“There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.”
~ Ernest Hemingway
🧭 Author’s Note: This post is deeply personal. If you’re in a season of uncertainty or reinvention, know that you’re not alone. Growth rarely feels glamorous in the moment—but it’s always sacred work.
📌 Estimated Reading Time: 5–7 minutes
🧭 My Journey to Growth
The path to growth often begins in the unknown.
After my grandma, Alberta, passed away in August of 2022, I began to spiral. By early 2023, I found myself in a full-blown depression. I had resigned from my job and decided to retire after 39 years of working in the healthcare industry and for myself.
I went from working 50–60 hours a week to doing nothing.
I felt ashamed. Ashamed of doing nothing. Ashamed of no longer being “someone.” I avoided people from my past because I didn’t know how to explain my present. Depression crippled me—it suppressed my ambition, creativity, and severed the social and community ties that once gave me joy.
I had so deeply identified as a leader in healthcare that I lost sight of who I was without that title. And so, I did what many of us do—I started comparing myself to others. And in doing so, I found myself feeling small, invisible…worthless.
But life had another chapter in mind.
While I was in the hospital over Thanksgiving in 2023, something unexpected happened. A conversation with my oldest daughter and son-in-law about Artificial Intelligence sparked something inside me. That simple moment reawakened my curiosity, creativity, and ambition. I’ve been on fire ever since.
Since then, I’ve launched two businesses. I’ve written three books and started this blog—one book which I dedicated to my son, Cameron, who passed away as an infant. I’ve created software and Chrome extensions, one of which helps people find credible health information and is published on the Chrome Web Store.
And the best part? I’m too busy building the life I love to compare myself to anyone else.
🧭 When Growth Gets Personal
Growth doesn’t always look like a breakthrough. Sometimes, it looks like getting out of bed when you didn’t think you could. Sometimes, it looks like you’re rewriting your own story after it’s been torn apart.
For me, growth meant walking away from who I thought I was—and becoming who I was always meant to be.
I didn’t reclaim my old life. I built a new one.
🧭 The Science Behind Growth
Growth isn’t just a personal journey—it’s deeply rooted in psychology and neuroscience.
According to Dr. Carol Dweck, the pioneering researcher behind Mindset, people with a growth mindset believe that skills and intelligence can be developed through effort, learning, and perseverance. This mindset leads to:
✔ Greater resilience in the face of setbacks
✔ Increased motivation and effort
✔ Higher achievement across school, work, and life
A 2022 study published in Frontiers in Psychology found that adopting a growth mindset significantly improves mental health, especially during major life transitions like retirement, job loss, or reinvention.
💡 Key Insight: Growth isn’t about never failing—it’s about learning from failure and continuing to move forward.
🧭 A Little Exercise We Can Do Together
Take a deep breath. Grab a notebook or open a blank document, and take a few minutes to reflect on these questions:
🔹 What challenge in your life did you grow from—even when it didn’t feel like growth at the time?
🔹 Who inspires you to keep improving yourself—and why?
🔹 What’s one small action you could take this week to become better than yesterday?
There are no wrong answers—only honest ones. Growth is a journey, not a destination.
🧭 Looking Ahead: The Eight Compass Points
Growth is just the third Compass Point in this journey of intentional living. Next, we’ll explore Presence—the art of being fully alive in each moment, instead of lost in the past or worried about the future.
🧭 A Bridge of Reflection
There was a time I believed my best years were behind me. But growth proved me wrong.
We don’t outgrow ourselves—we grow into who we were always meant to be.
If you’re feeling lost, overwhelmed, or unsure of your next move…growth begins the moment you stop comparing yourself to others and start creating a new version of you.
What are you growing into? I’d love to hear your story.
🧭 Join Our Compass Community
I believe we navigate life better together. When you join our community, you’ll receive:
✔ Weekly Compass Points: Brief reflections to help you stay oriented
✔ Early Access: Be the first to receive new tools and resources
✔ Connection: Join conversations with others on similar journeys
📩 Join the Compass Community Here
Your story matters, and I’d love to hear it. Drop me a note anytime at eric@livingbythecompass.com.
🧭 A Bit About Me
I’m Eric “Jazz” Rinehart—a veteran, tech entrepreneur, business strategist, and educator with a background spanning technology, healthcare, consulting, and business development.
After leaving the U.S. Air Force, I co-founded a Silicon Valley startup and later stepped into senior leadership roles in healthcare support operations. Over the years, I’ve worked as a consultant, helping launch and scale new ventures across multiple industries.
Beyond my professional journey, my insights are shaped by deeply personal experiences—including navigating the loss of a child, evolving from traditional religiosity to a spiritually grounded philosophy, and continuously reinventing myself through life’s biggest challenges.
Through Living By The Compass, I’m sharing what I’ve learned about navigating life with clarity, purpose, and resilience—not because I have all the answers, but because I believe we all have wisdom worth sharing.
“True freedom comes not from having no broken pieces, but from transforming those pieces into a mosaic of wisdom and compassion.”