Description
JEFF JOHNSTON is CEO of startup Brightn, Author, Founder of The Living Undeterred Project, and host of The Living Undeterred Podcast.
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. On that fateful morning, 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 on making a difference. He became an 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 a non-profit, the Living Undeterred Project, to change the narrative on mental health & substance use disorder. 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 Podcast. In 2021, the project got even more personal for Jeff when he lost his wife, Prudence, to alcoholism. He is currently working on a new mental health project, Brightn, geared toward Gen Z.
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