He was born to a poor immigrant family in New York City, where he experienced homelessness, hunger and health issues, only to rise to unimaginable heights of success, eventually winning unanimous confirmation by the U.S. Senate to become the 17th Surgeon General of the United States.

His road to success was anything but easy. Richard Carmona is a former high school dropout who went on to become a combat-decorated Vietnam veteran as a member of the U.S. Army’s elite Special Forces.

While in the Army, he earned his GED and after the war, he enrolled in college, first earning his nursing degree before graduating from medical school. His career also included stints as a hospital and health system CEO, becoming a deputy sheriff, writings books and teaching medicine at the University of Arizona. He’s currently the president of the nonprofit Canyon Ranch Institute and speaks regularly on the importance of lifestyle modification and prevention in dealing not only with our personal health but the potential healthcare crises facing our country.

Richard H. Carmona, M.D., M.P.H., FACS, talks to Growing Bolder about the simple, everyday habits and actions each one of us can do to add quality years to our lives. He talks about the growing importance of personal responsibility when it comes to healthcare.

He shares the ways he’s been able to incorporate healthy habits into his busy life. Plus, you know how the Surgeon General’s warning is on the bottom of every pack of cigarettes? Wait until you hear how he used to engage smokers in conversations when he was still wearing his Surgeon General’s uniform.