Hey guys, Molly here.
Over the past few weeks, we’ve been doing a Q3 check-in hitting different areas of business—like ads, email, and CRO.
This last one is on mindset…
And as an entry point, I wanted to tell you about the most impactful event for me of 2025 (and maybe the most impactful event of my life):
Earlier this year, I lost my dad.
The loss was sudden and unexpected—and it’s changed how I see myself, my business, my relationships, and my purpose.
I’m only 90-ish days into this grief journey, but I want to share what I’ve learned. I don’t have it all figured out, but I hope I can help others feel less alone and more inspired to live fully now (not someday).
So here we go: 13 lessons on life and business I learned from losing my dad. You can also listen to the podcast version here if you prefer.
(We’ll cover the first 6 here in Part 1. Part 2 is coming soon.)
My Final Night with My Best Friend
My dad, Jeff, was my best friend.
Growing up he was my hero, my biggest cheerleader, and the reason I am where I am today.
On April 10th of this year, he texted me to meet for drinks. We ended up talking for hours—really deep conversation, which was rare for us in person.
He reminded me who I am, and I really needed that in the moment.
Then he started talking about what to do when he passes away, and I laughed it off. “We’ve got 20+ years left,” I told him.
Our Final Hour
We wrapped up the night at a restaurant with friends. He had said he wouldn’t come, but showed up last minute, in rare form, and we got one final hour of laughs, joy and jokes.
When we said goodbye, as we watched him walk down the street we literally said, “This feels like the end of a movie.”
And that was the last time I ever saw my dad
The next morning, the police called. He’d passed away in his garage—just minutes after that joyful evening.
The following days are still a blur.
I took 6 weeks off work, and I’m proud of how I continued to be a human during that time: I did my best to get out of bed, to shower, to cry, to process my grief. To be around loved ones when I felt like it, and to be alone when I didn’t.
It’s been one of the most profound, painful, and strangely beautiful experiences I’ve ever had, and it taught me a lot about life.
Now I want to share these lessons with you.
13 Lessons on Life & Business
Lesson 1: Presence is everything.
Most business owners are constantly distracted: always on our phones or computers, always thinking toward the future.
Grief forced me into the NOW.
I had no choice. Some days, nothing mattered but the pain—not work, not goals, not emails. And while that was hard, it reminded me that the present is where real life happens.
Ezra often uses a quote I like: “If you can’t be happy in the here-and-now, you won’t be happy in the there-and-then.”
Don’t defer your happiness (or even your attention) to some future goal. THIS is the time that matters. Every moment can be a blessing if you are present enough to experience it.
When I think about my dad, I think about how present he was. When you were with him, you felt it. There was no distraction.
That’s what I want to carry forward.
So now, I’m practicing less screen time, more eye contact, and more enjoying the moment.
Lesson 2: Money matters, but you can’t take it with you.
My dad worked his butt off.
He worked long hours, he barely took vacations, and he saved his money so he could have a comfortable retirement…
Then he died before he could enjoy it.
And if he were here right now, I know he’d say that he wished he’d taken more time off, that he’d focused less on money.
My dad’s passing clarified what I’m really working for.
Yeah, it’s the money—but more than that, it’s the freedom and presence that money provides.
Guys, we can’t take money with us. But we can take the experiences we have, the relationships we make, and the moments we spend with the people we love.
I’m so grateful for the inheritance my dad left me, but I’d trade every cent for one more trip with him.
So live your life now, not someday. You can’t take the future for granted.
Lesson 3: Now is the perfect time.
My dad and I didn’t always get along.
He actually had a marriage about 10 years ago that was a really awful experience for him and our entire family.
But I’m blessed to say that we have no regrets.
That’s because when we had a problem, we dealt with it. We talked it out. We didn’t put off conversations, and I’m so thankful for that because things you “plan” to do have a way of never happening.
Grief has taught me there is no perfect time to do something. Now is the perfect time.
When you want to say that thing—say it.
When you want to build something—build it.
When you want to take that leap—take it.
If you have regrets right now, list them out and go resolve them—even if it’s just internally with yourself in a journal.
Lesson 4: Be yourself, and do so with love.
I’ve spent years searching for my “purpose”—searching in my career, in my dog rescue, in maybe becoming a mom one day.
But losing my dad has taught me this: however we spend our time on this Earth, we have to be ourselves and we have to be loving toward others. That’s our only real purpose.
Everything else (business, family, creativity) is just expressions of that purpose.
And if you can’t view someone—whether it’s your spouse or a hotel clerk—through the lens of love, then you might have some healing to do.
This lesson has brought me so much relief, because I’ve been able to quit searching. I hope it brings you relief, too, and that you can take a deep breath and realize that being you and being loving is enough.
Then trust your intuition, and go from there.
Lesson 5: Our emotional and physical states are everything.
Say this loud with me:
“My mind and my nervous system are the foundation of my business.”
In this industry—with its mindset of “Rise and grind!” and “Go, go, go!”—it’s easy to think about business strictly in terms of metrics.
But your physical and mental health are just as important to your long-term success.
They’re not a luxury. They’re not an afterthought.
And after my dad passed, I felt more than ever that this grinding mindset was not in alignment with my nervous system or my emotional state.
Someone gave me a tip that I’ll carry for the rest of my life now: Treat yourself like I was my own child.
Now I stop to ask myself…
…”What does Molly need?”
…”Does Molly need food?”
…”Does Molly need rest?”
Slower mornings. Rest. Caring for my body. These are not indulgences—they’re essential.
Nothing is worth sacrificing peace and presence for.
This mindset shift has given me a new sense of inner peace that’s allowed me to do deeper and more impactful work—for Smart Marketer and for the dog rescue—than I ever have before.
So remember, your emotional and physical state should always come first.
Lesson 6: Travel is a portal to creativity and healing.
I’m writing this from Amsterdam. I lived here a few years ago, and something in me said, “Go.”
So I booked a ticket and left.
Travel has been my biggest educator, and one of the biggest parts of my life for the past 20 years.
While there’s beauty in routine, doing the same things day after day can start to feel stagnant. Sometimes it helps to inject new energy into your life and your business, and there’s no better way than travel.
That’s why travel isn’t indulgent; it’s a creative portal essential to marketers, to business owners, to humans.
Roy H. Williams talks about “portals,” and how marketers can build relationships by communicating in a way that moves the end user through different portals in their body and mind.
We can develop this same relationship with ourselves.
Whether it’s traveling or just taking a walk (I’ve walked 50,000 steps since I got here), movement creates movement—it helps us process grief and negative energy.
My portals are Danville, Telluride, and Amsterdam.
Go find yours. Let them open your mind so you can see your life and your business in a completely different way.
Stay Tuned: 7 More Life Lessons Coming in Part 2
That’s it for Part 1.
My next post will cover lessons 7 through 13—with more insights coming on community, the beautiful complexity of life, and how these concepts affect your personal and professional lives.
Thanks for reading, and for taking this moment to help honor my dad.
If you would like to listen to my stories above, I dive in deeper on the podcast here.
If this resonated, I’d love to hear about your experiences: email us or DM me on IG @mollypittmandigital.
See you soon for Part 2.
