My Story

At some point, some of you will read this to learn a bit about my backstory. Like everyone else’s, mine is the story of a person experiencing my unique version of the ups and downs of life while gaining wisdom and greater appreciation along the way. So, here it is — my (recent) backstory as of day 13,638. For the sake of time and interest, I’ll pick up around day 12,352, a little over two years ago, because that’s when things got…well, you’ll see.

It was mid-2017. I was a husband of eight years just entering a new phase of life as a father of a then two-year-old little boy. After ten years and quite a few relocations due to my wife’s never-get-settled TV job, we had just moved back to our home state of South Carolina where we finally had family in close proximity, something we’d never had in the prior ten years. In a life that never felt rooted in one place, it was exciting to be home, but also a little sad knowing that our adventurous days of discovering new cities were over. Nevertheless, we made it back home. More than ever before, we were happy to be living near family so that our little boy could have the opportunity to grow up around his relatives rather than see them once or twice a year. That was important for us and somehow life had steered us right back home, to Charleston, a place we never thought our careers would take us.

I was working full time, having taken a new job a year prior that afforded us the freedom to move mostly anywhere except for the place we were living, Denver, CO. That was painful. Talk about mixed emotions — I loved Denver more than I thought a person could ever love a city. For once in my life, I didn’t have the urge to move anywhere else ever again, which was an entirely new feeling. I had found my spot and my people, the place I wanted to raise my kids, the place that fed my soul and filled me with joy. I never wanted to leave, so when I accepted my new job, it came with the sobering reality that we would be building our life elsewhere.

Kellie, my wife, was simultaneously entering a new role in her life, transitioning from working crazy hours full-time to being a stay-at-home-mom to our son. Our second child hadn’t been born yet, but he would arrive the following May.

In stepping away from working full-time in a mentally draining and sleep depriving role, Kellie had entered a whole new space in life. She was looking for a new direction, more purpose and deeper meaning of life in all areas. For once she could focus on all the things she hadn’t been able to for the previous ten years. Watching our little boy grow up so quickly, it quickly hit her, and me, how fast time was moving. Never before had we so attuned to the passage of time. And so, we both recognized a deep desire within ourselves to slow this passage of time down.

During this time I was focused on my job and work to support our family, but what I really wanted was to find a way to help Kellie feel better about what she was doing as a mother having given up her career to be at home with our little one. She never questioned it, but she inevitably received a offers to move yet again to this place or that to which we declined and reaffirmed our decision to finally get settled. Those moments were definers for us. They galvanized our mission and we felt good knowing that we were doing what we felt was right for us and our family in our hearts. We learned a great deal about ourselves that first year.

As for me, I wanted to provide for our family and for Kellie in a way that would give her the time she needed to find an outlet to create and contribute in more ways than just being a mother could. She never once complained about it, but she was clearly wrestling with this new way of life that was foreign to her. She went from a high-energy day-to-day filled with adrenaline rushes, exciting projects and general productivity to low-energy diaper changes, bottomless laundry hampers, and boring house chores. The dichotomy was real and I could tell it was affecting her, but she’d never say so.

Personally, I was, for once, happy professionally having had the constraints of Kellie’s career removed. We could enjoy a regular life that didn’t include her going to work at 2:30 in the morning. I was, however, struggling a bit watching Kellie search for a new fulfilling professional direction while simultaneously trying to be a very present mother. It was clearly a tough balance for her and it would leave her frustrated. A new feeling of guilt introduced itself to me. Here I was, enjoying my new role, traveling around the country, working on exciting projects, meeting new people and NOT having to take care of children for the entirety of the day. I felt guilty for having work to do.

That was an interesting feeling to grapple with because it made me feel somewhat helpless at times and also conflicted. On one hand I had the good fortunate of a job that paid well enough to allow Kellie to not work, which meant she could be home with the boys all she wanted during their early years. On the other hand, her being home meant she wasn’t using her skills and talents outside of the house and I could tell it was eating on her. I didn’t know how to help. She was throwing everything she could against the wall to see what would stick and there were times when I just wanted to tell her to relax and enjoy her time off, but I knew it wasn’t that straightforward. She had the drive to contribute and produce and she needed to fill that void.

Then, in October of 2017, something terrible happened that would shape our direction as a family and Kellie as a person. Pregnant with our second child, Kellie stepped outside into the cool fall air to take a routine walk around the neighborhood. Our two year old was bundled up with a coat and blanket in his stroller while he munched on a snack and our nine year old dog, Bear, on his leash, was chomping at the bit to smell every corner of the neighborhood. Off they went for what should have been a pleasant walk around the block.

I received a frantic call from Kellie on my phone who was on the other end of the line gasping for air historically while chaos ensued in the background. While she yelled for me on the phone, a sixty-pound German Sheppard was violently attacking our dog, breaking him to pieces, and Kellie feared she and my son were next. She was pulling our lifeless dog away from the attacker and shielding our little boy at the same time, but the dog wouldn’t let go. Kellie was screaming, my son was screaming; it sounded like a nightmare.

As my brain went into total fight mode, I bolted out of the house with no shoes and took off down the street while talking aimlessly to a screaming Kellie on the other end of the phone only to realize I wasn’t getting anywhere fast. I couldn’t even make out where Kellie was, much less get to her quickly. I took a breath and jumped into the car and made my way to her as quickly as possible having vaguely determined more or less where she must be.

When I got to the scene Kellie was a wreck, our dog was hanging on by a thread, and our son looked like he had experienced more trauma than any kid his age should ever have to witness. Thankfully, prior to me arriving, a brave man in the neighborhood who had witnessed the attack and eventually made his way to Kellie successfully fought the dog off.

I threw everyone in the car and we rushed to the vet who made Bear’s final few minutes as peaceful as possible. We lost him shortly after we arrived, but were thankful that Kellie, pregnant at the time, and our little boy were safe.

Those next six months were really rough. Kellie struggled for a long time to come to grips with what had occrued. We were sad that we had lost our dog on a routine walk around our neighborhood. It was devastating. On top of that, our two year old had witnessed first-hand the attack that killed his best friend. How would that affect him? It was a tough time on all of us. I felt so badly for Kellie, knowing that I couldn’t possibly understand to the extent it played out, what she had witnessed. She was broken and had hit rock bottom. Our dog was her first child and she had lost him in the worst way possible.

We all grieved the loss of Bear and the sense of security that had been taken away from us in our new home. It was like the rug got pulled out from under us. For Kellie, the emotional tidal wave of processing what happened with Bear was immense, but her duties as a mom took precedence, so she pushed those feelings aside and powered through.

Fast forward a few months to May 2017. Our second child arrived and for those of you who have children, you know how the second one really throws you for a loop. I agree with the people who say having your second child is tougher than having your first. With all the excitement and joy our second child brought to our life and family, Kellie was still struggling with anxiety and the emotions she hadn’t yet had the opportunity to process following the incident. Life was now more hectic than ever before but we knew she needed to do something to get past what had happened.

She began pouring through books and consuming podcast after podcast of material, looking for any nugget she could find on how to calm anxiety and grow beyond what had happened to her. She changed her routine and began seeing a therapist regularly until one day she woke up and her mind had quieted. I could tell that she had discovered something great, something new, perhaps even a whole new viewpoint on life. I could hear and feel her becoming more at peace with things.

Her outlook brightened, her smile reappeared, and I could tell that joy had returned to her heart. I was glad to have her back.

Thinking about her new approach to life and her new unique perspective, we discussed life experiences and how we wanted to give our boys even more than we had been blessed to experience in life. We talked about how we wanted to show them the world so they could view the world for beyond their particular bubble and develop an empathy and understanding of people. Travel had given us that gift; it had been, for both of us, the single greatest teacher in life.

In one of our discussions at dinner, we made it a goal that no matter what, each year, our family would take a major family trip to ensure that our boys would get to experience the beauty and life lessons of travel. They would also get the full family vacation memory experience as long as we were around. We sat around and laughed, knowing that classic family vacation memories would be something we would be serving up in droves.

As we talked more and more about our classic family vacations from our own childhood, we pondered what it would be like if we had the ability to remember all the little details. “How great would that be”, she said, “if we could just recall a sliver of those memories.” She said, “ I wish we had something to record all of these memories we’re going to make with our boys”. We stood there in the kitchen, thinking. “Let’s make it”, I said.

And so we did.

We woke up the next day, heads full of ideas and immediately went to work, diligitnely trying to determine how we would make a journal that met the standards we had for it. The biggest thing we noticed, as people who have tried to start an inordinate number of businesses, was a connection to the idea and project like we had never experienced before. We knew this was bigger than anything we had done in the past primarily because it aligned perfectly with the direction we were taking our lives. It wasn’t just about creating a Travel Journal; that was just the spark. We knew that was just the tip of the iceberg. We realized we wanted to help families slow down, take pause, reflect, and recognize the beauty and magif of living a life of meaning for oneself, for their children, and for future generations they may never even know. For once, it felt like a calling.

But it wasn’t going to be easy.

We still had to figure out how to create a book and actually produce it. Where would we even start? How would we design it? Who would print it? What kind of paper would we use? What color would the paper be? What type of cover material would we use? Who would we call?

On top of the reality that neither of us had any experience publishing or producing a book, nor did we have any friends or family in a remotely similar industry, we had just had our second child a few months prior. We weren’t getting any sleep and we definitely didn’t have any spare time. We were just trying to get through each day with our sanity intact. The timing wasn’t the best to be starting a business, but there we were.

With Kellie not working, we were living on one income. We didn’t have the kind of savings that we could hastily throw at a project like this and afford to lose. If things didn’t work out, it would be a huge deal. Also, products don’t sell themselves. How the heck would we get the word out about our new brand?

We knew it would be one hell of a challenge, but like every other person who wanted something bad enough, we started by simply putting one foot in front of the other. We committed to making small strides ever single day. Online courses became a part of our daily routine and 4:30am wake ups became the norm. When else were two parents of young kids going to be able to focus for more than ten minutes straight uninterrupted?

We worked harder than we ever had before because we believed so passionately in what we were creating. We turned every stone imaginable, eventually finding a domestic printer that could produce what were looking for. We scrapped and scraped and eventually, after an incredible amount of hard work and discipline, our small wins had stacked on top of one another to the point where we finally arrived at our first printing of an initial run of 500 journals. Six months later, we had sold every single journal and had a customer base that was re-ordering regularly. That initial run of journals, the overwhelming excitement, and the resulting customer feedback gave us the confidence to begin going to work on our second and third journals.

What was so incredibly exciting was that we had created something from scratch and people actually wanted it. What a concept! For us, this meant we were building a business driven by purpose and an alighment with who we were as people. It meant we could expand our line of products and mission which would allow us to reach more poeple because others were recognizing that our message share through our products, that family is our most prized asset, was resonating. Our message and product to being so well received pushed us to look at new strategies for a bigger plan and a bigger vision. We had found a way to create something to help and serve others and that was unbelieveable gratifying. We wanted more.

From that point, we could trust our direction and trust that our message of savoring life’s precious moments was coming through loud and clear. That helped us push on, do more, plan, and dream bigger. What was so powerful about this achievment was that it showed us first-hand the power of determination. Obstacle after obstacle stood in our way but we overcame them one by one and never once thought about giving up. It just meant more this time.

Finding purpose is not something we are all promised to experience. Neither Kellie or I had felt like we had found our purpose beyond being parents to two amazing children, but we were both searching for it. We wanted to contribute to the world in some meaningful way. We were both missing a sense of fulfillment because we didn’t feel like we were on a particular path that was guiding us toward something bigger than ourselves. That changed with our business. Our lives are filled with so much more joy and appreciation these days and we feel that we owe it all to a simple change of perspective.

We feel it is now our duty to help peple live a more fulfilling and meaningful life by sharing what we have learned and the tools we have created. We feel an obligation to help people pause, reflect on what is more important to them, and see our time together as a family in a whole new way, through a new lens, a more present lens.

We began appreciating everything more deeply and have found ourselves living the life we are proud of, having shifted our focus away from things that are unimportant and focusing solely on the things that align with our values. What we have found is that if you’re living your values, you’ll natuarlly life a more happy, beautiful, meaningful life. Today we find more joy in the little things in life as a result of realizing one simple thing: we already have all that we ever need. In fact, we had it the whole time.