Episode 22: Closer Than You Think

For the ones still walking—quietly, steadily, surely.

This week, my voice sounds different—raspy, worn down, recovering.

But I showed up anyway.

Because not every breakthrough is loud.

Some feel like whispers. Some move like shadows.

And sometimes the biggest shift is knowing you’re still moving.

This episode isn’t about arriving.

It’s about re-entering.

Finding your footing again—one quiet, consistent step at a time.

If you’ve ever asked yourself,

“Can I come back from this?”

This one is for you.

—

🔁 New episodes drop every Monday at 6:05 AM Central.

Follow, rate, and share if this one hit home.

#TheEnvelopeSeries #HealingJourney #KeepWalking

The Envelope Series continues.

This next episode is for the ones who’ve been doing the work—but still don’t see the results.

For the ones who wonder if it’s worth it.

If it’s working.

If it’s moving.

Episode 22 isn’t loud.

It isn’t polished.

But it is honest.

And that counts for something.

Watch the preview now.

And meet me back here tomorrow morning, where we go deeper.

🕕 Full episode drops Monday at 6:05 AM Central.

🎧 Available on Substack, Apple, Spotify, and wherever you listen.

Because just because you don’t see it—

doesn’t mean it’s not happening.

There’s a version of me I used to be proud of.

And lately, all I see is the distance between that man and the one I am right now.

Episode 21 isn’t polished.

It’s not triumphant.

It’s not a before-and-after victory lap.

It’s a dispatch from the middle.

From the moment where the weight creeps back in…

where the food becomes a hiding place…

and the old photos feel more like ghosts than memories.

This is the part of the story no one wants to write.

So I did.

Because if I’m going to come back—I’ve got to start from exactly where I am.

🎙️ Featuring a letter from Future Me… and a message to anyone who’s ever wondered if they could find the light again.

Some episodes are survival notes.

This one?

It’s written from the dark.

Not after the storm.

Not once the weight is off.

Right here—mid-slide, mid-struggle, mid-spiral.

There’s a version of me that remembers what it felt like to win.

To wake up lighter, clearer, stronger.

I’ve seen the photos.

I’ve felt the progress.

And right now… I’m nowhere near it.

But something in me won’t stop typing.

Something in me knows:

even when the light goes out,

there’s still enough left in me

to find the next step.

That’s what this one’s about.

🎧 Episode 21: “Darkness, Interrupted”

drops Monday at 6:05 AM Central.

For the ones still in the fight.

For the ones whispering,

“Please, not again.”

I didn’t want to fake fire this week.

I wanted to tell the truth.

And the truth is—I showed up anyway.

This is Episode 20, and like every 5th episode in The Envelope Series, it nods to something bigger.

Not a quote.

Not a guru.

But a cultural cue burned into memory—

That old Dunkin’ Donuts commercial.

“Time to make the donuts.”

No matter the hour.

No matter the mood.

The man showed up.

And that’s what this episode is all about:

What it means to keep showing up—even when it doesn’t feel like a show at all.

If this episode met you where you are, share it. Forward it. Text it to someone who needs it.

This project lives because you keep listening—and I’m honored by that.

Thank you.

-Lou

It’s not about perfection.

It’s about keeping your word.

Even when the applause fades.

Even when no one’s watching.

This episode isn’t dressed up. There’s no soundtrack.

Just the tapping of keys—the real sound of me writing myself through this moment.

Tomorrow marks 20 letters.

20 promises to myself.

20 chances to keep showing up.

Even when I didn’t feel like it.

🎧 Episode 20: The Show Must Go On

Drops tomorrow at 6:05 AM CT.

Be there.

I used to think feeding myself was selfish.

That putting my needs before anyone else’s

meant I’d lose them —

that I’d be called arrogant or ungrateful.

But starving parts of myself

never taught anyone how to love me —

it only taught them how to forget me.

This week’s letter is about the quiet cost

of starving your own spirit.

About showing up for everyone but yourself.

About the haunting ache

that comes from leaving your healing unfinished.

If you’ve ever pushed yourself to the back burner,

this is for you.

Press play.

And let’s open another one.

Your Turn:

Where have you left yourself unfed?

What parts of you have gone unseen?

What still needs your nourishment to be complete?

Drop your thoughts in the comments or reply.

I always read them.

Next Up:

Episode 20 – Title Coming Soon

Drops Monday at 6:05 AM CT.

Because you cannot heal

on an empty plate.

Some journeys don’t end —

they pause,

they wander,

they slip back into the shadows

where you try to pretend they never mattered.

But they’re still there.

Hungry.

Waiting for you to come back and finish

what you started.

This is a letter for the parts of you

you starved while you served everyone else.

For the moments you went invisible

even to yourself.

For the places in your story

that still ache for closure

and refuse to stay silent.

Episode 19 is about naming the cost

of putting yourself last —

about seeing the damage of being half-fed,

half-acknowledged,

half-alive.

Because the pieces of you left unfinished

will always come back for you.

🎧 Episode 19: Unfed, Unseen, Unfinished

Drops Monday at 6:05 AM CT.

Press play on the preview above.

I didn’t plan to come back here.

Didn’t plan to see the same number staring back at me.

Didn’t plan to feel the sting of shame

settle into my bones.

But I did.

I lost—

and then I lost again.

This letter is for the part of me that thought

progress was permanent,

that I could go it alone,

that I didn’t need the tribe that held me up before.

Because what you conquer together

will slip away if you try to carry it alone.

If you’re staring at a comeback you never wanted to make,

this one is for you.

Press play.

And let’s open another one.

Your Turn:

Have you ever felt the weight of starting over?

What stopped you from showing back up?

What gave you permission to try again?

Drop a comment or reply.

I always read them.

Next Up:

Episode 19 – Title Coming Soon

Drops Monday at 6:05 AM CT.

Because shame only survives in silence—

but healing loves the light.

Some losses don’t just happen once.

They happen again—

when you leave the place that kept you honest.

When you trade a tribe for isolation,

thinking you’re strong enough to go it alone.

I thought I was healed.

I thought I was ready.

But freedom without community

turned out to be a slow fade back into old patterns.

This Monday’s letter is a reminder of why community matters—

why shared struggle is stronger than silent willpower,

and why the next comeback

will need more than discipline alone.

🎧 Episode 18: When I Lost, Then Lost Again

Drops Monday at 6:05 AM CT.

Press play on the preview above.