02/25/2024
This week is the anniversary of my mom’s death. She passed away 8 years ago, just before she was to meet my first daughter. The journey since has been a special kind of difficult with my father, stepfather, and mentor all dying in the years neighboring my mother’s passing.
Sad story, I know…but grief and loss are not the only themes to this narrative.
In the time since losing my loved ones, I’ve also built a beautiful life with my wife and two daughters.
I’ve climbed the career ladder with no degree to the VP level at a tech startup and now am a Product Manager at the parent company that bought us.
I’ve ran an ultra-marathon in honor of my lost loved ones.
I’ve released music inspired by their memories.
I’ve learned how to box and lived like a fighter, getting up at 4:30am to go punch and be punched.
I’ve written articles about the grief process.
I’ve established a daily practice of meditation, journaling, and cold showers.
I’ve personally consulted others that are going through difficult life events armed with the wisdom that comes from deep experiences and intentional learning.
I've turned my painful, lonely, sometimes desperate experience into value as best I could, and lived a prosperous life despite all the latent trauma that the death of my progenitors unlocked.
And that’s the real battle with compound grief; these deaths opened the door to CPTSD fueled memories of a lifetime filled with anger, sadness, abandonment, abuse, neglect, addiction, incarceration, poverty, mental illness, and the darker side of the human experience. But somehow, I didn’t let the darkness consume me.
Throughout my journey I’ve questioned, “how did I make my relatively successful and happy life a reality when the cards were so stacked against me?”
I examined the events of my life and the way I learned from them and continually evolved.
What I found was that I had a constant commitment to making my life matter, to not being a victim of my circumstances, and to moving past surviving into Thriving.
What I found was that I have spent my entire life Mastering my Determination.
And now I want to help others do the same on a larger scale by publishing a newsletter for those who are Determined to Thrive despite life’s challenges.
I want to do so to honor my lost loved ones as I am their legacy, but mostly, I want to help others because I know how difficult it is to navigate life when circumstances make success appear unattainable.
I’ve found that there is always a path forward, and that the darkness cannot keep up if you run hard enough towards the light.
If the above resonates with you or reminds you of someone you love, please consider signing up for my newsletter that is filled with personal stories that inspire transformation, productivity advice, and explorations of what humans are capable of when they are Determined to take control of their narrative and better navigate the flow of their life’s path.
Also, there is a FREE PDF download available at the bottom of my website titled:
Unleashing Potential Through Personal Scrum: A Manifesto & Guide for Those Determined to Thrive.
My biased opinion is that it’s a great introduction to values-based time management and a secret weapon to bring ideas to life and proactively structure your life. If you dig it, there is a pay whatever you want link in the PDF with no minimum or strings attached.
Thanks for reading.
Productivity, Business & Creative Consulting for Artists, Independent Businesses, Creative Professionals, Trauma Survivors, and People with ADHD.
