Life & Work with David Treadway

Today we’d like to introduce you to David Treadway

Hi David, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I’ve always considered that “Life is an adventure” I knew from an early age I wanted to see the world and after graduating highschool in my hometown of Bellbrook, Ohio I set out driving to California with my 1968 Chevy van, $174 dollars, a few clothes, and all my albums. The people and friends I have met because of that decision are the biggest blessing in my life and have made my life pretty darn interesting. I can, without a doubt say I would not be where I am today if not for all those people, especially my wonderful wife Kate.

I knew early on that I wanted to be in business for myself. I worked the 9 to 5 like most people until I was about 30 then took the risk and started my own printing business. It was my own business but it wasn’t something that was fullfilling. It was only a means to an end……..paying the bills. It never offered anything that met that early desire to see the world. Although even at that time in my early 30’s I had started working with highschool kids and for 7 years in a row took highschool and college kids on mission trips to Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, and parts of the U.S. I finally had a passport with stamps in it. Now life has brought me to where I have my third passport. I actually ran out of pages in my first one and had to have more pages added at the Embassy in Costa Rica.

I met my wife Kate in 1997 on AOL of all places. I was at the end of the printing business adventure, not sure what life was going to bring next. When Kate and I met, she didn’t have a passport and had never lived more than 12 milies from home. Now she has been to 25 countries and over half the states in the U.S. In 2005 we simply were tired of the rat race of the Bay Area, Silicon Valley California and we sold everything and moved to Costa Rica. It was on a wing and a prayer, setting out on a new life adventure. I think you have to take risks in life. Some take bigger ones than others, but I think if you don’t take risks, you aren’t growing. Shortly after arriving in Costa Rica we started a realestate and property management business that really took off. People were buying vacation and future retirement homes and needed someone to take care of them and manage rentals for them. Much of life is being in the right place at the right time, but if you are never willing to take the steps to open a door or see what’s around the next corner, you are going to miss out on a lot. We could have stayed in California. We had good paying jobs, a nice condo, and good friends. The decision to move to Costa Rica put us on a path to meet some incredible people and open doors I never imagined.

Costa Rica is where I met Jacqui and her husband Neal who eventually introduced me to Jill Oliver who I wrote the book, One Orange For Christmas about. Writing the book has opened other doors and adventures that I couldn’t have imagined. Jill was born on the island of Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands. When she was six years old the Germans took over the Channel Islands and after two years Jill, her younger brother and mother and father were deported to camps in Germany where she spent the next three years until they were liberated by the allies. The book chronicles her incredible story as a young child living through those years. It was during this same time that I found out through DNA testing that my mother had lied about who my father was. It took six months of research and I found out who he was. Unfortunately he had passed many years prior. The real blessing though was I found six new brothers and sisters who welcomed me with open arms. That is not always the case in those situations, so I know how blessed I am with the outcome.

I’ve always believed that when you are blessed, you have to give back. Be a blessing to others. After nearly 14 years in Costa Rica we decided it was time to move on to our next adventure in life. We were comfortable enough to retire and even though we could have sold our property management business, we decided since we had been blessed so much, instead of selling it we gave the business to a young couple just starting out. We moved back to the U.S., settling in the Nashville, Tennessee area. Now in retirement we are busier than ever but with fun things. Travel is one of our passions and it just made since to turn that into a business. We have a travel club business now with Xpirient that is taking us all over the world. I wrote my first book after we moved back to the States and I am currently working on my second book a novel about a young lady who has a surprise DNA test result. Yes, it’s fiction but based on a lot of my own life. My surprise DNA result has opened new doors to helping others. I worked at attaining certification as a trauma recovery coach and have been able to help others working through a very difficult time in their life.

I’m excited about what the future holds. We buy a Christmas ornament every new place we travel to. Last year we added a second Christmas tree that we decorate with the ornaments from our travels. With new ones we added this year, that tree has 103 ornaments. They represent the different cities, states and countries we have traveled to. Life is truly an adventure. You can choose to take an easy path or take the road less traveled. I want to take it by the horns and hang on for the ride.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s definitely not always been a smooth road. I suppose there are those people that everything in life seems to just come easily and naturally for them. I think those people are the exception. As I’ve said, “If you aren’t willing to take risks in life…..” Taking risks is most likely going to mean there are going to be some rougher roads than the smooth ones, but those rough ones have made me grow. Early on finances was probably the biggest struggle. I think far too often people allow themselves to get stuck in a rut. I was in a job with no real opportunity for growth. I could work more hours, but that just caused more taxes to be taken out, it never really helped get ahead. Living paycheck to paycheck can cause so many problems in life, especially in a marraige. Kate is actually my second wife. I got engaged to my first wife at 19, married when I was 20 and we had twins when I was 21. Although we stayed married for 18 years, I don’t think we were ever “friends”. That is the biggest difference with Kate. We’ve been together now going on 28 years and she is my best friend. Taking those risks though, quiting my job and starting my own printing business created some rough roads. Each one of those rough roads though taught me a little more about myself and made me more determined to make a difference.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Becoming an author is one of the most rewarding things in my life. To see the impact my first book had on so many people is what I am most proud of. I have had people tell me about their teenager reading the book and being touched by the story. With our newest adventure, our travel club business, it gives us the opportunity to help a lot of people realize many of their own dreams. My professional life has taken many twists and turns. I wasn’t a college graduate and I pretty much skated through high school even. My life has been my education and I know that doesn’t work for everyone, but I have no regrets.

What makes you happy?
Making people laugh and smile. I know without a doubt, especially at this point in my life, when I can be a blessing to someone that needs a little helping hand, or even just someone to acknowledge how special they are, that really makes me happy.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://liferecoverycoaching.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/david.treadway.520