DJ’s mentors and teachers include, The Dalai Lama, Eben Pagan, Richard Bandler, Timothy Leary, Dan Kennedy, and Wyatt Woodsmall. His influences are also varied, and include John Lilly, Richard Bach, Og Mandino, and Frank Zappa. He has studied many religions and styles of belief thought his life including Shamanism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Christianity. He has explored Gestalt, Cognitive therapy, Inner Child, and various other modalities. He has invested alot of time studying with experts in NLP, hypnosis, leadership, marketing and personal change work. His personal mission statement can be summed up with the following words “Be Awake and Help Others Awaken”