"Better Not Bitter: Choosing The Road Of Hope & Inspiration in the Face of Grief" with Guest Jeff Johnston

On October 4, 2016, the trajectory of Jeff’s life changed with one phone call. Prior to that day, Jeff was living the American Dream. He had a great family, was a successful entrepreneur running a financial services firm in Iowa, and was seemingly coasting through life. The morning of October 4, 2016 Jeff received the phone call that is every parent’s worst nightmare. His oldest son, Seth, had died from fentanyl poisoning. He was 23 years old. Jeff soon realized that he had two options. He could go down a road of anger and despair and become bitter, or he could use his situation as motivation to become better. He chose the latter. Jeff decided to take a step back from his career as a financial advisor and focus his attention toward making a difference. He became advocate for bringing awareness to substance use and addiction in teens & young adults. He began speaking at high schools and community events, and joined the board of a local treatment facility that Seth spent time at before his death. In 2020, Jeff founded his own non-profit, Choices Network, Ltd. dedicated to educating kids, parents, teachers & coaches on the importance of making positive choices. That same year, he wrote his first book, “This One’s For You: An Inspirational Journey Through Addiction, Death and Meaning” and started the Living Undeterred Project. Jeff is currently organizing the Living Undeterred Tour with the goal of building a network of contacts and resources to help develop alternative solutions to the mental health and addiction crises.