The Question That Changed Everything

"Who ever told you that everyone has to like you?"

That question from my therapist 25 years ago stopped me in my tracks. I couldn't name a single person who had told me that everyone had to like me—so why did I believe it so strongly? And why was this belief running my life? In this video, I share the story of a childhood wound I still carry: the fear of rejection. Not because I had terrible parents (I didn't), but because of the accumulation of "innocent" remarks and cultural messages that told me I wasn't good enough.

This is the story behind why I created Heartlight Learning—a compassion-based educational framework that helps children learn through curiosity instead of criticism. Because here's what haunts me: Wouldn't it have been monumentally wonderful if I had never had to endure this wound in the first place? We can't change the past. But we can change what we pass forward.