When I retired, I decided to grow a beard. Itchy at first, I decided to stick it out.

Then one day, my wife said, "Your beard is growing out white, and you look like Santa!"

Santa…hmm. Having never been a Santa and with extra time from retirement on my hands, I decided that if I was going to be a Santa, I would first go to Santa school. That is where the transformation happened.

There were over three hundred Santas from all over the world at Santa school. There were new Santas like me and veteran Santas that all sat around sharing stories of how the magic of being Santa had not only influenced the children and adults they encountered but also how being Santa had changed their own lives. It is hard to describe what came over me in those three days of training, but I cried for two of them. My emotions ran high when I decided to do the best job I could at being a Santa.

I feel the magic of believing is important in everyone's life whatever career you choose. Whether you become the best dentist you can be or the best actor, one needs to believe in oneself.

When I decided to become a Santa, I was going to become the best Santa! I have to believe that…I really am Santa. Young kids see through he phoniness of just putting on a Santa suit. The same is true for kids at the age of seven and older (adults). To convince them that Santa is real is sometimes a tough job.

To be a real Santa, l needed to know and be able to explain all about the excitement that happens at the North Pole and what makes it tick. The picture in my mind's eye of how the North Pole exists is in this book.

I've been Santa for several years now, and it has changed my life. It is an interesting existence. Being a real bearded Santa, I look like Santa all year. I carry candy canes in my pocket tor the kids that Il meet, and I never use vulgarity or drink alcohol in public. I've read numerous books about Santa as well as my Santa training manual from cover to cover (composed by some of the best Santas from around the world). I researched countless articles off the Internet about Santa, Christmas, and magic that exist around the world because Santa is everywhere.