Motivator's walk same as his talk

Earlier this year, he delivered 23 speeches to more than 30,000 U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, on 10 different bases plus the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier. He was transported around the country in a Blackhawk helicopter at 100 mph, 100 feet off the desert floor. He slept, ate and visited with the soldiers for two weeks.

A month later he served as the keynote speaker for the commanders conference in Germany, where he spoke to U.S. forces and NATO leaders. Afterward, he was whisked away in an F-16 to address soldiers in England.

Along the way, Clark has made a few friends in high and low places and pretty much lived a boy's life. He's flown with the Thunderbirds. He has flown in the F-14, F-15, F-16, F-18 and F-4, C-130, KC-135, B-52 and T-38. He has flown twice the speed of sound. He has pulled nine G's in a jet, which is enough to suck the lips off your face.

He has raced NASCAR race cars.

He has slept in an igloo in Alaska in 60-below temperatures and raced dog sleds.

He has slept in Saddam Hussein's palace and delivered a speech in the palace ballroom.

He rode a Harley across the country with Willie Davidson, Harley's son, on the occasion of Harley Davidson's 100th birthday.

He has attended the Super Bowl, NBA Finals, World Series, Indianapolis 500, the Grammy's, the Russian Ballet, the Masters, U.S. Open and Kentucky Derby, where he was the keynote speaker for a gathering of VIPS and picked the winning horse.

"The joke around our house is that he's always saying, 'It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,' " says Clark's wife, Kelly. "And we say, 'Yeah, you have one of those every week.' "

Clark flies to Nashville every few weeks to spend a couple of days writing songs with some of country music's best songwriters. Did we mention he has a gold record? One of his pet phrases — "Drink, Swear, Steal and Lie" — inspired Michael Peterson to write a hit country song.

Clark has written 21 books and contributed to countless others. He has been the primary contributor to the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" book series, and the first "Chicken Soup" TV show consisted mostly of Clark's stories.

One of his stories was turned into a short film — "Puppies for Sale," starring the late Jack Lemmon — which won the Berlin Film Festival.

"In my next life, I want to be Dan Clark," says Kelly.

Don't we all.

"If there's something he wants to do, he makes it happen," Kelly continues. "I never quite know all the magic behind it. But he creates it. It doesn't just happen."