The only thing I ever wanted to be was a rock star.
I was on my way. Played drums professionally for years.
Then in 1987, life took a hard turn.
I fell three stories from a billboard.
A little boy across the street saw it happen and told his mom:
“Geez…that man just jumped from the billboard.”
I was still conscious. I looked at my body and thought:
This is not good.
The doctors fought to save my beat-up arm instead of removing it.
Two years of reconstruction and rehab followed.
I survived.
And here’s the strange part: that fall gave me things the climb never did.
Time with my newborn son between surgeries. A career writing fall-protection programs that saved other people’s lives.
All because I had personal experience with gravity.
Here’s what I know now, almost 40 years later:
Your scars are your credentials.
Every detour taught me what no classroom could. What broke me built me.
And the same is true for you.
That thing you survived? That’s not your burden. It’s your qualification. It’s the exact reason someone out there needs to hear your story.
Most people never tell theirs. They think it’s not big enough. Not polished enough.
It doesn’t need to be polished. It needs to be told.
Your story is your superpower.
What’s the nextstep? Next.
Kindness is cool. Smiles are free.
I appreciate you.
Russ
P.S. What’s the fall that taught you the most? Reply and tell me.
Your story might end up helping more people than you know.
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