A couple episodes ago, I mentioned my friend Keith who left me a comment. Keith and I go way back—we worked together when I was in my first marriage. When the company closed its doors, not only was I asked to leave the job, but my first wife asked for a divorce. Keith saw my anxiety back then, and we've kept in touch over the years.

Keith's message to me was powerful. My interpretation? Look back and be grateful for what you have.

Look back and be grateful. Not "look back and feel shame." Not "look back and regret." Not "look back and wish things were different." Look back and be GRATEFUL.

That hit me hard because I spend a lot of time looking back at the wounds, the patterns, the mistakes. But Keith was saying: look back at how FAR you've come. Look at what you HAVE now.

This episode is about gratitude—but not the kind of gratitude that's just saying "thank you" and moving on. I'm talking about the kind of gratitude that transforms you. The kind that makes you a SPARK. A LIGHT that people are drawn to.

I break this down with an acronym: SPARK.

S - Show up grateful. Gratitude isn't just something you feel, it's something you DO. When you show up grateful, you're not dragging people down with complaints—you're lifting them up with your presence.

P - Pass it on. Gratitude isn't meant to be hoarded. Someone lights a spark in you, and you light a spark in someone else.

A - Acknowledge the good. Stop and acknowledge what's RIGHT. If all you see is what's wrong, you'll miss what's working.

R - Recognize growth. Look BACK at where you were. I was in jail. I was homeless. I was peeing the bed at 24 years old. And now? I'm 15,397 days sober, one day at a time. That's GROWTH.

K - Keep shining. You don't turn off the light. You keep shining because people are watching, people are listening, and people are drawn to light.

When you're grateful, people want to be around you. They ask, "How are you so positive?" "How do you keep going?" And the answer is: I look back and I'm grateful for what I have.

I look back at the kid locked in the foil room in sixth grade. I look back at the 12-year-old drinking Mad Dog 20/20. I look back at the guy with 9 DUIs living on the streets. And then I look at where I am NOW.

I have tools. I have community. I have purpose. I have the ability to help someone else by being honest about my struggle and GRATEFUL for my progress.

That's the SPARK. That's the LIGHT.

This episode challenges you to practice SPARK this week. Show up grateful. Pass it on. Acknowledge the good. Recognize growth. Keep shining. Because people need your light. They need to see that it's possible to look back at hell and be GRATEFUL for what you learned there.

Gratitude is a practice, not a feeling. You do it, and the feeling follows.

Key topics: gratitude practice, personal transformation, being a light for others, recovery mindset, positive energy, emotional growth, overcoming adversity, finding purpose, spreading hope, gratitude and mental health, sobriety journey, anxiety recovery, personal development, inspirational living