teachers and repeatedly achieved below average grades. While in high School his parents divorced, and he began abusing alcohol. By the time he was a senior he was using alcohol almost daily. As a young adult, he faced the greatest obstacle of all in Major Clinical Depression during which he had seriously contemplated ending his Life. In his first year of high school, he failed three subjects in his first semester and four in his second semester. Faced with the prospect of failing out of school, Jim knew something had to change and that was his ATTITUDE.

ATTITUDE is ATTITUDE a behavior, not a feeling". Therefore, Jim reached out for help from his sister and brother-in-law who tutored him the rest of the way. Despite the odds, Jim overcame his learning deficits and eventually went on to graduate high school in the lower third of his class. During his senior year, Jim scored a 610 and 690 respectively on his SAT's. Consequently, going to college and playing football seemed all but an impossible dream. However, through the assistance of a few mentors who believed in him more than he did in himself, he was granted admission to Kean College of New Jersey in the fall of 1985 and he never looked back.

Throughout his college years, Jim used determination and perseverance to build up his grade point average while achieving Dean's List Honors. In addition, he continued to play football at the Division III Level of the New Jersey Athletic Conference. Five years later, in 1990, Jim proudly received his Bachelor's Degree in Psychology. After Graduating from college, Jim entered the seminary and began studies for the Roman Catholic priesthood. There, he became president of his class, raised his grade point average to 3.5. and Life was looking better. Although he eventually left the seminary in 1992, Jim returned to Seton Hall University School of Theology in1996 and completed studies for a Master's Degree in catholic Theology.

Jim was inspired to become a motivational speaker after meeting the real "Rudy" Ruettiger in May of 2001, whose childhood dream to go to the University of Notre Dame and play on the football team inspired the Blockbuster movie "Rudy". Despite the odds, Rudy achieved his dream and continues to inspire thousands to this day. After meeting the "Real" Rudy, Jim decided to join in Rudy's mission of inspiring people young and old to help them realize what Rudy taught him that... "IT'S ALWAYS TOO SOON TO QUIT!"

Jim's Featured Programs include:

How to Turn your "SETBACKS" into "Comebacks" for a Lifetime of Success (Keynote) Youth/Education/Schools/Colleges

How to Handle a Mental Health Crisis: Signs, Symptoms and Solutions. (Seminar) 1/2 Day or Full Day

The Miracles of Medjugorje: Our Lady's Message of HOPE for the World

How to Help Your Youth Group Build Their Self Esteem, See Hope In Their Future, and Get Motivated to Take on the World No Matter Where They're at in Their Lives.