Unshaken-LLC

Real stories of resilience, renewal, and
becoming unshaken.

The Burnt Out Daddy

He’s a good man.

A husband, a father, a provider. He’s doing everything “right.” But somewhere along the way, he became burnt out.

A personal friend of mine once shared that he dreaded waking up in the morning. Not because he was lazy, but because he no longer recognized joy in the work he was doing and the life he was living. He was a hard worker, loyal, and dependable, but he felt stuck. His job no longer challenged him, and his career no longer inspired him. He stayed busy, but he wasn’t building anything that mattered to him anymore.

By the time he got home, he was too exhausted to be the husband or father he wanted to be. The man who once dreamed of being present was now simply surviving. When we talked, I shared my own version of that story. Years ago, I was working in federal law enforcement. The career I had dreamed of for years. I had finally achieved what I thought was the goal, only to realize that the very thing I’d worked so hard to reach didn’t fulfill me. The job was fine on paper, but my soul felt unsettled.

So, I pivoted.

I left that career. Not recklessly, but intentionally. I moved to North Carolina and took a leap into something completely different: Subway. I gave joy a shot. And though I didn’t know exactly where it would lead, that decision became the foundation of what would one day grow into 25 stores and a life of purpose I couldn’t have imagined at the time. So, that’s what I encouraged him to do. Not to throw caution to the wind, but to choose joy, regardless. To stop believing that change in your 40s means failure. Instead, it can mean freedom.

And beyond career change, I told him something simple but powerful. I suggested a practical step that works for me to this day:

“Turn off the radio on your drive home.”

Silence isn’t empty. It’s full of answers. That time between work and home can become sacred. It can be a chance to breathe, to unwind, to anchor back into peace before stepping into the beautiful chaos that is family life. Because your family doesn’t need your frustration. They need your presence. They need you — calm, grounded, and Unshaken.

Burnout isn’t always about exhaustion. Sometimes it’s about disconnection. When you lose connection with why you do what you do, even success can feel hollow. But when you rediscover purpose, when you realign your life and career with what matters most, you don’t just reignite joy, you rebuild resilience. You become Unshaken.

At Become Unshaken, our team walks with people and organizations facing that same crossroads. We help them find clarity, purpose, and renewed joy. Whether it’s one leader, one family, or one company at a time, we believe the ripple effect of that transformation can change the world. 

Because a father who rediscovers joy changes a family.

And families like that change communities.

Communities like that change everything.
 
 

Addiction, Empathy, and the Discipline of Hope

Addiction is one of life’s fiercest storms. Not just for the person fighting it, but for everyone who loves them.

A close friend of mine battled addiction for years. Treatment programs came and went. Near-death experiences didn’t scare it out of him. His family’s tears, his own regrets, none of it could fully break the grip that addiction had on his life. But I understood his struggle in a deeply personal way.

My own father wrestled with drug and alcohol addiction when I was young. I saw the wreckage that disease can bring, but I also saw the humanity behind it. The pain, the shame, and the desperate longing to be free.

My mother spent her life on the other side of that fight. As the President and CEO of a large nonprofit helping people recover from substance use and rebuild their lives. I even interned there at times, meeting hundreds of men and women battling what seemed impossible to overcome. It gave me something most people don’t get: perspective. I learned that empathy doesn’t mean enabling. It means understanding. It means meeting people where they are, not where we wish they were.

So when my friend came to me, I didn’t come with judgment. I came with truth and care. We had the hard conversations, the kind that dig deep into pain most people run from. I helped guide him toward treatment and emotional therapy, but I also walked beside him through the in-between. The days when temptation whispered, when shame tried to return, when all he needed was someone who wouldn’t quit on him. Addiction is a daily battle. So is healing. And loving someone through that journey requires the same values I’ve built my life and my company around — discipline, perseverance, and hope.

It’s not easy to love people who are hurting. It’s exhausting, painful, and uncertain. But it’s in that exact space that joy can still exist. Because joy doesn’t depend on circumstance; it’s born from the decision to love and hope regardless. My experience with my friend and my years watching my parents live on opposite sides of that same war, taught me that empathy can rebuild what addiction destroys. Hope can reopen what shame has closed.

When people begin to adopt the Unshaken Mindset, something changes, quietly at first, then unmistakably. They rediscover peace in chaos, purpose in struggle, and joy even when the storm hasn’t passed. Our team has walked through those same valleys and learned what it means to rise, again and again. We’re here to help you, your team, or your organization do the same. Anchored, hopeful, and Unshaken. How can we help?
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