Business
Ed struggled through challenges and pain. After two decades of drug addiction—including 11 devastating years of addiction to methamphetamine—Ed had thrown away his life savings, biotech career, home…even his dog. He’d spent months in jail, and four years in meth psychosis. He heard disembodied voices, believed vast conspiracies targeted him, and estranged himself from everyone who’d tried to help him. After getting clean in 2008, Ed discovered: Just because you’re done with drugs, doesn’t mean drugs are done with you. He continued to battle severe mental health challenges. Ed triumphed over adversity, and found his strength through struggle. Amazing people inspired him to pursue a spiritual path of self-improvement and serving his communities. Ed Kressy may be the only person who was once arrested by the FBI, yet went on to turn his life around and receive a community service award from the director of the FBI. He transformed his past from a liability, into an asset. You will be inspired by his message, which is pointed, positive, and powerful: Redemption is possible, despite the most hopeless-seeming circumstances. Never give up on a human being…kindness is never wasted. Second chances benefit the giver (society), as well as the receiver. He became a volunteer first responder, and currently volunteers for nonprofits that deliver entrepreneur training to currently and formerly incarcerated men and women. He overcame his paranoid fear of the FBI by volunteering for the FBI, and now assists their outreach to communities affected by addiction and incarceration. He pursued his lifelong dream of being a writer, using his story as a way to help others. His work has appeared in The Washington Post, Vox, and the San Francisco Chronicle. His book, My Addiction & Recovery, is being published in April 2020, by Lifestyle Entrepreneurs Press. It is for readers seeking a greater understanding of the possibilities for power through adversity, via a personal, poignant, triumphant story. He has delivered talks for MIT, Google, LinkedIn, Cisco, and others. He has twice been a storyteller for The Moth. In the future, Ed will continue to leverage his partnerships, platforms, and message to bring hope for transformation to as wide an audience as possible. Key Takeaways: Just because you’re done with drugs, doesn’t mean drugs are done with you. - Ed Kressy Everything can wait except the search for spiritual meaning. - George Harrison To speak of a person searching for god is like speaking of the mouse searching for the cat. - CS Lewis It is better to conquer one’s self than to win a thousand battles. - Unknown The more I give the more I get. - Ed Kressy Ed Kressy https://edkressy.com/ For more information about Chris Vasquez and Next Level Mindset: http://chrisjvasquez.com