Sometime back in 2023, I got a notification from Google Photo Memories. It was a series of images from past years. Two photos made me stop in my tracks. Who is that overweight dude? That dude was me. I remembered the moment the pictures were taken—but I didn’t remember looking like that. When I looked in the mirror, I saw Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Apparently, everyone else saw a 350-pound man in denial. Years ago, while teaching a management seminar, I learned a concept from a colleague Marc DeSimone: S.E.E. – Significant Emotional Event.

That day, those photos became my S.E.E. moment. Unlike my previous 20+ attempts to lose weight and get healthy, I didn’t ignore the warning signs. I started my journey toward health and wellness that very day—and I haven’t looked back.

Here’s the truth: I wasn’t overweight. I was morbidly obese with cardiovascular issues. I’d been diagnosed with a heart blockage on the right side of my heart. You’d think that would’ve been enough to change my lifestyle. It wasn’t. The only thing I consistently did right was ride my bike—even at 350 pounds. A year later, I had surgery to re-route veins in my legs so blood could flow more easily to my heart. I made some half-hearted lifestyle changes, but they didn’t last. I slowly fell back into old habits.

About 18 months later, I started feeling “off” when I was sitting or lying down—but never while cycling. One evening, I was at a friend’s house playing on his race car simulator when that “off” feeling hit again. This friend had undergone heart surgery himself. He sat me down, ran some quick tests on his home equipment, and looked me square in the eye and said: “You need to see your doctor ASAP.”

I had felt like this before but always shrugged it off—because I felt fine when exercising. Still, I made the appointment. While waiting to see the cardiologist, that weird feeling returned. I sat still, hoping it would pass. It did. Then a nurse called me in to take my vitals. Calmly, she asked, “Did you just run up the stairs?” I shook my head. “No.” She replied, “The doctor will be in shortly.” Within a minute, the door burst open. The doctor (whom I’d never met) entered with two nurses and an EKG machine. They pushed me back on the table, lifted my shirt, and rolled up my pant legs. I was calm—I felt great. But apparently, I was having some type of mild heart episode. The cardiologist explained that my heart rate was abnormally fast. I was detained and monitored and later released to go home but scheduled for follow-up testing. After several tests, I returned to the hospital for results. Walking into the conference room with two cardiologists, I said: “OK, just bottom-line it. Give it to me straight—no chaser.”

Another blockage was discovered—this time on the left side of my heart. Then one doctor asked if I’d had any more episodes since the tests. I said no. The other cardiologist explained something that blew my mind. He said: “Your body appears to have done a ‘WAZE.’” I said, “What?” “You know the WAZE GPS app? Your body found a natural reroute—bypassing the blockage. Your heart is getting enough blood on its own, so we’re not going to operate.” Instead, they suggested another vein procedure on my left leg. As I was leaving, one cardiologist called out: “That cycling saved you from major surgery—and may have saved your life.”

I’ve made plenty of failed attempts to get healthy over the years. But when I saw those photos pop up on my phone that day, I knew I couldn’t ignore the truth any longer. Every failure before was tied to something I wasn’t managing—discipline, willpower, stress, or life balance. But now, I’m two years into the journey holding steady having lost 70 lbs, and this time, I know I’m on the right track.