Gerald Paul Simmons Jr. was born October 16, 1977, in Vicenza, Italy. Growing up as an “army brat,” Gerald spent most of his early years traveling around the world. Before he was in Kindergarten, he had traveled to Fort Hood, Texas; Fort Carson, Colorado; Augsburg, Germany; Lincoln, Alabama; and Lawton, Oklahoma where Gerald’s family settled long enough for him to get involved in school. Gerald was finally able to experience the joys of making friends and even discovered sports. By the time he was in the 3^rd grade Gerald had developed a love for football. Gerald enjoyed the rest of his elementary years in Lawton, Oklahoma until his family moved again the beginning of his 6^th grade year. Relocating back to Lincoln, Alabama, Gerald finished his 6^th grade year and relocated once again with his family to Germany to complete his middle school years. By the time Gerald reached high school, his family moved back to the United States to his hometown in Lawton, Ok. With a solid foundation in Lawton and no plans of relocation ahead of him, Gerald was able to enjoy his high school years at Eisenhower High. He continued to pursuit his love for football and even met a new love in the 11^th grade, his high school sweetheart and wife today, Denise Simmons. With time to learn his strengths and talents without the interruptions of moving, Gerald developed more and more as a football player. He was an All-district and All-area Defensive Back (CB) on the football team and received frequent praises and honors from both his team and coaches. After high school, Gerald went to Panhandle State University in Goodwill, Oklahoma and then transferred to East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma, where he made the starting roster on the football team. In December of 1997, Gerald left college. He joined the United States Army in September of 1998. During his enlistment, Gerald thrived in a number of ways. He was stationed in Fort Carson, Colorado where he was afforded the opportunity to work on a variety of sophisticated tasks including coordinating visits for President George W. Bush. and received many honors and recognitions for his tasks. To add to Gerald’s list of accomplishments throughout his tenure, Gerald returned to school to earn his Associate’s degree in Architectural Drafting. After serving his term, Gerald began his career as a Draftsman & Mechanical Engineer which lasted for three years until he was laid off from his job in 2008. Inspired by the need to motivate others, Gerald used his time to develop his own organization, Innovative Visions, a full service company dedicated to motivating and encouraging every individual to (G)et (P)ast the (S)etbacks of life. In 2009, Gerald released his first motivational book, “The GPS Success Guide” and another in 2011, “Playing the Cards of Life.” Gerald is also a life coach and incorporates the ten steps he believes to be essential to moving forward in life into a 4 month course titled, “The GPS Success Empowerment Course.” Gerald’s other outreach projects include his online radio show, “The Motivational Corner,” and appearances on various radio shows throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Under Gerald’s leadership others continue to be motivated to reach past the setbacks of life and reach their greatness. Gerald has a team of motivators in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas area called the DFW Kings of Motivation as well as his team in North Carolina, the Charlotte Kings and Queens of Motivation. Today, Gerald continues to educate and motivate everyone about how to overcome the tests and trials of life and reach their true greatness. For more information or to learn about upcoming projects and speaking engagements from Gerald and his team please visit: http://gpsimmonsjr.com/default.aspx