A Life of Recovery, Responsibility, and Purpose
For Doug, recovery was never simply about getting sober. It was about learning how to live.
Nearly three decades ago, honesty became the beginning of a different life—one built through responsibility, faith, difficult choices, relationships, loss, purpose, and the willingness to keep doing the work.
Today, Doug brings that lived experience together with more than fourteen years of leadership in recovery to help people navigate the moments when life asks them to become someone different.
His work is grounded in a simple conviction: lasting change is rarely created by one breakthrough moment. It is built through the choices we make when no one is watching—how we tell the truth, take responsibility, repair relationships, live our faith, and choose what comes next.
Whether speaking to an audience or working personally with individuals and families, Doug’s aim is not to tell people how to live. It is to help them see more clearly what is standing between where they are and the life they want to build.
WHAT SHAPED THE WORK
Nothing I Teach Was Learned From a Distance.
Recovery changed the direction of Doug’s life, but it was only the beginning.
The principles he speaks about have been tested through addiction and recovery, marriage and family, loss and adversity, faith and leadership—and through the ordinary responsibility of showing up when life is difficult.
Those experiences shaped a simple conviction: “meaningful change isn’t something we simply understand. It’s something we practice—in the choices we make, the truth we’re willing to face, and the way we show up for the people who matter.”
01
Truth
Honesty is where change begins. We cannot change what we are unwilling to see, name, and take responsibility for.
Core Principles
Three principles have shaped the way Doug lives, leads, and works with others.
02
Responsibility
Freedom grows when we take responsibility for what comes next—even when we cannot change what has already happened.
03
Freedom
Freedom is more than escaping what once controlled us. It is the ability to choose how we live, who we become, and what we build from here.
THE PRACTICE
The Work Is Never Finished.
Recovery taught me that transformation isn’t a moment. It’s a practice.
Some of the most important work I’ve done has happened when no one was watching—in the choices I make every day, the conversations I’d rather avoid, the miles I keep walking when I’m tired, and the willingness to take another honest look at myself.
Nearly three decades into recovery, I still believe the same thing: we don’t arrive. We keep becoming.
THE LIFE BEHIND THE WORK
The Life Behind the Lessons.
Recovery gave Doug a second chance at life. What came next was learning how to actually live it, translating principles into a daily practice of character, faith, and presence.
Marriage, family, friendship, faith, loss, leadership, and the ordinary responsibilities of everyday life have continued to shape the man he is becoming. Transformation isn’t a finish line, but a commitment to showing up when it matters.
For Doug, the goal was never simply to leave an old life behind. It was to build one worth being fully present for—and to help others discover that possibility for themselves.
Why I Do This Work
IN HIS OWN WORDS
Doug’s work began with his own recovery. In this conversation, he shares the experiences that shaped his faith, his approach to recovery, and his conviction that getting sober is only the beginning.