Don't Let Your CLOD Define You
Jeff Hanson in his art studio. Photo: jeffhansonart.com
Recently, I became acquainted with the story of Jeff Hanson (jeffhansonart.com), specifically through his dad, Hal.
Jeff was a visually impaired artist and philanthropist from Kansas City who, until his untimely death in 2020, made headlines by raising millions for charity through bold, textured paintings he created while undergoing chemotherapy at age twelve. His mission was to “change the world through art.”
He had an amazing outlook on life: "Don't let your CLOD define you."
Jeff had a neurofibromatosis type 1 diagnosis and an optic chiasm brain tumor that tried to write his story for him. Rather than surrender to it, he chose to playfully give his tumor the name CLOD and started painting. He chose broad strokes and bold colors, and then he chose to give. He chose to build something that would outlast the very thing that threatened to limit him. It’s incredibly inspiring!
Most of us will never face a CLOD as large as Jeff’s, but we all have one. We have all had trials and setbacks — past, present, and inevitably, future.
The question is never whether an obstacle will come our way. The question is whether we will let it define our story.
My own CLOD has included job transitions, bouts of depression, and multiple cross-country moves with the family. Each of these seasons has left a mark. They have influenced who I am and who I am still becoming, but they do not define me. They are chapters in a book, but not the cover page.
I want to be known as a person who invests in others. I want to be the one people talk about after I’ve passed, saying, “He helped me become the best version of myself by believing in me, especially when I didn't believe in myself.” That is the story I am writing and attempting to orient my life around.
As an educator, mentor, friend, and executive coach, I refuse to let any of my CLODs define me. Every day I choose to write my own story. What about you? What is your CLOD, and what story are you choosing to write instead?
