Steve Larsen’s memoir, My Heart Has Been in it from the Start, is an unflinchingly honest story of faith, doubt, and finding strength in the questions. Through career pivots, health setbacks, and personal challenges, Larsen has faced circumstances that most people would find difficult to handle. Nonetheless, he exemplifies how determination and making space for the things that bring you joy can help you navigate any obstacle and find value in every experience.
All of our lives are made up of many different events, but their importance lies in recognizing how they all weave together to create an existence that’s richer and more purposeful than any single thread could be on its own. Larsen shares the threads he’s woven together to create an extraordinary life: family bonds lost and found, a pioneering career in Silicon Valley, a lifelong search for meaning, a passion for speed and adventure, and a remarkable resilience through health battles that would have stopped most people cold.
We often speak of healing from trauma, but Larsen seemed to grow – or blossom – from each stumbling block. From an early age, Larsen learned not to take health for granted, undergoing heart surgery at age 15 and surviving two subsequent heart surgeries. From blood loss, to bifocal vision, to bouts of forgetfulness, his body has been through quite a journey. Each health challenge left its mark, not just physically, but on his perspective on life. These experiences taught him resilience, patience and the importance of finding humor in even the most dire situations.
In this memoir, Larsen explores the six threads that make up the tapestry of his life: Health, Cars, Business, Family, Motorcycles, and Religion/Ethics.
He talks candidly about the grief and anger following the loss of his son, Eric, at just two years old, and the joy of discovering an unknown daughter when he was 68 and she was 39. He embraces his love affair with cars and how they taught him about persistence, the beauty of fine-tuning and the joy of pushing limits. Honoring a career from managing retail stores to founding tech companies, he gives his advice freely to hopeful entrepreneurs on how they can cut through the ambiguity and complexity of entrepreneurship in order to build a thriving business. He is passionate about how our work lives shouldn’t separate us from who we are, but ideally become expressions of our values, talents, and contributions to society.
He discusses how motorcycles gave him sanctuary and perspective when he needed it most, and the need we all have for spaces where we can find freedom and perspective—whether that’s through physical movement, creative expression, nature, or quiet contemplation; sanctuaries that allow us to integrate our experiences and find our center.
AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/My-Heart-Has-Been-Start/dp/B0DQVVHJVT
And then, the ultimate question: Humanity’s quest for meaning, whether through formal religion, philosophy, or personal reflection – a time of investigation and exploration to find a framework to interpret and find purpose in all these experiences.
Written with warmth, humor and honesty, Steve Larsen offers insights for anyone seeking to understand their own path and striving to reach their full potential.
Garth Thomas