I’ve always prided myself on being a hard worker. In fact, for most of my life I considered it my competitive advantage, maybe even my identity. Not having graduated college I always felt like the only way I could compete was to out hustle everyone – and I did.

While my work ethic has certainly made a positive impact on my businesses and career, inevitably it also took a heavy toll on me personally. Sometimes it was my physical health that suffered, other times my mindset (what we were afraid to refer to then as mental health). Regardless, I would push through – grind harder. It’s all I knew to do, and frankly I was afraid to do anything else. Ironically I’d even immerse myself in intense personal development working even harder to shake the fatigue, stress, and anxiety. You probably know how that story ends – it doesn’t.

It took decades of repeating this painful cycle before I was able to admit I was struggling with mental health issues like anxiety and even bouts of depression not to mention physical exhaustion with my body simply shutting down. I took classes, journaled, received coaching, read books, watched documentaries, joined boot camps, and attended workshops to try and deconstruct the self-destructive behavior I had viewed most of my life as my badge of honor. I’d sum up this process with that great quote from Einstein, “The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don’t know.”

So, I’ve created Help & Hustle as a way to share my journey to better understand that ever illusive balance many of us seek – to understand and untangle the connection between Help and Hustle. I believe there is a way to build a great business, life, marriage, family and community – without compromise. It requires hustle that most of us are not afraid of (and some of us enjoy), but it also requires the ability to help ourselves (and others) to ensure we can show up and perform as the best version of ourselves every day in every area of our lives. Ultimately, like any type of balance, it requires constant and intentional adjustments to both along the way.

So I welcome you to join me as I hope to share what I’ve learned, what I’m learning, and connect you with those that are teaching me along the way. There’s no clear path here, no set rules, so I hope you join us with an open mind and heart as we figure this out together.

Here’s to the Help & Hustle ahead!