Success on paper does not always translate into fulfillment. Entrepreneur Trevor Turnbull built several successful businesses, became known for his LinkedIn expertise, and mentored thousands of business owners. Yet behind those accomplishments were years of setbacks, loss, and personal change.

Looking back, Turnbull describes seven major “deaths” in his life—some literal and some symbolic—that forced him to rethink who he was, what mattered most, and how he wanted to live.

Losing an Old Identity

Growing up, Turnbull dreamed of becoming a professional hockey player. Sports were a major part of how he saw himself, so when that dream ended after college, he struggled to understand who he was without hockey.

Eventually, he redirected his energy toward education, sales, and entrepreneurship. Years later, the experience inspired him to help other athletes transition into life after sports.

The lesson was that losing one identity does not mean losing your future. Sometimes it creates an opportunity to build something new around the experiences and passions you already have.

Starting Over After Divorce

Turnbull eventually started his own web development company, but the business brought financial pressure, debt, depression, and uncertainty. Those challenges also affected his marriage, which eventually ended.

At 34, he moved back in with his mother and began rebuilding his life.

Although the divorce was painful, it forced him to acknowledge that he had not been happy with the direction his life was taking. He began studying entrepreneurship more seriously and searching for a new path.

Sometimes a major breakdown can expose changes that have been needed for a long time. What feels like an ending can become the beginning of a completely different chapter.

Realizing the Importance of Family

As Turnbull’s career began gaining momentum, he became increasingly distant from his family. Entrepreneurship made him feel different from the people he grew up around, and he felt they could not fully understand what he was trying to build.

When his grandmother passed away, his family came together again, giving him a renewed appreciation for those relationships.

The experience reminded him that professional success should not come at the expense of the people who matter most. Ambition is important, but relationships and family are also part of the life you’re working so hard to create.

Facing Unresolved Pain

Years earlier, Turnbull had lost a cousin to suicide. For a long time, he avoided fully confronting the anger, sadness, and confusion surrounding the loss.

During a leadership program, those emotions resurfaced, forcing him to recognize how much the experience had affected him.

Working through that pain helped him become more open and vulnerable. It also strengthened his relationships with his family, employees, and clients.

He realized that unresolved pain does not always stay in the past. How we deal with difficult experiences can influence the way we connect with others in the future.

Learning Resilience Through Tragedy

Turnbull and his wife experienced the devastating loss of two babies through premature births. The grief placed tremendous strain on their marriage and brought feelings of guilt, anger, and resentment.

Working through those emotions required time, honesty, and commitment. Ultimately, the experience strengthened their relationship.

After fertility treatments and surrogacy, they eventually became parents to two boys. Throughout the process, Turnbull continued running and growing his business while supporting his family.

The experience changed the way he viewed hardship. Instead of seeing difficult circumstances as permanent barriers, he began viewing them as challenges that could be endured and eventually transformed into growth.

Letting an Old Business Model Die

Not every “death” in Turnbull’s story involved personal loss. After years of successfully selling educational information, he noticed that many customers purchased knowledge but never actually applied it.

That realization forced him to reconsider a business model that had already made him successful.

Instead of simply selling information, he shifted toward deeper mentorship and coaching designed to help people actually implement what they learned.

Walking away from something that is financially successful can be difficult, but sometimes growth requires letting go of what worked in the past to build something more meaningful.

Turning Hardship Into Purpose

Turnbull eventually realized that nearly every major loss in his life forced him to change. Losing his athletic identity pushed him toward entrepreneurship. Divorce forced him to reconsider his direction. Family loss reminded him to value relationships. Personal tragedy deepened his empathy. Business challenges encouraged him to rethink how he served others.

None of those experiences were easy, but each one became part of the person and leader he eventually became.

The larger lesson is that difficult seasons do not have to define us solely by what they take away. They can also reveal what matters, challenge old assumptions, and push us toward a stronger sense of purpose.

Life will always contain unexpected setbacks and losses. The goal is not to avoid every storm, but to learn how to keep growing through them.