Dear Reader,

Life is hard and there is no getting around that.

Starting in childhood, I had unfortunate experiences that quickly led me to a life of cautiousness and fear. On the outside, of course — a happy-go-lucky kid who rolled right into his teenage years but on the inside, a prisoner of my own body. One who found comfort in burying his feelings and using food to bury them even deeper.

Into the teenage years, I continued — unchecked and alone — to feel these feelings and to further feed an addictive personality and be a people pleaser but from the outside looking in, you wouldn’t be able to tell. You wouldn’t know that by young adulthood, a cloud of darkness had taken over my life. Joy and happiness came in spurts. The light shined on me from time to time but the darkness overshadowed it.

Fast forward — I had the life-changing experience of meeting the love of my life. She saw me for me and was the first person I felt I could open up to and she didn’t run away. She wasn’t trying to justify what I was saying, she listened and cared.

So I did what any smart man would do, I married her. With that, the light started to shine brighter.

I wish I could say that what happened next — the accident — was my only near-death experience but the truth is, it was just the one that changed everything. The one where I realized I didn’t have to be a prisoner in my mind and in my body anymore. Where when I asked for help, I got what I needed. The one where I realized that we all deserved to live in the light and be a light for others.

That journey also led me to therapy and to taking my mental health seriously. Arthur Brooks writes that the happiest people aren’t the ones without pain — they’re the ones who stop managing it alone. I wish I had learned that sooner.

From there, I became a father to a beautiful baby girl and I spend my time now trying to be a light for all, including myself.

So why am I saying all this now?

Because I know at least one of you reading this is going through a dark period. One where you don’t feel like the people you need in your life are the ones supporting you. After my accident, one of the things I learned is that life is really short and looking back on mine, I’ve let a lot of people go, and kept the ones who love and support me no matter what. The ones who are always willing to step up and I am willing to do the same for them.

I also found something else out of all of this: respectful but direct honesty. With the primary message being — be a light. Live for happiness, while recognizing that you won’t always be happy. Be a light for everyone you interact with because you never know what lies beneath.

You can do that respectfully. You can be honest respectfully and you can be who you’re called to be — not just professionally, but as a person. One who supports other people, who cares, who leans in instead of pulling back.

One who says, I’m going to give it my all regardless of what I get in return. Be that person for someone. Be a light so someone in darkness can finally see and be seen.

When things are brought into light, that’s when real change happens.

With deep gratitude,
Will