Grief doesn’t follow stages. I lost my mother to suicide at 20 months old. Forty-eight years later, the grief still shows up unannounced. Here is what I have learned about carrying it.
Category: Resilience and Adversity
What getting engaged at 48 taught me about patience and timing
I got engaged at 48 after a divorce and a career reset. The timing was not what I planned. It was better, because I finally knew who I was.
Survivor to Advocate: Turning Pain Into Purpose
How losing my mother to gun violence at age two led to a lifetime of advocacy. The journey from carrying pain silently to using it for purpose.
The lie we tell ourselves about being self made
Nobody is self-made. I built a $15 million company and called myself self-made for years until I started counting the people who made it possible.
Three things my mother never got to teach me
I lost my mother at 20 months old. I have spent decades thinking about the lessons she never got to teach me and learning them on my own.
How to build resilience after personal tragedy
Resilience after tragedy is not about “getting over it.” It is about building a life that carries the weight without collapsing under it. Practical lessons from someone who has rebuilt more than once.
The year everything fell apart and what I built from the wreckage
In one year I lost the business, the marriage, and my sense of who I was. Rebuilding was not inspirational. It was one small decision per day until momentum returned.
In Wisconsin you can buy a gun faster than a mental health diagnosis
Gun suicides account for more than half of all gun deaths in America. I have been waiting seven months for an ADHD diagnosis in Wisconsin. In that same state, you can buy a gun the same day. Something is backwards.
Why I resigned from a $35M company I helped build
I helped grow a roofing company to $35M in revenue with 180 employees, then resigned due to a breakdown in the partnership. Here is what the experience taught me about partnerships, identity, and knowing when to go.
How I stopped letting imposter syndrome run my career
Imposter syndrome ran my decisions for years, from boardrooms to political campaigns. The shift came when I stopped managing the fear and started ignoring its advice.
The phone call that changed how I think about fatherhood
A phone call from my daughter changed how I show up as a father. Co-parenting three kids taught me that balance is a myth. Honest presence is what matters.
Why I talk about my mother’s death on stage in front of strangers
The question I get asked most: why share your mother’s death on stage? Because silence helped nobody. Every talk, someone shares their own story for the first time.