Today I dive in and share on the show the story that started it all. 

At a conference I attended a year and a half ago, I was challenged to share a vulnerable story, a story about me and my life that I hadn’t shared publicly at this point.

I am not one to back down from a challenge so once I arrived home I waited until my husband and kids were asleep, took a deep breath, locked myself in a closet and went LIVE on Facebook.

I share the story of my battle with depression and anxiety and the story of my attempted suicide at 18.

I. Was. Nervous. As. HECK!

What would people think of me?

Would I lose friends because of this?

WHAT WOULD MY CLIENTS THINK?!

My heart was racing and my mind going crazy.

I ended my video and logged out of Facebook.

The next morning I summoned up all my courage, literally all of it, and logged in to check the “damage”.

I was blown away.

They comments, the support, the love, the ‘I’ve been there’, the ‘thank you for sharing this’ - I couldn’t believe it.

In addition to that, I had an inbox full of messages from some friends, some acquaintances and some from people I didn’t know.

That morning, I learned that my video had been watched by and shared with so many people really, really struggling.

Out of those people, 5 of them sent me a private message that they were planning to end their life but MY video saved them. One was planning on ending it all THAT VERY NIGHT I DID MY VIDEO - pills and alcohol in hand.

That low quality video of a super nervous 25 year old wife and mom who was locked in a closet saved 5 peoples lives.

I don’t take this lightly AT ALL.

I don’t say this to brag in ANY WAY!

I don’t say this to get attention.

I say this because this is first hand proof that we all have a story that can change and save lives.

That our pain can be used for good.

That our hardships can have positive outcomes.

WE ALL have hardships we’ve overcome, battles we’ve fought, wounds, scars, lessons we’ve learned…none of us have the same experiences and none of us share the same voice.

This experience is what propelled me on a journey of helping others to share their stories to create impact and change lives.