Like most kids, my dad was my hero. Not just because he served his country in uniform, but because he showed up, every single day for his family. He taught me to ride a bike, took me to Yankee games, bought me a heavy bag when I was in a boxing phase (even though the house shook when I hit it) , wrestled with me and my friends, and encouraged my creative side.

Growing up, my father didn't have the money for college so he started his own business. The hours were long and he spent many months of the year on the road. He did so many things by hand that could easily be done today by a computer. Despite all this, he always, always made time for me and my sister.

And isn't that the very definition of a hero?

The job that sparked an idea

In 2005, I started working for JWT, the Marine Corp's long time advertising agency.  In this role, I was the lead writer and Creative Director for recruitment advertising for the United States Marine Corps.

Every time I’d go to a Marine base to film a commercial, I’d bring my then 5 year old daughter back a small gift from the Marine Exchange. At the time, she was having trouble sleeping - bad dreams, fear of the dark, monsters under the bed.

So I bought her a teddy bear and told her a story.

I said, “This is Marine bear, and for 200 years he’s protected our nation. And now he’s going to protect you while you sleep.”

“What if he falls asleep?” she asked.

“He’s a Marine. He would never fail his mission!”

That night, we put the Marine bear on duty and she slept like a bear in hibernation.

That's when I knew that if it could help her, it could help thousands of other kids too.