The Beginning

My story didn’t start when I was a kid.

It started when I was 32.

Before that, there wereSo many different reasonsI had in my head toHold myself back that

I couldn’t quiet the noise.

I couldn't sing.

I couldn't draw.

I couldn't go farther than my hometown.

“I couldn’t”

Started almost every thought I had.

My whole life had been aboutWho I was with,Or who I was taking care ofAt the time.

I did what I was toldAnd didn’t ask questions.

When I was told to jump,

I jumped.

I didn't ask'How high?'

I just did.

At some point,I got good atPredicting what wasExpected of me.

Keeping everyone appeased.

I learned to anticipateThe needs of othersBecause I could recognize

Patterns in their behavior.

When they were unhappy.When they were upset.When they were sad.

I attributed everything

To something I hadn't done.

It was a lonely existence

Even in a room full of people

I felt

Alone...

Then...

When I was 32...

Someone asked meThe simplest question.

A question that changed

EVERYTHING.

The Question:

What do you want?

Every answer I had included:

My son,My friends,My family.

They stopped me mid-sentence.

No, no.

What do YOU want?

Something that doesn’t includeAnyone but

YOU.

Not what you want for someone else.

Not how you can help them move forward.

Not something that comesFrom someone else.

What do YOU want?

I thought...

And thought...

And thought...

I couldn’t answer the question.

I honestly didn’t know.

Then they drove the point home:

Would you want your sonLiving like you are?

The Realization

It shook me to my core.

My son is my life.

He is my heart.

My soul.

And I realized that if he saw meLiving that way,

He might grow up believingThat was what life was supposed to be.

How he should live his own life

And how he should expect to be treated.

I knew I needed to change.

Not just for him.

For me.

Because I finally understoodThat was where it had to start:

With how I valued myself.

So I made a choice

That broke me in waysI didn’t knowI could be broken.

I let him go...

So I could do what I needed to do

And work on myself

Without distractions

And watched him drive away...

Like my father told me he had done with me...

And I did what I promised I never would...

BY CHOICE...

But...

Becoming

It was in that brokennessthat I learned

“I couldn’t”

Wasn't true.

"I couldn't"

Was just a chain that had been put on me...

And without even knowing what I was doing

I broke the chains

Every link that held me down...

And found that every barrierWas just a structure waiting for me

To build the door through it...

Today...

“I can’t”

is a challenge.

Not only have I learnedThat I can doMore than I ever knew I could

I’ve found a love for thingsI never knew I had before.

But most importantly...

I learned I can do a lotWith very littleAt all.

Sometimes it takesA LOT more work.

But that doesn’t scare me.

I’m not afraid of hard work.

I’m afraid of not trying

I'm afraid of not achieving something

Because I didn't try...

JUST BECAUSE

it involves hard work.

Crimson Leo

Crimson Leo is where I combined

The way I learnedTo anticipate people’s needs

with...

The skills I learned

Taking very little,

Doing the work,

And making something more.

I found a way to take

Who I was,

Who I am,

To become

Who I was always meant to be.

The Bridge

I’ve been there.

Having an ideaYou TRULY BELIEVE IN,

But feeling frustrated becauseYou’re missing somethingThat could make it real.

Until eventually,

You start to feel it.The idea is slipping away.

Crimson Leo is how I help you

Push it over that last hurdle.

To take the thingyou can already see in your head

and help it becomewhat you wanted it to be.

We all need help sometimes.

I know I did.

Crimson Leo

Is how I help other peopleBridge the gap

By finding the right bridge,

Like someone once did for me.

So that's my origin story...

Now let's create yours

So, let me ask you...

What do you want?