This isn't the email I was expecting to send

This was not the email that I thought I would be writing. 

I thought I would talk to you about socio-economic accessibility, and that I was offering two scholarship spots inside of the Video Essentials Lab. 

I thought I would be talking about what it means to me to be able to have the capacity and ability to do it. 

I thought I would talk about growing up in a household with a small family income, financial insecurity, and how offering accessible pricing structures creates a system that can change the future. 

I thought I would share all of that. 

Until my Mom called me at exactly 3 pm. 

I declined the call at first — I was on a zoom call — until she texted me. 

Dad got hurt. 

Three words. 

I left zoom and called her half a second later. 

In less than 5 minutes my partner and I were on the 407, heading straight to my family home to take him to the hospital. 

I grew up knowing that my Dad’s job was dangerous. But it didn’t actually hit me until I was 12 or 13, when my Dad had come home one day, shaken. 

He had his own business as a Truck & Coach Mechanic. And while I knew him as an entrepreneur, what I mostly saw was him in action — working on 18-wheeler trucks. 

On that day, oh so many years ago, he had been working underneath the truck as he normally did. He had peeked his head out from underneath for a moment, and less than a second later, the jack that normally keep the truck suspended failed, and the truck came crashing down — right where his head had been seconds before.

It was on that day, when he came home and explained how close of a call it was, that it truly hit me how dangerous the job he chose was.

But he did it to support us. To help our family grow. To give our family a chance at attaining financial security.

After that day, every single morning when he would leave for work, I would say a little mental prayer that he would always come home safe.

I don’t know how my Dad had the strength to drive himself home today, after it happened. It must have been the adrenaline, surely. He was still in shock when we arrived, unable to speak more than a few words, as he quietly, and slowly, got into our car. Tears were gently slipping down as he tried to explain what happened.  

I have never, ever, seen him cry before. 

Just like that day so many years ago, the jack holding the 18-wheel truck had slipped. 

This time, he was still underneath. 

The weight of the truck fell right on top of him, as the brakes released, and the truck rolled over his body.

He has bruises that match the tire marks of the truck on his back. 

As I write this, he’s currently alone at the hospital, waiting on x-rays, ultrasounds, and scans, while I wait at my parents home until we know what’s next — because this is also the reality of emergencies in the midst of COVID-19.

Now that I am waiting, I can't help but think about what entrepreneur has given me, and what it really means to me — past the flashy launches and the $X months. 

And what it means — at its core — is the freedom to do be there for my family on days like today.

It is about having the freedom to be able to support my family should they ever need it. 

And to be able to have a space where I can not only feel supported, but use that support to lift up the people around me. 

See, socio-economic accessibility is important to me because I firsthand know what it means to be granted chances and opportunities that have helped to lift myself and my family into the more privileged position we now find ourselves in: far from the reality of how I grew up. 

And every time I share these stories of and flashes of my experiences, it's to remind you of what is possible when the people around you in positions of influence, privilege, & power choose to find ways to truly support you — in ways you may not have had access to before. 

And every day that I am reminded of this is another day that this ripple effect will spread farther and wider, so we can continue to truly lift each other up, and thrive together. 

Because at the end of it all, that is all I ever wish for. 

P.S. The Video Essentials Lab closes tomorrow at midnight, and it is hitting me even harder how important it is that we truly see ourselves in each other’s stories and resilience. If you think this might be for you, you can check it out here and sign up — you have just over 24 hours left.  

P.P.S. Know someone this Lab would be amazing for — (could it be you?) — but may not have the means to financially invest in this right now, Share / fill out this application for the opportunity to attend the Lab either via a scholarship or at an economically accessible price. 

P.P.P.S. I don’t write this for you to feel sad — I write this because THIS is at the heart of my launches, my work, and my every day. I write this because I want to remind you that life and heart are almost always weaved into entrepreneurship, even when we don’t talk about it.

I write this to normalize all of it. 

And I also write this to heal.