{"id":62,"date":"2025-08-30T15:30:12","date_gmt":"2025-08-30T19:30:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fredchongrutherford.com\/?p=62"},"modified":"2025-08-30T20:28:51","modified_gmt":"2025-08-31T00:28:51","slug":"i-tell-stories-about-the-improbability-and-inevitability-of-meaningful-connection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fredchongrutherford.com\/?p=62","title":{"rendered":"I tell stories about the improbability and inevitability of meaningful connection"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In December 2023, I was in year 5 of my CPTSD therapy. I weighed 361 pounds. I\u2019d been diagnosed with pre-diabetes. I had trapped myself in a miserable story of self-destruction. And worse? I spread the misery around me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I needed to change my story. I read everything I could find about what happens to people who lose extreme amounts of weight quickly, and realized \u201ceat less and exercise like a maniac,\u201d was a path to failure and self-abuse. I chose kaizen instead, consistent, small improvement every day. I realized that if I lost no more than 0.5% of my bodyweight a week, then in one year, I\u2019d weigh 257 pounds. And I learned that the root of my physical health was my mental health. If I wanted to change, I needed to heal my CPTSD. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In July 2025, my weight was 220 pounds. For the first time in my life, the weight loss has stuck. Because I\u2019ve healed my broken heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Compassionate resilience fueled my transformation. And I\u2019ve been living happily in the quiet, peaceful afterwards of big change, through the gift of a new perspective I call \u2018trauma-informed leadership.\u2019 In the past 19 months, I learned growth and healing are possible at any stage of life. The physical signs of this are that I lost 141 pounds and am told I have a nice smile. The mental signs are full self-acceptance, of who I am, what I\u2019ve gone through, without shame and with compassion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since 2020, I\u2019ve seen the same expression I had as a CPTSD survivor on the faces of so many people. I believe no one is broken, and we can all heal. I\u2019m not here to heal anyone, save anyone, or fix anyone. I\u2019m here to understand, to give perspective, to connect and to help. Your feelings matter. No one should tell you to shut down how you feel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m a product management professional, because to be good at this profession, you have to be a master storyteller. I\u2019m an executive leader, because I know crisp, impactful stories inspire and guide people. I\u2019m a public speaker, because I know sharing stories with people helps them feel seen, heard, and understood. I\u2019m a comedy performer, because showing people human moments of joyful abundance is wonderful. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And I\u2019m a writer, because I\u2019ve been in love with words on paper since I was 9 years old. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a speaker, I give transformative stories of resilience, change, and joy<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an author, I give fun, dramatic, at times heart-wrenching true stories from my life, and wonderfully rich fiction and poetry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a leader, I give decades of wisdom coupled with skills to help people unlock their potential, and help organizations succeed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My name is Fred Chong Rutherford. I tell stories about the improbability and inevitability of meaningful connection through the power of bravery and laughter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s connect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

—
Also posted to LinkedIn<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In December 2023, I was in year 5 of my CPTSD therapy. I weighed 361 pounds. I\u2019d been diagnosed with pre-diabetes. I had trapped myself in a miserable story of self-destruction. And worse? I spread the misery around me.  I needed to change my story. I read everything I could find about what happens to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[19],"class_list":["post-62","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog-post","tag-linkedin"],"yoast_head":"\nI tell stories about the improbability and inevitability of meaningful connection - fred chong rutherford<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fredchongrutherford.com\/?p=62\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"I tell stories about the improbability and inevitability of meaningful connection - fred chong rutherford\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In December 2023, I was in year 5 of my CPTSD therapy. 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