06/15/2026
This napkin is over 11 years old.
On May 17, 2015, I was flying home from Indianapolis after becoming certified as a Rock Steady Boxing coach. My goal was to bring the first non-contact boxing program for people with Parkinson’s disease to Louisiana in honor of my mom and dad, who were both living with the disease.
During that flight, ideas started flooding my mind.
I grabbed a Southwest napkin and started writing.
Location.
Support groups.
Brochures.
T-shirts.
Press releases.
Equipment.
Fundraising.
Business plan.
Looking at it now, I realize this wasn’t a list of dreams. It was a list of actions. And one by one, I made them happen.
The program grew into something bigger than I ever imagined and impacted many lives before COVID brought it to an end.
What’s interesting is that I didn’t stumble across this napkin today. I knew exactly where it was.
Yesterday, while flying home from Utah, I was handed a plain napkin with my snacks. For some reason, it immediately made me think of this one.
Maybe because this past weekend was filled with conversations about purpose, impact, vision, and what’s next.
That blank napkin reminded me of this napkin.
And this napkin reminded me that there was a time when all I had was an idea and a piece of paper.
Sometimes we need a reminder that we’re capable of doing hard things.
That we can create something meaningful. That we can make an impact.
And that the next chapter often starts the same way the last one did… with an idea, a little faith, and the willingness to take the first step. ❤️
