Outrunning My Past, Walking Into Purpose: A Journey of Healing, Service, and Wisdom

Many of you may look at this picture and have questions. After all, it’s not every day you see someone like me working with a Tibetan Buddhist monk—especially one who studied and served for more than 30 years at the personal monastery of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, India: Namgyal Tantric College. I understand the curiosity this image may stir.

My hope is that by the end of this article, everything will make sense—and that you’ll be inspired to follow the journey now unfolding.

If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you know my story. For those who are new, here is the condensed, unvarnished version—both the highs and the lows.

• At 35, I weighed over 300 pounds, smoked heavily, drank too much, and was told I had five years before a major heart attack or stroke would likely end my life.

• At 40, I felt the early pull of a midlife transition and the fog of mild depression.

• Over the next several years, my mental health spiraled. I jumped from job to job, contract to contract. Once respected, I was effectively “washed up” by 45.

• In 2018, I left the professional world to “fix” myself—but instead became isolated and obsessively fit. Fitness became my new addiction: a refuge from the demons I refused to face.

• In 2020, I returned to work as the CEO of an amazing company, but nothing inside me had changed. My mental health continued to erode.

• In 2022, in a moment of desperation, I woke up and declared I would run from Jasper to Canmore—over 300 km. I ran a marathon a day for seven days and raised more than $60,000 for sick children.

• That experience changed me. When I returned to work, I resigned and left my career behind for good.  I needed to find answers.

• In 2023, I cycled nearly 13,000 km across Canada and north through Yellowknife and Whitehorse—raising just over $100,000 to put children with special needs on bikes.

• In 2024, I cycled across Canada again—10,000 km and nearly 10,000 pushups—raising another $50,000 for Little Warriors.

• And in 2025, I co-founded Heroes Unleashed with a simple goal: help people and organizations thrive while supporting our community and the charities doing extraordinary work.

I share all of this not to boast. In truth, it’s the story of a broken man who hurt people, lived from a place of ego and insecurity, and watched the joy he once had slip away. If I’m being completely honest, ego was one of the biggest drivers behind those endurance challenges. I was running from myself far more than I was running for anyone else.

After my final endurance event, I began a different kind of journey—one inward. I wanted to understand the human condition: how we think, feel, struggle, connect, and find meaning. Why do so many of us suffer? Why do so many fail to thrive? And what can be done to truly help.

The Heroes Unleashed team dove into mindset, psychology, philosophy, neuroscience, fitness, nutrition, meditation, mindfulness, and more. Our goal was ambitious but simple: create a framework that helps people thrive—one grounded not in ego, but in genuine altruism. Because when human beings contribute with no expectation of return, they unlock profound and lasting happiness.

But becoming genuinely altruistic in today’s world is no small task. It requires time, discipline, humility, and the guidance of truly wise teachers.

Enter my friend, teacher, and mentor: Kushok Lobsang Dhamchöe. A man of extraordinary wisdom. A man whose teachings—more than 2,500 years old—are now being validated by modern science. A man who has helped me become a happier, kinder, more grounded human being.

While I can’t capture the full depth of these teachings in a single article, I’ll be sharing more of them with you in the months ahead in a way I hope brings genuine value. My goal is always to seek out new tools and wisdom that help both myself and others thrive—and whenever I find them, I’ll be sure to pass them along. The intention here isn’t simply to repeat Kushok’s words, but to share how this wisdom is actively improving the quality of my own life. From there, the choice is yours.

**Because this journey is no longer about outrunning my past. It’s about walking, with purpose, toward a future where we all rise together.

And this, right here, is only the beginning.**

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We at Heroes Unleashed want to empower your team or organization to achieve the incredible. It all starts with one conversation. Reach out today and book your free discovery call: https://www.heroesunleashed.ca/contactus