We had the good fortune of connecting with Beckett Johnson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Beckett, what role has risk played in your life or career?
I use to be afraid of risk but after suffering a traumatic brain injury in 2014 I had to learn how to really take calculated risk. When my injury happened I didn’t have health care coverage and it was devastating on all levels. I had a one percent chance of survival but I had know idea what survival would come to mean. My entire life was destroyed in that moment, even down to my self identity. I had no team of doctors to guide me since I had no medical coverage. I was on my own when it came to navigating my new normal and finding the care I needed. Enter in RISK. My motto was as long as it doesn’t hurt me I will try it. I was desperate to find help, understanding and healing. I tried a lot of holistic modalities and sought out medical professionals that may offer some kind of sliding scale or take even free patients. While I don’t suggest using risk per say when it comes to your health, I had no other choice. What it taught me though was that risks although tricky can have huge benefits that we never think of. If I didn’t have the healing journey I probably wouldn’t be doing the work I do today. Learning how to pivot, and jump even when you cannot see the end result helped me become a better entrepreneur and human being. It helped me get more comfortable in being uncomfortable and taught me that true growth comes from those moment, not just in your soul but in your overall life. I had the privilege now of working with hundreds of TBI survivors and helping them move through the grief of the journey and get to a place of thriving by embracing risks. I think we all get caught up in a certain way of doing things and we forget to blaze a path of the unknown. I don’t have the common answers to healing, or thriving beyond a brain injury but that is what makes my business unique and has helped so many. Risks can be tricky yes but I think we can shift our perspective on what the risk really is it becomes a key to unlocking so much unknown potential. I’m so beyond grateful for the risks I was forced to take and continue to take in my life.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I am most excited about celebrating one year since I started my online brain injury survivors community. While I have worked with other brain injury non profits, run workshops at retreats, venturing out on my own was super scary and overwhelming. This journey was not easy at all and I have had to really learn as I go. I wasn’t even sure if people would show up or how I was going to handle running my own business. As a TBI (traumatic brain injury) survivor we automatically only have half the energy of a non tbi person each day, not to mention the mental challenges due to my injury I face daily. I had to implement systems the worked with my disabilities and didn’t aggravate them. I had to figure out what those were and test and see what worked best for me. It was a lot of fail, try again, fail try again. I know a work life balance is important for us all but especially for someone like me. My brain can get over stimulated and then memory issues kick in, extreme fatigue and irritability if I push myself or fall into the hustle, grind mentality. I had to pivot and learn to schedule my self care first, then create my day around that. Honestly that was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I find I get more done, my head is more clear and emotionally I just feel better and I naturally invoke a balance between my work and personal life.

I also had to get real with myself and understand I cannot help every survivor out there and when I was under that kind of thinking, I realized I wasn’t really serving anyone well. When I finally narrowed down my niche to survivors dealing with the darker side of TBI, the grief, anger and feeling lost, I was able to serve much better. Its a part of this journey no one wants to talk about or even address yet its a BIG problem! This is also why self care became essential because dealing with such heavy emotions in group settings can personally effect you. Honestly it was this lack of support out there when I needed it that prompted me to start my business. I had expressed these ideas about grief workshops to other support groups and was shot down. I decided then, if no one else will do it then I will. I get so excited when I am able to take a survivor who feels like they are lost in such a dark tunnel and help them see their own light out. TBI Survivors have one of the highest suicide rates in the country and if we do not start shining a light on the cause it will never get better. I understand I don’t have all the answers but I have my own lived experience and I know that there is such a HUGE demand out there for this kind of work. We don’t teach people in our society how to grieve, how to honor those emotions, how to navigate through them and come out the other side. We shame them or tell them pick up your boot straps someone else has to worse. These statements make a person feel unseen, unheard and unvalidated in their experience. I know because I felt that so often in my own healing journey. People will dismiss us many times because we “look” fine and therefore belittle what we are going through or what has happened to us.

With my group its a community process. I bring in practitioners that mainstream medicine may not even believe in. I expose the group to new ways of healing, and create a loving, non judgmental space of acceptance. We have used art, nutrition, energy healing, meditation to help navigate some of the toughest moments of their journey. I want to expose them to resources they may not even know they have and then encourage them to become their own self advocates. I create a space that gives them opportunities and reminds them of things they can still do instead of always hearing what the doctors tell them they can no longer do. I keep it honest, real and heartfelt. I am always amazed at how much they end up helping each other. My goal is never too heal them or do the work for them but provide them with the resources and tools for them to live their best lives. Many other support groups don’t do that. They just introduce them to ideas with no real insight or instruction on how to now incorporate that into their daily lives.

The fact that its one year later and the group is going so strong, we have guest speakers that come on all the time and I just launched a youtube channel which is pretty amazing. I am excited to be launching a new course and webinar series and really taking them to new levels on their own healing journey. My goal is to really go deeper in their learning beyond the surface introductions of practices and help them feel self empowered. I also hope to eventually be able to hire other TBI survivors to do this work if it calls to them. I have had many express interest and again that’s another issue many face is how to work again and feel like they have a purpose. Im just not quite there yet with my company but I will get there. I want to show them that we are not defined by our injuries and that we can thrive and love life again even after all we have been through. I want to be the example for what is possible after a TBI and hope to be able to inspire others to keep going because they are so worth it.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If my best friend was coming to visit it would be a road trip all over Arizona.We are both outdoorsy types and its being in nature where we have the most fun. In fact we did this very thing! We of course headed to breakfast over to Luci’s at the Orchard for some yummy breakfast and outside ambience. Then we took off to Sedona. She had never been and it was a bucket list item that we needed to fulfill for her. We stayed a Oak Creek Canyon resort and ate at one of my favorites Indian Gardens Cafe & Market for breakfast there. We spent the day hiking and doing Devils Bridge, going to see the ruins at Palataki and grabbing a late dinner in Tlaquepaque Arts & Shopping Village at The Secret Garden restaurant. For sunset I took her to Mesa Airport but not to the top since the views are much better at the first turn off as you head up the road. The next morning we went and ate at the Coffee Pot for breakfast and headed over to the Stupa Peace Park. We also spent the day checking out local stores and sights and of course stopped by Crystal Magic.

This day was a little more chill because we were getting up early the next day to out to Lower Antelope Canyon but before we got there we made a short side trip to Horseshoe Bend. Doing both of these things in one day was a lot but so well worth it. Antelope Canyon alone was such a unique experience and getting to meet the local native people and learn more about them just added to the experience. We headed back to Phoenix that night and ended up grabbing a nice mexican meal at Aunt Chiladas.

They next day we head out to the Salt River area to see the Wild Horses and hike Butcher Jones Trail around Saguaro Lake. She loved seeing the horses play in the river and they ended up coming right by us. That to me is one of the most unique experiences you can give someone who is not from Arizona. Its not like you can see wild horses all over the places. At night we took in the art exhibit at Wonderspaces which is always cool because its interactive and always changing.

The next day we head to the Superstition Mountains and took my friends RZR out into Bulldog Canyon. After going fun throttle through the desert and having fun we made a pit stop at the Goldfield Ghost Town. We went down into the mine, grabbed some lunch and learned the history of that area. After that we hopped back into the RZR and drove down to the Tortilla Flats, an old west town, grabbed some ice cream and just enjoyed the views. The drive there can be a bit challenging but so worth it!! We also hiked the Petroglyph trail out there and checked out all the cool rock art. We ended the night at Songbird Cafe in downtown Phoenix for some outside music and a relaxed drink.

For her final day here we headed up to Payson to Water Wheel Trail and spend the day admiring the colorful rocks, swimming under the waterfall and just enjoying the beauty that Arizona has to offer. We saw epic sunsets, various landscapes with such history and richness to them. It was a fantastic trip and she is already wanting to come back and do more.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would love to give a shoutout to my TBI Thrivers group. Every time I work with them they teach me so much about life, resilience, and hope. They inspire me to keep doing what I am doing and they encourage me in ways words cannot even describe. TBI Survivors are some of the most heartfelt amazing people you could ever meet and I get the privilege to be a small part of their journey, it is both humbling and such an honor. When there have been times where I wanted to quit or thought am I even helping, its this group reminds me to keep going. When they share how their lives have changed since being a part of my group or everything they have learned it literally brings me to tears. It’s such a blessing and it’s something I never take for granted. They are everything and more.

Website: www.spruceandsage.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/tbithrivers

Facebook: www.facebook.com/beckettj513

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuRyCR7nMn6_b978vp09_Dw

Other: Personal IG – Spruceansageco Pinterest – Spruceandsageco

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutArizona is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.