One of the best pieces of wisdom I ever received came from a judge talking to a defendant before his sentencing.
The judge looked at the man and said, “Sir, you have made a mistake, and you will pay for it. But do not let this mistake define who you are as a person.”
The only downside of receiving that advice was being the defendant the judge was addressing.
Owning a complicated past is never easy.
And every time I mention my own period in The Ditch there is still a small part of me that tenses up, that worries about what others may think or say behind closed doors.
But in the grand scheme of things, my troubles were a cake-walk compared to many of the guests on my show - and this week’s guest may break the mold.
Jay Barnard has been the Executive Chef at some of Canada’s best restaurants.
In 2015 he founded his own seafood agriculture company, FreshWater Cuisine, which would go on to win the Premier's Award for Agri-Food Innovation Excellence.
He has catered for celebrities and is a TEDx Speaker who continues to talk to audiences big and small about, what I will call, a path to redemption.
Because before all of those accolades, Jay would struggle out of a ditch that I think would bury most of us.
Struggling with addiction by the age of 12, at the age of 18 he was selling drugs to support his habits, and by the age of 21 he had his house raided by police and was charged and served time in prison.
Fast forward to 2021 and Jay is the founder of HYPE Recovery Coaching where he and his team use their combined experiences to help custom-tailor programs and solutions for clients overcoming addiction.
This conversation is raw, both in content and language, so probably best to put your headphones in.
Enjoy the show!