Grit, Gratitude, & Grace Newsletter Reader 1 Insight From Me March 2024. One month into Florena's cancer treatment. I had a choice every single day: Stay in the comfort zone (let fear keep me from learning about her specific cancer type, treatment options, nutrition protocols) or step into discomfort (research things I didn't understand, ask doctors questions that made me sound ignorant, try nutrition approaches I'd never heard of). I chose discomfort. Every single day. I researched medical...
9 days ago • 2 min read
Grit, Gratitude, & Grace Newsletter Reader 1 Insight From Me I was about to walk into my first day at my new job after ten months of unemployment. I stood in the parking lot, heart pounding, thinking: "I'm not confident enough for this. What if they realize they made a mistake hiring me?" Then I remembered something my martial arts master told me when I was testing for my black belt 33 years ago: "Confidence doesn't come from feeling ready. Confidence comes from doing it afraid—and...
16 days ago • 2 min read
Grit, Gratitude, & Grace Newsletter Reader 1 Insight From Me November 2024. The interviewer asked: "Tell me about a time you faced significant adversity." I had a choice: Give a safe, sanitized answer about a work project. Or tell the truth. I told the truth. "My wife was diagnosed with cancer in January. I lost my job one week later. For the past four months, I've been her primary caregiver while job searching. Some days I make her smoothies at 5 AM, take her to treatment at 9 AM, and have...
23 days ago • 2 min read
Grit, Gratitude, & Grace Newsletter Reader 1 Insight From Me April 2024. Month three of Florena's cancer treatment. I walked into the bedroom and snapped at her over something completely minor—I don't even remember what it was. She looked at me with tears in her eyes and said quietly: "I know you're not actually mad at me." She was right. I wasn't mad at her. I was terrified of losing her. I was frustrated by my powerlessness. I was exhausted from caregiving. I was anxious about money. But I...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Grit, Gratitude, & Grace Newsletter Reader Here's 1 insight, 2 quotes, and 1 challenge to consider this week... 1 Insight From Me When my wife was diagnosed with cancer and I lost my job in 2024, people kept telling me: "Just be grateful. It could be worse." I wanted to scream. Grateful? FOR cancer? FOR unemployment? FOR the worst season of our lives? You don't have to be grateful FOR your circumstances. You can be grateful IN your circumstances. I wasn't grateful FOR cancer. But IN the...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Grit, Gratitude, & Grace Newsletter Reader Here's 1 insight, 2 quotes, and 1 challenge to consider this week... 1 Insight From Me Every productivity guru told me I needed a 5 AM wake-up, cold shower, meditation, journaling, workout, healthy breakfast, and goal review—all before 8 AM. When my wife had cancer and I was unemployed in 2024, I tried that routine exactly once. By 6:30 AM, I was already behind schedule, stressed, and feeling like a failure. So I built a morning routine that actually...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Grit, Gratitude, & Grace Newsletter Reader Here are 2 insights, 2 quotes, and 2 challenges to consider this week... 2 Insights From Me I. "I learned more from making Florena's anti-cancer smoothies for six months than from any formal education I've ever had. Not about nutrition (though I learned that too). About growth mindset in action. Every morning, I'd research another ingredient, study another compound, test another combination. Some tasted terrible. Some made her feel worse. Some we...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Grit, Gratitude, & Grace Newsletter Reader Here are 2 insights, 2 quotes, and 2 challenges to consider this week... 2 Insights From Me I. "I failed 47 times before I got a 'yes.' Forty-seven job applications. Forty-seven rejections. Each one felt like confirmation that I wasn't good enough. But here's what those 47 failures taught me: Fear of failure is actually fear of feedback. Every rejection told me something: Application #12 taught me to customize my resume for each role Application #23...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Grit, Gratitude, & Grace Newsletter Reader Here are 2 insights, 2 quotes, and 2 challenges to consider this week... 2 Insights From Me I. "Every morning during Florena's cancer treatment, I visualized the outcome I wanted—not the outcome I feared. I didn't visualize her cured (I couldn't control that). I visualized myself showing up with strength, presence, and love regardless of what happened. I saw myself making her smoothies with intention. I saw myself sitting through chemo appointments...
2 months ago • 2 min read