The control we give an experience is on us.
“We have two options in life: we can be the victim or the hero.”-Wesley Chapman
The Cheat Sheet:
- What was his first entrepreneurial enterprise at the age of 8?
- Why he was on 25 pills a day until he was 16.
- What is H cubed and how can you use it in your own life?
- How comic books inspired him.
- Why did he meet his biological father at a Toys”R”Us?
- And so much more…
At the age of only seven and a half our guest for this episode was told he would be lucky if he weren’t in jail for murder or rape by the time he reached 25. And yet today he is a well-known and successful entrepreneur, husband and father who is helping other youth cope with the same difficulties he experienced as a child and teen.
Wesley Chapman is the founder and originator of A Human Project, a for-purpose organization dedicated to helping abandoned, abused and neglected youth get the love and support they deserve. We discuss how vulnerability helped him heal and become not only a survivor of horrific abuse, but a testament to the capacity of the human spirit on this edition of The Art of Charm.
More About This Show:
Wesley Chapman experienced more horrible events by the age of 16 than most of us do in our entire life. From sexual and mental and physical abuse to abandonment, Wesley experienced all of it as a child. His biological dad abandoned him when he was only a year old and his mom left five and a half years later. A family member took him in when he was eight and he was finally given some stability.
As a child and into his teens he was also on many medication to treat the myriad of diagnoses he had been given. From ADD to PTSD to bipolar, he was diagnosed and prescribed something to treat it. Then he needed pills to treat the side effects of those pills, and the side effects of the side effect treatment medicines.
All of which took its toll on his health. By the time he was 16 his liver failed and he had two options: get a transplant or hope his liver detoxed in enough time to save his life.
His mom took him home, told him how he could detox and initially he resisted. But he turned to prayer and made a deal with God: if he did the detoxification, got off all the pills and God got him through it, Wesley would give to him in return.
And it worked: Wesley detoxed, stopped his meds, lived through several days of nightmarish drug withdrawals and came out the other side with more clarity than he had ever had.
With that clarity he finally understood he was allowing his abusers, some of whom weren’t even in his life any longer, to run the show. He took responsibility, stopped being a victim and decided he wanted to be his own hero.
With that honesty, the first of what he now calls his H cubed tool, he could heal his old wounds properly and fully. He understood he couldn’t control what happened to him, but he could control how he responded to it. And when he grasped that concept fully he found hope, the last of his H cubed strategy.
Wesley is taking his own personal lesson and helping others get honest, heal, and have hope. Though his primary demographic is youth, his programs at A Human Project also apply to adults.
He has found immense power in being vulnerable with AHP and audiences in general; he learned how to let go of shame by sharing his story and being transparent in his experiences. He no longer hides what happened to him, and is an open book because he understands how doing so allows other people to work through their own shame, fears, and challenges.
Wesley goes into even more detail on this episode, including what it was like when he finally met his biological father and why he does what he does. Please listen and join me in thanking Wesley for his candor, honesty and immense heart. As always, thank you for joining us and we’ll see you next time.
THANKS WESLEY CHAPMAN!
Resources from this episode:
Wesley Chapman’s web site
A Human Project’s web site
The Art of Charm bootcamps
You’ll also like:
-The Art of Charm Toolbox
-Best of The Art of Charm Podcast
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