My Story
I’ve been on this earth for just over 40 years but in many ways my journey has just begun. I’ve spent most of my life looking for purpose. I knew I was meant to do something important, I just didn’t know what that was. It wasn’t until I got into my 30’s that I’d come to learn what my purpose was; and that was only after I was able to answer one question.
Who am I?
It’s really not that much more complicated than that. Of course, it’s a simple question that can manifest itself in many ways, and that’s where creativity, passion, and love meet intention. So do I know where I will go or what I will do? I don’t and that’s okay because as long as I align myself to my intention I know I will be on the right path no matter where it takes me
I’ve always been a very extrovert person who loved the company of others. Growing up friends would call me a “chameleon” of sorts as I could always relate well to many different types of people and found it easy to blend in to different environments. Friends would also say that I bounced from hobby to hobby, was insecure, and very self absorbed. All those things were true and I could probably go on about the way I lived most of my life.
I learned from a young age that who I was (my worth, value, etc.) was based on things outside of myself. I searched high and low and everywhere in between to gain the approval, acceptance, and ultimately love of those around me. Worse than just “searching” for love, I actually “stole” it from those around me. I knew I was good at relating to people and my inner childused that to his advantage by manipulating others to give me what I wanted…attention, acceptance, affection, love. In essence, my true self – my authentic self- was completely buried so deep I didn’t even know he was there.
Fast forward to mid 2011 where I was a successful “Dad Blogger”. By all “outward” accounts I was doing well but inside only my ego knew of the devastation. My life led by False Belief and Ego had caught up to me and the very person I wanted least to be was staring back at me in the mirror.
I found myself potentially facing divorce, losing custody of my children after 4 years of infertility and finding out we had less than 10% chance of ever having children. I was on the verge of losing a job that I desperately needed, only to be placed on a 90-day notice to shape up or ship out. I found myself distancing from friends and family alike.
The world I so much relied on for my sense of worth, value, and almost literally LIFE, was dying before my eyes. It all led to one night when I was forced to sleep in my car, locked out of my own home and faced with the decision to end life as I knew it or find some way to figure out why life was the way it was.
I began Personal Therapy and dove deep into what made me what I was. My journey to reclaim that little boy (my inner child) I lost years ago, led me to understand I had written a story where false beliefs and shame took center stage. A story where the inner child who was never loved in the way he deserved to be loved was still struggling to do so.
I began writing a new story; a story based on who I am and not on how I might have felt, what I looked like, what I thought or even what I did. This new story would be the catalyst for discovering self-love and redefining what it looked like to show up in the world.
My Purpose
Figuring out what we’re supposed to do in life is the fun stuff. We’re all addicted to doing so it’s no surprise that we want to figure out so badly what we’re supposed to do! However, I believe that in order to find your life’s purpose you need to turn your who am I into who I am. The path from who am I to who I am is found in writing your New Story.
Writing our New Story means we have to face some really uncomfortable stuff. It means we have to do the hard work. We need to go back to places we’ve mostly wanted to forget. I’m here to tell you that you are not alone and I will walk with you. Together, we will reclaim that inner child in you and get the tools you need to live the life you not only want but deserve.
As I continue to write my own New Story, I find myself leaning into other roles. As such, I now speak publicly on topics of Self-Love, Self-Awarness, and Mindfulness. I am an Author of the 5 Day Self-Love Challenge eBook with another book under way and I write on this site and many others. I also facilitate New Story Workshops where I inspire, empower, and teach others how to write their New Story. Finally, you might know me as the host of The I Simply Am podcast where I have shared my messages with hundreds of thousands of listeners in more than 150 countries around the world.
Life is a practice and we are all Master Practitioners of life.
My journey has just begun and I have always claimed and still claim that I may be at the beginning of the road but I know I’m on the right road. I hope to share my life lessons with you and I encourage you to share your own stories with me. I truly believe we are all connected and that everyone has something to both learn and to teach.