BIOGRAPHY

“I want to find the one person in the crowd whose heart is breaking with the gravity of their situation – who is looking at all the damage done around them – perhaps to them, but more likely by them – and sees no resolution.  Not even comprehending that there is a path anymore out of the chaos.  That’s who I want to speak to.  And I don’t think it’s naïve to believe that at some point, that has been everyone.  Because I’ve been there.  How does one look at a situation where they were trying to take themselves out of this life, but due to an extraordinary chain of events forced to make a phone call and finally pull the entire structure down on their own head?  Help is not what I wanted at that time.  A solution is not what I wanted.  In that moment, maybe one of the few, purely unselfish moments of my life, I wanted to spare my kids the nightmare of a parent checking out on them, in addition to everything else I had already put them through.  That’s all.  So did I believe there was a new life ahead?  No.  Did I even want one?  Absolutely not.  But I do have one.  One is here.  And it turns out it’s not too bad.

 

More simply, I want to show people that whatever adversity brought you to this point in your life – it’s not big enough to stop you.”

 

Jared Morrison frames part of his talk as “A Tale of Two Resumes” – the outward appearance offered to the rest of the world:  Leader.  Husband.  Family Man.  Professional.  Life was progressing in a near-textbook fashion; married with children by his mid-twenties, climbing the corporate ladder with successive promotions into management, various volunteer endeavours complimenting his Qualifications and Reference sections.  These external “bullet points” belied what he felt underscored his true credentials:  Fraud.  Disappointment.  Absentee Father.  Addict.

 

Arriving at a crossroads, Jared began the process of completely reshaping his experience.  Having lost his career, his marriage, family and direction, he has sought to address the questions that drive so many of us – finding our passion, our purpose, our path - while figuring out how to pick up the pieces from a life dismantled.