Are You Living Life Like It Matters? (A Tribute to Zachary Good)

Ep: 202

Are you living a life of impact?

We all go through the motions of life, but how often do most of us really stop to think about whether or not we’re living life to the fullest?

Today on The Bridge to FulfillmentⓇ, Blake shares a very personal story about her friend, Zachary Good, a young and talented man who lived 31 short years, but who had a massive ripple effect on everyone he encountered.

In this episode, you’ll learn why some people often don’t lead lives of purpose, preventing them from creating the impact that they could during their lifetime. She shares a question you can start to ask yourself that will help bring you closer to living life like it matters. You’ll also hear the life lessons she learned from her friend, and an important reminder to always listen to your inner voice.

Sometimes, it’s the shortest encounters that have the biggest impact on our lives.

What You’ll Learn:

  • One question to ask yourself every day (1:46)
  • The story of Zachary Good (4:23)
  • Lessons from a life that made an impact (13:00)
  • Why listening to your inner voice is so important (14:09)
  • Showing compassion in difficult situations (15:06)


Favorite Quotes:

  1. What I think matters is living a life of meaning and impact. And at the end of the day, to be able to enjoy life with the least amount of regrets possible, to feel like you were here and truly loved and made the impact that you were here to make.
  2. His journey had given people hope, had put them on the road to rehab, and had given them a level of compassion or joy that they hadn’t had before. And I recognized and appreciated what the power of that really was.
  3. Most people die, having never lived their life. Don’t be that person.
  4. It only takes one decision, one positive decision to change your life. Always leave room for a miracle.

Additional Resources: 

Rather than hoping the grass will be greener, identify what the RIGHT next step is. 
We can help you do just that. 

Get clarity on where you are on your journey to career fulfillment, where you’re headed, optional paths to get there, and the right next step to take.

Start your complimentary, Personalized Career Fulfillment Plan by going to www.thebridgetofulfillment.com/plan

Want free resources to set your job search up for success? You can get them by going to: https://thebridgetofulfillment.com/mistakes

Transcript

Blake Schofield 0:05
Hi, I’m Blake Schofield, founder, and CEO of the Bridge to Fulfillment, mom to three, USA Today top 10 professional coach, and former corporate executive who got tired of sacrificing my life for a comfortable paycheck. My mission is to expand women’s perspectives and empower them to achieve greater impact at home and work without sacrifice. This is The Bridge to Fulfillment.

Blake Schofield 0:38
Welcome back to The Bridge to Fulfillment. You know today’s episode, I really thought about what I wanted to share. And honestly, it just felt like it was time to do something different. And so today’s topic is a little more personal and honor honestly a little heavier. But I think that it’s something I’ve shared with a number of people in the last week, and it’s powerful, and it’s important to share. Have you ever in your life met somebody who within a matter of I don’t know, hours changed it forever? I know for me, I certainly have and that person I’m going to talk about and share that experience with you today. You know, I just recently finished our Ascend Ease and Elevation Experience, our second event, super powerful in sunny Scottsdale, Arizona. And I had everything planned out really for how I thought the weekend would go. And then I woke up about two hours before we were supposed to start really with this idea of what I should present and said. And what I’m going to share with you is a very shortened version of what I shared with the group of people that were together for our event. And it just feels like the right message to share today. So I started off with a slide and it says this. Are you living your life like it matters? I give credit to that beautiful question to miss Shyla Webb: Are you living your life like it matters? I think this is probably been the question, honestly, in many ways I’ve been asking for the last 30 years. I know when I was a teenager, I looked around and I wondered, why didn’t people see what I saw? Why were people worried about stuff that to me didn’t matter. Because ultimately, at the end of the day, what I think matters is living a life of meaning and impact. And at the end of the day, to be able to enjoy life with the least amount of regrets possible to feel like you were here and truly loved and made the impact that you were here to make. So I want to share with you a story about somebody who had that kind of impact on me and actually on hundreds, if not probably 1000s of people won’t tell you about my friend Zachary good. He’s a guy that I met this last year and a bunch of events that I had gone to quiet, unassuming, but sort of this peaceful presidents had been to many events with him and had a few brief conversations, nothing of much consequence until August of last year, August of ’22. I was at a very small event. There were eight of us at this event with my coach, Dr. Jeff Spencer, who’s arguably the world’s best high performance coach, very expensive event. And in a beautiful penthouse with my friend in San Diego. And towards the end of our time there I sort of thought, you know, I really would like to spend some time to get to know Zachary better. And I can’t remember the very first part of our conversation, but I came to understand that he had some really tough times in his life, and just was intrigued. Who was this guy? And what was he all about? And so we actually ended up going to dinner that last night and I found out that he happened to be flying back at the same time I was flying back. So I said hey, why don’t we ride together to the airport. And so we wrote together to the airport, we ended up in this really long line. I thought we he was very worried we wouldn’t make the flight I was as a little nervous. I’m not gonna lie. But what was interesting is we found out that not only were we going where our flights, you know, roughly the same time, but we were actually on the exact same flight, which was unusual because it was a flight back to Dallas where I live, but he lived in Ohio. And I thought, huh, how unusual now see, here’s what I knew about Zachary. I knew that he was a very famous tattoo artist, his art. He had won many, many awards for and actually in my conversation with him and that long line. We talked about tattooing and how he did his work and what was going on in his life and the changes he was hoping to make and I’ve never seen somebody do art in the way that he did the amount of time and energy that he would put to think through each project and understand how the body would move and it was really beautiful. He truly was an artist. And then we started talking a little bit Bit further. And what he shared with me really shocked me. And I don’t know if you’ve ever met somebody and had an perspective about them, and then learn something that was so shocking that your brain didn’t really know how to comprehend it. And that’s really what happened to me. You see, I met Zach at all these events. And the last event we went to was a $7,500 ticket event. And he starts telling me the story about when he was in high school that his girlfriend took her grandmother’s oxycodone and he took some, and he got so addicted to that feeling that then his life sort of unraveled from there, he ended up becoming addicted to heroin, he was addicted to heroin for seven years, somehow he passed high school with honors, ended up in college, and then didn’t make it obviously, very long with that addiction. He told me how bad things had gotten where he had no hope for life, how he was homeless for two to three years in an out of abandoned homes, in and out of jail, in and out of rehab centers. And I’m trying to process this, this person in front of me who literally is working with one of the top coaches ever surrounded by all this success and opportunity, who had literally lived at the hardest place in life. And it was an unbelievable story of redemption, and also just blew my mind in ways that were hard to explain. He was one of the most humble, kindest souls, somebody who just was a huge, bright light. And I remember in that conversation with him saying to him, wow, it’s not by accident that you were saved. Not at all, there’s zero doubt in my mind that you were saved for a reason. And I just felt very much that he had was such a positive impact in this world. And as we go to get on the plane, I have this feeling of like, gosh, it would be great to continue the conversation with him. I just don’t feel like it’s over. And he looks at me and he says, Hey, you want to meet up after we get off the plane because I have a layover? And I immediately thought yes. And so he went to get on the plane, because he was in the first rows, I was in the back. And I walked down the plane. I don’t know he’s in row 10, or something like that. And I’m a couple of rows behind him. And I hear this sort of inner voice say he’s going to try and back out, don’t let him know that. Okay, that’s weird. But okay. And so I go on to walk down and get on the plane. And I don’t just reading and doing the stuff you do on a plane and about 20 minutes before wheeling, and I get a text from him basically saying, Hey, I don’t want to be burden. And I have to go to this other terminal. And it’s been great. But don’t worry about me. I’m just gonna go on ahead. And I kind of chuckled to myself at that, huh, all weird. And I thought, well, I’ll just ask them what terminal he’s going to you see, because we landed at one terminal, and he you know, in Dallas is huge. So there’s multiple terminals. And so I thought, I’ll just find out where he’s at. And he told me the terminal that he was at. And funny enough, it was the same exact terminal that I had parked my car in, which was not the terminal we landed in. And so I just said to him, Hey, I already have to go there. Anyway, let’s just go together. And I just really felt like, there was some way I could help him or there was some reason that we needed to continue our conversation. And so we ended up having dinner. And during that conversation, he told me about the some of the struggles that he was having with depression and some of the struggles he was having as a result of the damage honestly, to his brain over years of drug use. And I realized in that moment, I knew somebody who could help him who had been through many trials and tribulations and would be able to shortcut that path for him. And I was so happy to be able to share that with him and see the hope and his eyes that perhaps he could finally fix this problem. We gave each other a huge hug goodbye. And that was it. He went off and I went off. And over the next several months, we would text back and forth and I would check in on him and make sure he was doing well. And I knew he was struggling some but I knew he had been through such big struggles that didn’t really faze me, I didn’t really think much about it. And on December 8, that friend that I had connected him with actually sent him a message on Facebook. And he responded to her and told her that things had actually gotten worse, but that he would connect with her separately but that he wanted to reply on this message because he wanted to make sure that I knew he was still alive lol and I sent him a message back and I just went about my day. Well, on December 22. I get up and I open my Facebook page. And what I saw fundamentally changed my life forever. I see a picture of Zach and this message 13 hour session and a couple the night before it took less than that to fall in love with your soul. I didn’t even have to read further to know that he was no longer with us. That my amazing friend had passed.

Blake Schofield 9:53
I share this with you because it’s had such a profound effect on me. A man who I probably spent really a good solid four hours with, but whose life and experiences and presents forever changed me, forever changed my perspective about the struggles people go through and can come back from how quickly life can change and the importance of a good support system? Well, the most amazing thing happened to this process is I had seen what a bright light he was, I just knew it from the experiences that we had. But I was able to be provided with such amazing proof of that. Because over the following days, literally over 100 posts on his Facebook page about the impact that he had had in people’s lives, in many cases through 810 13 hour sessions, tattooing, his story and his journey, had given people hope had put them on the road to rehab had given them a level of compassion or joy that they hadn’t had before, and are recognized and appreciated. What the power of that really was, Are you living your life, like it really matters, I found this post and I wish I could show it to you because the visual is so compelling. But he posted at five years sober, that his biggest struggle and victory in life was enduring and overcoming his seven year heroin addiction and that after living through it, he discovered that it’s possible to overcome anything with God and the right people in his life. And he proceeded to talk about what his experience used to be like and how much better his life was now and how grateful he was. But the photos tell it all. The top row of photos were three pictures of him from when he was booked from getting in jail, and the bottom three were the man that I knew. And if you could only see the difference. And he even says it here. He said, the miserable existence I experienced an active addiction is indescribable. And the top photos which were just a few of his mug shots, you can almost feel this. And I would tell you 100% You can is unrecognizable the person he used to be from the person he was from who I knew. Why do I share this story today? Yeah, it’s deep. It’s painful in a lot of respects. But it’s also really beautiful. Because you know, today is my friend would have been my friend Zachary’s 32nd birthday. He spent from about 17 to 24 years old, addicted to heroin. He got clean in August of 2015. And he turned his life around, and he had a lifetime of impact in just seven years. Often we look at people and say, Are we looking think Did I really live the life I wanted to live? Did I make the impact I wanted to make. And I look at this man who had such a massive impact on so many people, including me. And I know that his life will continue to have an impact because of who he was, what he overcame, and how he just showed up every day to help people. And so I want to share with you the things that I learned and hope that today on Zach’s birthday, I can give that gift back to him. What did I learn, you can overcome what seems impossible, and then completely change your life. Most people die, having never lived their life, to be that person. Don’t decide the value of your impact, but instead decide on the impact you want to make. I can almost guarantee that that four hour conversation that we had just seemed like a typical day to him. And yet that experience has forever changed me and as a ripple effect, and all the people of whom I’ve been able to share Zach’s life with we can learn about the importance of faith community and getting an outside perspective. Because honestly, nothing in life is impossible. And it only takes one decision, one positive decision to change your life. Always leave room for a miracle. Listen and take advantage of the prompts and nudging, that’s your inner compass and strive to lead a life of no regrets. I’m so grateful that in the time that I had with Zach, I listened to my inner voice that said, Go get to know him that I listened to my inner voice that said, Hey, why don’t y’all ride together that I listened to my inner voice when it told me to schedule time with him. And it told me not to let him out of that conversation. Because I can truly tell you that I’m so grateful for the time that I had with him. And I don’t regret anything. I showed up fully in those moments to support my friend in any way that I could. And I’ve heard so many beautiful stories of his friends and how they came together to support him. And I think there’s nothing greater than to realize that you did that that you showed up in love that you showed up in compassion that you showed up in any way that you could for the person who needed you. And then the final lesson Then every single person’s life has value. Seek compassion and understanding. You know, I ended up sharing Zach’s story today on a call with clients. I had a client who had worked with a really difficult woman who made her life very painful. And if you work in corporate, I think at some point, anyone and everyone can relate to that. And she was still harboring some anger about this woman who clearly had been personally struggling, you guys, we don’t realize that, that they always have that old saying, right, anger is when you like, really just drink poison yourself. You don’t hurt that other person, you hurt yourself, because that stuff stays in your body, and it literally will kill you. And I said to her, you got to let it go. Because the only person you’re hurting, right is you. And I told her this story of Zach and the importance of compassion, because here’s what I believe to be true. Even though I never knew him at the time, he was struggling, I venture to bet during that seven years, and obviously the times that he was homeless, he hurt his family tremendously. He likely stole and did terrible things to end in and out of jail and an abandoned homes. And he was in so much pain, and so unhappy, that he couldn’t see beyond himself. I bet you he had literally no comprehension of the pain he was creating around him. And then on the flip side, I saw this beautiful human being who gave life to so many people and had such a beautiful ripple effect. And whatever that woman was struggling with in her life that made her so painful or so difficult to work with or created so many problems for other people I ventured about that woman was in so much more pain than the pain she was creating for others. And so I share this because every one of us has struggles in our life, every one of us has people we’ve judged frustrations we’ve had anger we’ve held. And perhaps by sharing this story, it will do a few things for you. It will open up your perspective, to have compassion for people that maybe you haven’t before, because it certainly did for me. But I also hope that it will help light a fire in you to create a life of fulfillment and purpose, because that’s why we’re here. There are many people who lead very long lives who have not really created a huge impact in their lifetime. And here’s this man who lived 31 years and had a massive ripple effect and impact in his life. And I’m so grateful to have been a small part of that, and to be able to share his story. And to be able to see somebody who truly use their life to create something amazing. And at the end of the day, when I look at people that are so unhappy, believing that the next job the next car, the next house is going to make them happy. Ultimately, what I always see as a whole a lack of true purpose, a lack of true purpose and calling, a lack of feeling valued and aligned and passionate about the life that you’re leading a lack of feeling that you truly have the ability to create what you want. And so on today’s episode, like I said, it’s a deep one, it’s a hard one. But it’s one I’m so grateful for. And I hope that this story in some way has opened your heart and your mind. And I hope it’s empowered you to make a bigger difference in whatever that way is for you. And I hope it will encourage you to have more compassion and love for the people around you. And I hope it will enable you to be more connected. And to realize that you’re likely just like Zach every day, are making a positive impact on people in ways of which you may never see. And what a beautiful gift that is. My friend Douglas A few months ago started one of his events by saying if you don’t win, somebody loses, who loses if you don’t win. It was no more apparent to me than seeing the life that Zach had that when he won so many others did. And my him no longer being here, so many others won’t. Our lives are all intertwined. We are impacting each other every day, but we often we negate that or don’t even understand it.

Blake Schofield 19:38
And so my call for you today is rise up. Use your life every single day to make a difference. Have compassion and love for the people around you and recognize that you don’t have to decide the value of what you bring. Just show up and by you being you. You can inspire somebody to change their life to serve somebody else, or to make an even greater Your impact. I hope you have an amazing week ahead. And until next time, see you again. Thanks for joining me today. Rather than hope the grass will be greener identify what the right next step is. We can help you do just that. Get clarity on where you are in your journey to career fulfillment, where you’re headed, optimal paths to get there, and the right next step to take. Start your complimentary personalized career fulfillment plan at www.thebridgetofulfillment.com/plan Again, you can get your personalized career fulfillment plan at www.thebridgetofulfillment.com/plan Thanks again for joining and have a great week ahead.