Have you ever had a person believe in you when you didn't believe in yourself? Who took sweeping bets on you when you felt emotionally bankrupt?

This has happened ONCE in my life, and it changed my business beyond my wildest imagination.

When you have somebody who believes in you to THAT degree, in such a big way, you can't help but continue to push on because you trust that they can see something in you that sometimes you can't see in yourself.

I began working with Susan as a mentor in 2020.

In early 2026, she called to let me know that she had been diagnosed with stage four cancer. The news shocked me.

I sat for days, and I cried, immediately thinking of anything that I could do to help, but in a very familiar-Susan style, she told me to stay focused on the business because helping entrepreneurs was her medicine.

We thought she would be able to make it through the holidays, and we would be able to discuss her next life plans in the following year.

Susan chose five people who she wanted to have bucket list experiences with, each person would travel to a different place in the world with her and experience life to the fullest.

I was honored and thrilled when she invited me, JD, and Luna to experience Mexico City together.

Our plans were to go in May, but two days before our flight, she called to let me know that she was in so much physical pain she wouldn't be able to travel.

She said she just needed a little bit of extra time to gather her strength…that's what she told me, but perhaps, looking back, it was Susan keeping a brave face to not let me worry about her.

On Monday, June 15, 2026, we had our weekly call.

We spoke about the business and my plans, and towards the end of the call, she apologized.

Confused, I asked her, “For what? What could you possibly be apologizing for?” and then she said she was sorry for not being everything I needed.

Confused, I told her I couldn't ask for a better mentor.

Quite honestly, I was shocked that she would even think to say such a thing.

This woman single-handedly changed my life.

I couldn't help but shake that she was trying to tell me something that I refused to hear, but there was a deep knowing that there were things left unsaid between us.

So I did something completely out of the ordinary.

Before we got off the call, I told her I loved her.

I'm sure it struck her as odd, but I repeated it again. “I love you,” I said, “and I want to thank you for everything you've given me.”

The following morning, I got a text message from her best friend, Marian, saying Susan was rushed to the hospital that night and was placed in palliative care.

She asked me to record a video to send Susan because she wasn't strong enough to take calls, but every so often she would be lucid enough to hear from people she loved.

On Wednesday morning, I received another text message from Marian: When Susan saw the video I sent her, she asked when I was going to visit her in the hospital.

I received that message on Wednesday morning and I booked a flight to Colorado, leaving just two hours later.

On Wednesday, I walked into her home and saw Susan on the last journey of her life.

I wrapped my arms around her and I told her how much she meant to me and how much I loved her.

I promised that whatever I did for the rest of my life in my career, it would be because of her belief in me.

God gave her to me as a gift, and I will continue to cherish her for the rest of my life.

I debated sharing this, but realized that thanking her publicly was the best way to showcase to her belief in others.

That was her legacy, and I want to share a bit of that with you.

I hope that I can continue to share everything she taught me with you, so her memory lives on in her absence.

To living for a legacy,
j*