The only thing that saved me was connection.

Before any of this, I was building other people's dreams. I managed music artists. I produced a college tour that grew from 50 auditions to about 300, then about 600, then more than 1,000. I co-founded a music festival with a big northern SXSW vision, and I ran the marketing, money and merch for an underground jam-session band. I've been helping small businesses build their brands since 2009.

Then my body stopped me. Stage 4 endometriosis. Emergency surgery. I relearned how to walk before I left the hospital. My hair fell out, my relationship ended, and I lived through two years of depression.

What brought me back was people. A friend introduced me to coaching, and I reconnected with myself. Another friend reached out, and we became accountability partners. Little by little I came back to life. I wrote my first book, I became a coach, and I started the Academy.

So when I say the only thing that saved me was connection, I mean it. The connection to self, then the connection to others. That's what this whole garden is for.