Keith Collins

A Georgia native, leaving home at the age of 21, I have experienced a lot in my short lifetime. Most of my friends and colleagues have stated that I am very cultured; I seem to agree. Texas I called home for almost 24 years; at the age of 45, I find myself back in the grassroots of my starting place.

The choices I made as a young adult may not have been the best choice at times. Early in my life I had many adventures, I was in the military, married/divorced, two kids, a grandson, worked in the death care service industry, publisher of print media, and learned that starting over may be a challenge, but age has no limit to your ability to achieve and start new goals.

I joined the military to see the world and all I saw was Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Man was I disappointed! Although my time in service was during peacetime, Dessert Shield (The First Gulf War) was knocking at my heels, as I exited the service. I am honored to say, Hats off to every serviceman or servicewoman, who has fought for my freedom. Again a choice must be made, do I return home or move to a big city? The only clear answer; the big city!

Texas was going to be my home. That is where I met my ex-wife, who blessed me with two beautiful children; and now my daughter has given me a handsome grandson. During my marriage, I could not figure out what I wanted to do with my life. Have you ever heard of UNDECIDED? Well I have! Putting college off as much as possible, I worked many blue collar jobs. Those were very laboring!

Houston We Have A Problem! After my divorce, I move to Houston, Texas! There I finally decided to something with my life, I wanted to be a nurse. During my odd jobs, I started working for a local funeral home. And found that I enjoyed helping others in their time of need. So I enrolled in college at Common Wealth Institute of Funeral Services. If you had asked me if I had ever thought of working in a funeral home, I would have said “you must be crazy”! However, time flew by and I found that I had been in the industry almost 17 years.

Around 2008, I decided that I need a mental break, so I worked part-time in accounting and sales for Brilliant Magazine in Austin, Texas. That is where I learned the trade and all about social media. Then one day the co-owner of Brilliant and I sat down and decided to launch a new publication,