Success is Subjective: Helping parents of college students accept that dropping out is okay

Episode 116 - From Planning to Go to Jail to Owning Two Business —Chris Howard

January 25, 2022 Joanna Lilley, MA, NCC Season 2 Episode 116
Success is Subjective: Helping parents of college students accept that dropping out is okay
Episode 116 - From Planning to Go to Jail to Owning Two Business —Chris Howard
Show Notes

We get so caught up in the idea of education and college, but what if someone doesn’t even have the option to go to school or doesn’t think they do because of their upbringing? Is it possible to go to college after growing up in poverty, surrounded by drugs and hopeless people?

Chris Howard, the founder of Ethos Recovery and Lifestyle Interventions, knows firsthand the struggle of poverty, addiction and mental health. He grew up poor and living in a home with a mentally ill mother, causing him to turn to drugs and alcohol to help escape. After more than a decade of struggling with addiction, Chris was forced to make a change and go to treatment. After finding himself sober for over 6 months, Chris found his pupose in helping others take back their life. In his pursuit, he went to college and eventually created Ethos House, where he now helps walk young men through their challenges in sobriety.

In this episode of Success is Subjective, Chris joins Joanna to share his journey going from growing up in poverty and planning to go to jail, to acquiring a 3.9 GPA in college and owning his own treatment center. His journey was nowhere near easy but the lessons he’s learned and growth he’s experienced doesn’t go to waste, as he gives back to young men at Ethos and Lifestyle Interventions. Listen in for Chris’s insight on the importance of traveling prior to college and the impact that third-world countries and college has made on him. 

What You Will Learn

  • What it was like growing up in poverty and with a mentally ill mother
  • The route that Chris was set on at a young age and when that idea finally changed
  • When Chris was forced to go to treatment for his addictions
  • How Chris got past his self-doubt around college 
  • How school was able to help Chris with discipline and skills
  • The journey to a 3.9 GPA while worked 50 hours a week managing a sober living and taking on a full course load of classes
  • When Chris decided he wanted to start his own sober living
  • Chris’s insight on treatment 
  • The importance of taking care of yourself - you are human!
  • Chris’s insight on traveling and how it has drastically affected his life

 Connect with Chris Howard

Connect with Joanna Lilley