How many of you are good at growing plants?

If you’ve ever kept one alive, you know the basics: sunlight, soil, nutrients. But most importantly—water.

I’ll be honest… I don’t have a green thumb.

But I’ve noticed something. When I forget to water my plants, they droop. The leaves fall. They look tired… defeated.

And then something remarkable happens.

The moment I give them water, they slowly lift again. They stretch toward the light. They come back to life.

That image has stayed with me—because I’ve realized something:

Sometimes, what we need most isn’t external motivation.

Sometimes, we need a drink of water from our own story.

When life knocks you down… when confidence fades… when the path forward feels unclear…

Your past isn’t just something that happened.

It’s a resource.

A reminder of challenges you’ve already faced. Obstacles you’ve already overcome. Strength you’ve already proven.

That’s why your story matters.

Even the simple ones.

Because often, the simplest stories carry the most power.

A major theme across my life has been what I call my ARC:

Adaptability
Resilience
Creativity
Curiosity

I can trace it back to when I was sixteen.

I grew up in rural Georgia along the red clay banks of the Chattahoochee River. My family was working class—and we didn’t have a car because neither of my parents ever learned to drive.

So, getting anywhere meant relying on others, taxis, or walking.

At sixteen, I decided I wanted something different. I got a part-time job and made a goal to buy my own car.

Now for many people, this situation might look like a barrier.

But sometimes barriers become opportunities—if we are willing to be adaptable and persistent.

So that spring I rode my bicycle all over town looking for a used car I could afford.

Eventually I found one.

And let me tell you about that car.

It was a turquoise blue Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme with removable T-tops.

Now you couldn’t tell that sixteen-year-old he wasn’t cool driving that car open top car.

But it meant more than that.

That car represented freedom.

Freedom to get to work.

Freedom to help my family.

Freedom to explore new opportunities.

At the time I didn’t realize it…

But that experience became my first drink of water story.

A reminder that when life presents obstacles, I can rely on adaptability, resilience, creativity, and curiosity to find a path forward.

And over the years, I had to drink from that story many times.

That lesson didn’t stay in the past.

When I joined the Air Force as a Signals Intelligence Analyst, everything was new.

New systems. New expectations. New pressure.

But I remembered that sixteen-year-old on a bicycle.

If he could figure it out then… I could figure it out now.

Later, after transitioning into the business world, the challenges didn’t let up.

In six years, I experienced four job layoffs.

Downsizing. Mergers. Acquisitions.

Each time, the ground shifted.

But instead of stopping, I started asking better questions:

Those moments didn’t just test me — they expanded me.

Each one became another “drink of water” I could return to when I needed it most.

Then came a challenge I didn’t see coming.

About twenty years into my career, the roles I had been doing for decades suddenly required something new: a college degree.

Experience was no longer enough.

Imagine that moment — twenty years of proven capability, and suddenly the door closes.

So, I went back to what had always worked, my ARC:

Adaptability.
Resilience.
Creativity.
Curiosity.

In my mid-to-late 40s, I went back to school.

I earned my bachelor’s degree. Then a master’s in Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Then a graduate certificate in Executive and Professional Coaching.

That decision didn’t just reopen doors—it reshaped my entire path.

Today, as a business professional and executive coach, I help people navigate transitions — career changes, layoffs, reinvention, starting over.

And the reason is simple:

I’ve lived it.

But more importantly, I’ve learned how to use my own story as fuel.

That sixteen-year-old riding his bike? He’s still with me.

Every challenge since has added another drop to the glass.

Here’s the part that matters most:

This isn’t just my story.

You have your own.

Moments where you solved something difficult.
Moments where you kept going when it would’ve been easier to quit.
Moments where you proved you are more capable than you realized.

Those moments are not random.

They are evidence.

So, the next time life feels overwhelming…

Pause.

Look back.

Find one of your “drink of water” stories.

Let it remind you who you are.

Then stand tall again—and move forward with confidence.

Because as always, your story matters.