We’re looking forward to introducing you to Jeff Althaus. Check out our conversation below.
Hi Jeff, thank you so much for joining us today. We’re thrilled to learn more about your journey, values and what you are currently working on. Let’s start with an ice breaker: When was the last time you felt true joy?
My dad recently gave me copy of a book called Holy Moments. It’s an amazing and quick read that really has me focusing on smaller moments in my life where I am either impacted by the kindness of others, or where I have the chance to positively impact someone else’s life in ways that may seem small to me, but are actually huge to them.
It’s because of that small book that my moment of joy arose the other day. I was in the grocery store, simply waiting in line and minding my own business when the lady two people in front of me started having what appeared like a panic attack. The woman directly in front of me in line calmly placed her hands on this woman’s shoulders and asked if she could pray for her. Now, I’m religious, but I’ve never had the guts to openly pray as fervently, loudly, and as proudly as this woman did in that moment. It drew a crowd, but it completely calmed the panicked woman. They hugged and the panicked woman was able to complete checking out as if the panic had never happened. When the woman who completed the praying (we’ll call her Jenny) was up to pay for her groceries, I had the strongest urge to just pay her bill for her. I knew immediately this was one of those chances from the Holy Moments book to make a difference in someone’s life. Someone who had just impressed me and definitely deserved all the help in the world for being a truly honest and helpful person herself was standing right there, so easily able to be helped. However, something inside me kept trying to pull me away from paying at the same time. I thought odd things like “she would think I was insulting her by offering to pay for her” or “people would think I was stuck up and that I’m better than everyone if I insisted on paying.” Toward the end of these odd thoughts, one thought came through like a bullet. It simply said “pay her bill.” Immediately after thinking that, the cashier looked right at me and asked me if I had a “shopper’s card” the woman could use to obtain a discount on her items. I knew right then God was speaking to me to stop listening to the odd and bad things in life, and pay attention to the good things instead. I told both Jenny and the cashier that I did have a shoppers card, but if we were going to use it, I’d also pay for the whole bill. I never imagined what could have happened next.
Normally, when a scene occurs that causes a delay in people checking out, a line forms full of angry, anxious people. Not only did we have a scene, but now I was delaying the line more by talking to both of these people and looking for my card. Then when I actually paid, Jenny broke into tears. She admitted she was worried about how much they had bought to feed her family, but couldn’t form other words through the tears. She hugged me and ran out of the store to try to compose herself. I was left standing there with her daughter while we bagged their groceries. She was very grateful and said thank you at least a thousand times. When I turned around, the line was still there, all smiling faces and some full of tears too. All hearts were full of joy at that moment. When I went to pay for my groceries, the cashier shook my hand and said thank you too. He said the world needed more people like me in it, which shocked me. My only response was, “No, the world needs more people like Jenny.”
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am a teacher, a writer, and a lawyer that doesn’t sue anyone. I started Althaus Law as a way to keep families together through the toughest times in their lives; the loss of a loved one. We utilize estate planning tools like wills, trusts, and powers of attorney to help plan for the inevitable, giving you peace of mind that your wishes will be carried out and your family will be protected should anything happen to you. We also guide families through the probate process after losing someone close to them. We understand that there are more important things for you to focus on rather than courts, judges, lawyers, and trying to figure out probate laws. Our lawyers can take the legal burdens off your shoulders allowing you to grieve while we keep things on track under the law. There is a lot to look forward to with family, and estate planning and probate should not get in the way of that.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
Growing up, I thought I always had to know who I was exactly and what I wanted to do. My whole life was focused on doing things in the right order and doing lots of things to accomplish more and more things. My belief was that by doing many things, I could then have many things. Having many things would lead to me being happy and feeling complete. I’ve luckily realized this is a very backwards way of looking at the world.
Now, I see myself as first choosing who I want to be when I wake up. Not waiting for some far off future date or something else to happen in life. I choose what person I want to be and how I want to behave as soon as I wake up. Therefore, if I want to be happy, I just start the day happy. Then, in that mindset (some would call it having a heart at peace) I enter the world to do the things I need to do. I’ve found that doing things second, after choosing to be someone with a heart at peace, finally allows me to have all that I need at the end of that day. Approaching life this way has brought more blessings than I could have ever imagined.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
Suffering and failure are truly the best teachers. In my younger days, I was very blind as to how bad of a husband I was. I focused so much on my schooling trying to become a lawyer. I spent all day everyday at the library, then expected my wife to be understanding when I got home at midnight or later, never being able to spend quality time with her. It all caught up to me eventually when I was served with divorce papers right after graduating law school. That, to me, was my ultimate failure. I had succeeded at one thing, at the cost of everything. That success taught me how selfish I was. But that failure turned my life around. I realized how important my wife was to me and that I couldn’t live without her. I realized there were things in life I couldn’t wait to do any longer. I learned that life was too short to wait to tell people how you truly feel about them. So I seized the day. I did everything I had been wanting to do. I moved to Colorado to start a new life, vowing to never be that person who failed the woman I loved ever again.
I’m happy to say that learning to be more understanding, more open, more communicative, and more loving paid off. That failure changed who I was as a person. I’m ecstatic to report that all those changes brought that love of my life back to me as well. I can proudly say I’m married to my ex-wife 🙂 — and we’ve sense grown a family with 2 beautiful children.
Before you can be great at anything, you have to allow yourself to be terrible at it. Just don’t forget to learn from those mistakes.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Whom do you admire for their character, not their power?
I admire my mom the most of anyone in the world. Not only is she a Vietnam veteran that fought for our country, she put up with my dad (I love and respect him very much too) for over 55 years, and somehow raised 4 boys at the same time. Her character is stronger than any power anyone could have. Her ability for truth, understanding, honesty, and faith are unmatched. I’ll always remember the time we were shopping when I was probably in kindergarten. She got out to the car and realized there was a ruler in the cart we hadn’t paid for. Instead of chalking it up to good luck and keeping it, she marched me back into the store, announced to the cashier that she hadn’t paid for that ruler, and then counted out the cash to make sure everything was accounted for. My mother has always been there for all of us, and I hope to pass those traits on to my children as well.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. What do you think people will most misunderstand about your legacy?
I think people have a hard time understanding my inability to sit still. I’m not the kind of person that can sit on a beach and just relax, but that doesn’t mean I don’t ever recharge. My recharging comes in a completely different form. I get to “relax” or recharge when I’m helping others. Oddly enough, I also recharge when I’m being active. Some of my favorite things to do are to go for very long hikes, take rigorous backcountry snowboarding trips, or scuba dive in treacherous waters. All of these give me an adrenaline rush that relaxes me in a way that is unexplainable.
I also feel like this drive to constantly be moving and to help others comes across as stressed out sometimes, when in reality, I’m simply trying to make the most of everyday. I believe each minute is a gift from God, and if we aren’t maximizing that gift, we are wasting it. Don’t get me wrong, I know we all need to “sharpen our saws” and recharge, I just have an odd way of doing that, but I love it all the same.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.althauslaw.com
- Instagram: @althauslaw
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/althaus-law/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/althauslaw/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7q46D39LZJ_UaNsoDEcshQ
