In 1995, Alan Williams wrote and recorded a heartfelt album of songs to process the loss of his record deal and the dissolution of his marriage. When the album was randomly chosen for critique at a South by Southwest panel, the response was bad. Alan's dreams were crushed. He put away his guitar and shelved the album. Now 25 years later, Alan is finally releasing the album. Not much has changed about the album. But maybe there's something about him that has changed? In this episode, Alan and I chat about: Why he lost all faith in the album (and in everything really) when his CD was chosen for critique at South by Southwest Why he carries hundreds of CDs of his failed album with him to this day How he fell into teaching at a university and realized he was meant to be a teacher How the core of who we are might have be there all along and remain within us no matter how much we change The closure he feels now that the album is finally out If Alan was truly ready to release the album, even if the review at South by Southwest had been positive Why it’s important to be in the moment, even if the moment appears very bleak