When I was about to give up on life because alcohol and drugs and my mental health (or lack of it) got the best of me, a 16 year old girl who lived her faith, gave me hope. She said God had a purpose for me and my messed up life. She was right! I decided to accept her leadership and turn over my addiction, fears, loss and lack of direction to the one who created me and it worked.

Though life hasn’t always been smooth it has always been purposeful. Every single thing I have been through has served to just give me another opportunity to share with a broader audience of people who are struggling. I decided to listen to those who saw more in me than I saw in myself and stop telling myself I was too dumb to go to college. Just because I didn’t do well in high school didn’t mean I didn’t have the ability to succeed in life. They were right. I graduated with a 3.7 GPA by finding a different learning style and it has been an amazing journey.

After 30 years of counseling kids and adults who had lost a reason to go on, I discovered that what they needed was Help Opportunity Praise and Encouragement (HOPE) if they were going to keep pressing on. HOPE is something we can all offer. We can give someone help just by listening. Sharing our own experiences is life changing as has been proven through the millions of people who have gone to a 12 step program meeting, have gone to church, counseling or in fact, have ever met another human being that impacted them. Perhaps it was a teacher, a mentor or just a friend. We have all been changed by people who are willing to share a part of themselves. We are all leaders, we just need to realize how many people are following us whether we want them to or not.

We also give people opportunities by inviting them to get involved in our lives. Maybe it is having a kid mow your lawn or asking someone to review your book. We need purpose and we all need opportunities to shine. Praising them for taking the risk to accept the opportunity and encouraging them to keep moving forward is what HOPE is all about. Somebody gave it to us and it’s our turn to pay it forward.

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I interviewed one of these leaders for my podcast who was willing to share a little bit about his story and how he struggled through being a professional therapist and an alcoholic and how he has come to give others HOPE through his story and experience. Dr. Mac, as his patients call him, shared two of his own acronyms for HOPE that also rang true for me. Listen to his podcast to hear his story of HOPE! Dr. Mac on Professionals in Recovery

My niece, whom, to be honest, I have spent very little time with in 30 years, has just entered my life with a bang and it is awesome. We are finding a mirror reflection of each other in our lives and our developing businesses. Stephanie Kunkel is working on her master’s degree and in the meantime, besides being a parent and working, she wrote a book about coping with depression. Her vulnerability in sharing her own story of rising, like I did, from a suicide plan to becoming a leader in business development is truly amazing and inspiring! I can’t wait to help her market this life changing book for those who think there is no hope. She is now launching her own business called “Leadership Gains” and clearly those she has led have nothing but praise for what she does to model true leadership. You can connect with her at her website Leadership Gains

In April I tuned in to a podcast “Motherhood-The Hardest Job on Earth” with Miriam Grunhaus who hosted my friend April Tribe Giauque. April has nine children, five of them with autism and two that are deaf. She was at one time living in a physically and mentally abusive relationship with a man she later discovered, that besides being an alcoholic and drug addict, he had autism and schizophrenia. She stayed in the chaos until after their 5th child was born when she finally escaped and spent the next couple of years trying to get services for her autistic & deaf children. She eventually met and married a wonderful man and went on to have 4 more children. April could have given up. She could have given in to alcohol and drugs. Yes she certainly went through her time of not being mentally healthy but how could you be under those circumstances? But, she didn’t let it stop her from moving forward. Instead she has authored two books, she teaches, coaches, writes and is making a huge impact leading thousands of others throughout the world to safety and hope through her story. Listen to the podcast HERE You can learn more about April at April Tribe Giauque.com

I could write a story about every person I meet and what an irreplaceable asset they are to the world and how they are a leader in their little corner of the world but many don’t believe me. They are stuck in the challenges of life. Many are addicted to “stuff” and others are struggling with a mental illness. None of us are blessed with “mental health” 100% of the time. We all have trauma and loss and sadness and other things that cause us to get off balance. We need to recover from these things and discover our purpose after bad stuff happens. Even this pandemic has thrown people off balance they know it is time to get on track and choose to make some lemonade out of lemons and lead others to do the same. There are people dying of thirst for hope in the world and we can help them. God has given us the tools we just need to pass them on.

I have recently launched a 12 week course called “HOPE for Recovery.” It teaches people how to discover their purpose, their passion and the peace they need to become the inspiration they were meant to be. The whole thing came from writing my own books “Ditzy Blonde Faucet-It’s a God Thing” which is about my ADHD and substance abuse recovery and the funny stories along the way. I also drew heavily from my most recent book, “Speak to Me God I’m Listening- 365 Daily Meditations for Those Who Want to Hear God Answer Life’s Toughest Questions” which is my conversations with God as I struggle with living life day in and day out and then listen for Him to give me direction on how to deal with it. This is a practice that is truly life changing and will certainly help you answer “life’s toughest questions” like “Why am I here?” (You can see my books HERE) OUR NEXT COURSE STARTS JUNE 27TH AT 7 PM… Sign up to meet with me to see if you would be a good fit to our 15 person limit in our course.

The coolest part about my course is Laura Sliwicki, my young friend that I have been mentoring for several years. She was my first “graduate” of my 12 week course and it left her a changed person, clean and sober for over six months for the first time in her life and now she is going to co-facilitate my next course to get certified to teach it herself! She is also just a semester away from getting her substance abuse degree and I am so thrilled!. Listen to her story here!

Through my own journey of reading the Bible and working through the 12 steps of recovery, I realized that there is a process we all have to go through to make changes to become the kind of people we want to become. We first have to decide. We need to answer the “WHY” question and figure out what to do once we answer it. Why are we looking to make changes? There is always a motivation to what we do. The question is, what is it that is driving us to do things that aren’t good for us? What help do we need to make the changes? Here are some questions I find helpful to ask ourselves.

What are the changes I want to make in the next day, week, month or year? Ask yourself-

  1. Why do I want to make this change?
  2. What are the risks if I don’t change? How do I feel about not changing?
  3. What are the benefits if I do make changes and how will I feel about succeeding in change?
  4. What does it mean to be “powerless” over our dependencies?
  5. Are we willing to accept help from others who can share their experience strength and hope?
  6. What/who is my “higher power?” Am I willing to let him reveal himself to me?

If you are ready to become the leader, mentor, parent, teacher, person you were meant to be but need a little help, please reach out to me so I can help you get started! I have lots of tools to offer! Just go to my coaching page and get signed up for a free consultation. GET HELP NOW

Here is a video of a reading “You Aren’t Heavy” from my book “Speak to Me God I’m Listening” that is about all of us being leaders. Just click on the pic to watch and listen.

LindaLinda has been a professional speaker, counselor and author for over 30 years. Her battle with alcohol, drugs, mental illness and abuse led her to find her God given purpose of sharing her message of HOPE with the rest of the world offering Help Opportunity Praise and Encouragement to all she meets. Linda is the recipient of the prestigious Athena Award and Red Cross Hero of the Year Award and is the Owner of the Faucet of HOPE Ministries LLC.