"Sitting in public reading this, and yet again, you have reduced me to tears through your eloquence and strength to say what most of us ignore. Andy, you are an inspiration." Andrew B
"This is powerful stuff! As someone who struggles similarly to you, I'm very thankful for your openness and transparency. My tool kit looks very similar, and as I age, the dark and scary days are fewer and farther between. Thank you so much." Kim C.
One windy day on a bike ride, training for an Ironman triathlon, Andy Blasquez was blown from his bicycle while traveling at over 40 miles per hour. This accident left him unconscious and alone, out of sight, off the side of the road. But this wasn't his first fall. It wasn't his first concussion.. It was his 15th concussion that was severe enough to result in a loss of consciousness.
As a single father of his two sons, with his memories slipping away, replaced by fear and depression, he had to find a way to capture the very best of his life, his growth, life's questions and answers...everything he wanted to share with his sons when they were older. With no time to waste, Andy re-prioritized his life, putting his boys and his mental, physical, and spiritual health right at the top. He needed to live his best life...and he needed to start immediately.
This lead to modeling this healthy lifestyle for his boys. Walking and talking with them while they learned, together, to navigate this life with purpose, on purpose, and with a smile. He thought, "If I can learn to navigate this most-challenging time of my life...I know I can help alleviate within them some of the feelings that I wrestled with throughout my childhood. The ultimate purpose being that perhaps they'd go on to bigger and better-- and-more importantly -- happier times."
Needing guidance to find patience and understanding, strength and confidence, and ultimately peace, Andy read and processed and re-read writings and teaching from the most revered and inspirational spiritual leaders, mentors, sages, philosophers, and personal development coaches in history. Harvesting insights from contemporaries such as Stephen Covey, Tony Robbins, and Eckhart Tolle to the Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, to Gandhi. From the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. to the teachings of the Christian Bible, the Quran, and the Bhagavad Gita. From the ideas passed down from our most prolific Stoics to the time-tested fables of the Tao Te Ching. All of them right. All of them overlapping.
In this book Andy shares his past, his sadness and joy, his failures and journeys, and the sea of peaceful and practical wisdom he collected. All of it simplified and distilled, then presented in "Hey Guys. It's Dad!" in a way that's as conversational and comforting as it is inspirational and heartwarming.
