Rick Ollie

Cancer stole my calendar this week, filling it with scans, lab work, and doctor appointments. But it didn't steal everything. Good results, birthday plans, coffee with Maya, and hope made sure of that.

Most people would assume cancer or heart disease was the greatest fear I've faced. They'd be wrong. This is the story of divorce, heartbreak, Casey, Maya, and how learning to open my heart again became the hardest battle of all.

Do I believe in soulmates? I think I do, just not in the way most people imagine. This reflection explores love, loss, healing, and the people who helped shape my journey. Some stayed, some didn't, but each left fingerprints on my soul. ❤️✨

Five people. Five perspectives. One question that means everything. I asked people what “I love you” truly means to them and their answers changed the way I look at trust, healing, emotional safety, connection, and love itself. New blog now live.

Today’s prompt was to go on a walk and take a photo of something that caught my eye. I wasn’t on a walk, but this image still stopped me for a moment. Sometimes reflection, growth, and perspective show up in the places you least expect them.

Somewhere between oncology appointments, delayed plans, downtown Detroit, birthday month, and memories that still linger, I’m still learning how to smile through all of it. New injection. Same fight. Different day. Still here. Still writing. Still moving forward somehow.

Honored to celebrate this beautiful new chapter for Agnes and Robert as they prepare to welcome a baby girl this September. A story about hope, healing, love, family, and two incredible people beginning one of life’s greatest journeys together. ✨ 👉🏼 Full story and announcement in bio.

Sometimes life doesn’t break you all at once. Sometimes you slowly disappear into routines, survival mode, and silence until you realize parts of yourself went quiet years ago. This may be the most personal thing I’ve written yet and a fitting end for Mental Health Awareness Month.

What is the meaning of life? These days, I think it’s simpler than we make it. I believe good conversations, meaningful connections, unexpected laughter, quiet moments, and the people who make the future feel a little brighter are what bring the most meaning.

Two years after losing a 10-year friendship during cancer treatment, a random message reopened old wounds I thought had already healed. This is a story about illness, emotional survival, delayed apologies, and learning that some people come back… just not always to stay.

A reflective look at healing, heartbreak, mental health, and unexpected connection during Gemini season. “I Am Me, A Gemini” explores synchronicity, therapy, resilience, and how Maya entered my life during one of the most difficult yet hopeful chapters I’ve ever faced.

A day trip to Lansing turned into something much deeper. Touring the Michigan Supreme Court and Capitol brought reflections on equality, personal freedom, Dr. Jack Kevorkian, government, and weathering both literal and personal storms beneath Michigan’s historic dome. 🏛️⚖️⛈️

A reflective look at how I stay motivated when learning something new. From overcoming self-doubt to building consistency one small step at a time, this post shares the mindset shifts that help me keep going even when motivation doesn’t show up right away.

On National Honesty Day, I keep coming back to the fact that real love was never meant to be a game. No manipulation, no control, just truth. Maybe what’s missing isn’t connection… it’s honesty. Here's my take in my first 'Real Talk' Good Men and Love: Why Real Connections are Being Lost

I didn’t expect to be here, learning love again later in life. Through heartbreak, health, and everything in between, I’m still choosing to stay open. May is Mental Health Awareness Month, a reminder that healing is quiet, and connection is still worth it.

Some connections come back, but aren’t meant to stay. Reconnection and mental health don’t always align. During Mental Health Awareness Month and on National Silence the Shame Day, this is about boundaries, growth, and knowing what to appreciate without reopening the past.

Day 1,175. I kept running—through love, loss, and everything that refused to make sense. Not to catch what was gone, but to understand what remained. Some journeys don’t end…they just change shape. This is one of them. #316Series