Last summer I talked about a particular song he recorded, called 'The Cape'. The Cape talked about pursuing the things in life that are inspirational, and that one should rather focus on the journey you're on, and not pay too much attention to the perceived barriers or limitations that may exist on said journey.

Jerry Jeff wasn’t widely known to the masses. He wrote another song called "Mr. Bojangles" that became a huge hit in 1970 for The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. You may have heard of other songs like “Sangria Wine” or “Up Against the Wall Redneck Mother,” but by and large he wasn’t on too many peoples' radar.

By all accounts, he saw that music was a way to bring people together. He saw that music was the common thread that allowed him to both encourage and inspire others. He came to realize that even when he struggled in the hardest times of his life, it was his music and the love of his wife that pulled him through.

As he was starting out in the late 60s as a songwriter and a poet, he met other songwriters and poets who were impacted by his generosity and kindness. It seems that in death, we really see the impact of a life when people recount how they have been impacted by someone else. You may be blissfully unaware of how you are touching the life of another, yet for that person, your gesture of kindness - be it random or intentional - means the world. To that point, artists like Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell, Michael Martin Murphy and Jimmy Buffett all shared that they would not have the life they had without intersecting with Jerry Jeff in those early days. We just never know who we touch and how we touch them.

Several years ago, specifically in the summer of 1980, just before my senior year in high school, my family went through some incredibly difficult times. When you're a teenager, you're not always aware of the severity of a specific situation, and you simply try to weather the storm as best you can. Late that summer I got a phone call from my guidance counselor and she offered me an opportunity to go to Northern Arizona University for a three day conference with other high school seniors. The focus of the conference was on entrepreneurship and business ownership. I don’t know what she saw in me or why she asked me, because I had no particular interest in business ownership and never really thought my future had owning a business in it. I was just a 17-year old high school kid that loved baseball and basketball who was going through some crazy times.

I went to that three day conference and loved every minute of it, but never really thought it had any impact on my life. I went on to finish high school and college and started a career in nursing and healthcare in 1986.

Looking back, it's quite funny to think that I’ve been self employed now for 18+ years and have owned multiple businesses!

One year later in the summer after I graduated in 1981, I was going to Northern Arizona University but I was faced with the prospects of having no financial aid. My family was still recovering from the trauma of the previous year so I was going to have to borrow quite a bit of money to go to college. Not long before I was leaving for college with my roommate, I got a call from my guidance counselor once again. She told me that a classmate who was scheduled to get the only scholarship available for our high school to NAU had decided against going to school and that scholarship was available. She wanted to know if I’d like to have it and if I was still going.

I don’t think my guidance counselor was thinking she was doing anything special or unique that day, or the year before with the three day business conference for that matter. Yet, those two acts of kindness changed the direction of my life.

A couple weeks ago, I was attending an event kicking off one of our new businesses 'Senior Living Connectors' and the husband of a trusted elder law attorney friend of mine, Lora Johnson was there. Steve attended the event on behalf of Lora and their law firm.

About 10 years ago, I was having lunch with Lora and we started talking about our high school and college years. I discovered at that time that her husband Steve’s mother, Sue Johnson, had been my high school guidance counselor. Now all these years later I got a chance to meet him and I told him the stories of how his mother saw something in me that I was not able to see in myself at such a young age. It was such a wonderful experience as I got to share with a colleague of mine, how his mother at such critical points in my life had positively impacted me - while she was just doing the every day of her life’s work.

Steve mentioned that evening that he remembers his mom being on the phone so many afternoons and evenings back in those days, talking to kids through their problems and being there for them. She wasn’t thinking she was doing anything special. She was just showing up for kids who needed her help.

My story concludes with this: We can always try to leave people better than what we found them. I had a dear friend and mentor, Greg McLaughlin share that nugget of wisdom with me 25 years ago. I’ve had the opportunity to intersect my life with so many people over the years, and have tried to live by this very nugget. I would now like to circle back to Jerry Jeff, as he through his music, once again reminds me of life’s priorities.

The seeds that were planted back in 1980 were now sprouting in 2003 as Options got off the ground. Today, Options has been a catalyst as my life has dramatically changed for the better. I met Stacey because of Options. I would have never met Tammy, Nathan, Glenda, Tim or Barbara without Options. I would have missed the opportunity of meeting Amy Dirks, Rita McBride, Lora Johnson and so, so many others if I didn't embark on this journey. I would have missed the opportunity of touching and positively impacting literally 1000s of families without embarking on this journey. Today I can confidently say that in spite of all the perceived (and sometimes real) limitations, the journey of creating and growing Options has been worth it.

Be generous with your time and plan on leaving people better than you found them - you never know who you’re touching, and impacting for the better. After all, one should rather focus on the journey you're on, and not pay too much attention to the perceived barriers or limitations that may exist on said journey.

P.S. We received some great news this week. Options For Senior Living has been nominated for the prestigious 2021 edition of the Better Business Bureau Ethics Torch Award. This is absolutely crazy and exciting for all of us. This nomination underlines and validates the commitment of the Options for Senior Living team over the past 18 years, and we couldn't be more pleased to be recognized for the work that we do. Coming face to face with one of life's toughest seasons is never easy, but we're proud of the fact that we've been able to help thousands of families navigate their way through assisted living and specialised elder care in a way that is both meaningful and helpful.