2020 was one of the hardest years in the world, as COVID forced global shutdowns and claimed millions of lives. But despite all the devastation and pain around us, something beautiful emerged in my own family and I learned several powerful lessons that changed my life forever. 

For context, leading up to COVID I had the “busiest” year of my life. I was crushing it at Salesforce while building a side hustle coaching business that was starting to take off. I was constantly traveling, speaking, and getting incredible recognition and accolades. I thought I was hot shit, and became intoxicated with the thrill of success. 

However, things at home were not so rosy. I was not around much for my family, and had grown more distant from my wife than ever before. She wanted to spend more time with me, and I became increasingly defensive and resentful because I wanted to focus on myself and growing my business. My ego had gotten out of control! At the same time, I was silently struggling with addiction, and kept it from my family. All this came to a head in February 2020. 

Deep down in my consciousness, I knew that I could not lead, help, and coach people with full integrity if I hadn’t faced my own demons. I was living a double life. So I took the first step and decided to confess my secrets to my wife. She was absolutely devastated, and seeing the pain I caused her made me immediately realize that not only was I hurting myself, but I was also hurting the woman I loved most. 

At that moment I made the decision to get help. I joined a 12 step recovery group, found a therapist, got a sponsor, and committed to facing my demons once and for all. Then COVID hit, and the world shut down overnight. 

My hectic, nonstop life of stress and travel was brought to an immediate halt. The only thing that mattered was overcoming addiction and saving my family, and I now had the space and time to prioritize what mattered most. 

I paused my coaching business, told my Salesforce leadership what was going on, and committed to my health and family. That year was the most impactful of my life. By the end of 2020, I had stopped getting drunk, smoking pot, taking adderall, and watching porn entirely. 

I found God and committed to living a life of integrity. My wife forgave me, I forgave myself, and committed to living a spiritual life centered around family, faith, health, and service. I had more appreciation and love for my wife than ever before, and loved her exactly as she is. We had a beautiful baby boy, and he came into this world with a new, improved father. I had finally faced my demons and become the person I was truly proud of. 

There are so many lessons that I learned that year, and in this week’s video I share each one in detail. I think these lessons are more important than ever in 2025, when the world is moving at a faster pace than ever before. Despite all the technological advancements we have become more disconnected. Here are a few of the lessons I learned during COVID: 

1. Everything you need is already right in front of you. You just need to take time to appreciate it. 

2. Never try to change your partner. Accept, love, and support them exactly as they are and watch your relationship flourish. 

3. Slow down to stop and smell the roses. Practice being present. Every day we took walks as a family, sat in the sunshine, and learned to appreciate the simple things in life. 

4. Take care of your health, both physical and mental. Face your demons or else they will face you. Once you do the deep work on yourself, everything else in life improves. 

In this week’s video, I share each of these lessons in detail. I hope this inspires you to make any changes you need in life, slow down, and focus on what matters most in life. 

I know it will dramatically improve your life, just like it did mine. 

You can watch the full video here: https://youtu.be/R4lWizkHVsw