The Promise and the Turning Point

When I was fourteen, I made myself a promise: that I would touch the hearts of at least five million people before I die. It was a bold vow, born from a teenager’s intuition that life is not measured by possessions or status but by the ripples we create in the lives of others. For many years, that promise guided me quietly, beneath the surface of my work as a mediator and coach. My calling was to help people navigate some of their most difficult transitions with clarity, compassion, and renewed direction.

Yet life has a way of awakening our deepest commitments in unexpected ways. On December 4, 2024, I received a diagnosis that changed everything. The year that followed was one of treatment, struggle, and recovery — a crucible that stripped life down to its essentials. In that silence, I discovered that wealth is not about having more time, but about how we choose to direct the time we have. Attention became the force that gave shape to my days, and presence became the foundation of my healing.

And then, through the cracks that illness opened in my life, a ray of light broke through. In that light I saw what I now call my blue card — a symbol of the true privilege we are all given. Each day delivers 86,400 seconds into the account of our lives. They cannot be saved or carried over, only spent — moment by moment, breath by breath. The choice of how to use them is the greatest freedom we have.

This book, The Blue Wealth, is my way of sharing that discovery with you. May it remind you, as it reminded me, that the richest life is not found in what we own, but in the attention we give to the moments entrusted to us.

— Normand Jones