By Jason Criddle

Being Ready for the Next Stage of Life

A Birthday, a Prayer, and a Promise

On my birthday, I told God and my family that I was ready for something new. I was ready to reach higher, to build more, and to step fully into the next stage of my purpose. I laid out all the goals I wanted to achieve: bringing Carbon and DOMINAIT.ai to market, building the biggest nationwide sales team SmartrCommerce and SmartrMarketing had ever seen, expanding my companies, and helping more people than ever before.

 

Then, within a week, I was in a hospital bed, facing more pain than I ever imagined possible.

 

At first, I thought it was a punishment. Or maybe a warning. I thought to myself, “Why now? Why, after I’ve just made these promises to God and my family, would I end up here?”

 

But now, after months of surgeries, pain, and recovery, I realize it wasn’t punishment at all. It was preparation. It was God answering my prayer and healing my body so I could fulfill my goals.

 

God wasn’t breaking me. He was healing me.

 

The Lesson Hidden in the Pain

 

I’ve learned that when you pray for growth, you don’t always get what you expect.

 

Sometimes, the blessing doesn’t look like a door opening. Sometimes, it looks like a door slamming shut. Something abruptly forcing you to stop, reflect, and rebuild.

 

We often pray for deliverance, healing, and strength. But when that prayer arrives wrapped in pain or uncertainty, we assume something has gone wrong. We think life is punishing us. But what I’ve learned is that God’s healing doesn’t always come easy. Sometimes it comes from fighting for your life and accepting death at any turn.

 

Sometimes you have to go through the fire to come out purified. Sometimes your body has to break down completely before it can rebuild itself stronger.

 

That’s exactly what happened to me.

 

In the beginning, I questioned everything. I didn’t understand why I was going through this. But now, looking back, I see it for what it was. A divine reset. An answered prayer.

 

A renewal of body, mind, and purpose. I told God I was going to accomplish more and he sent a medical team to heal everything that could hold me back from fulfilling my goals.

The Power of Surrender

 

I’ve always been a man who builds things. Companies. Systems. Teams. Cars and motorcycles. Tools. Even relationships. I’ve been that way for as long as I can remember.

 

But this experience taught me something I’d never really understood before: sometimes, you can’t build what’s next until you surrender what’s going on now.

 

I had to let go  of control, ego, and fear. I had to accept that maybe this wasn’t something happening to me, but something happening for me. That shift changed everything. This experience turned me into the man I needed to be in order to take on everything I’m about to go through.

 

Once I stopped resisting and started surrendering, I could finally see the bigger picture. This wasn’t a detour. It was the path that was always waiting for me.

 

The Silver Lining in Every Storm

 

Every trial we face in life comes with a silver lining… even when we can’t see it yet. I’ve always said the worst day of our lives can be the greatest things that have ever happened to us. But I never went through anything that really put me through the shit that embedded the belief within my core character.

 

Pain makes us patient. Loss makes us grateful. Stillness makes us aware. Just because something is wrong, doesn’t mean anything is wrong. 

 

When things go to crap, it’s not always a sign to stop. Sometimes, it’s a signal to prepare for greatness.

 

I prayed for new opportunities. I prayed for strength. I prayed for expansion. And wouldn’t you know it… God answered. Not by giving me everything I asked for immediately, but by preparing me to handle it when it comes. That’s what this next chapter of my life is about.

 

A New Fire for What Comes Next

 

Now that I’m on the other side of this season of pain, I feel more ready than I’ve ever been. My body is healing, but more importantly, my purpose is alive again. I’m ready to bring Carbon and DOMINAIT.ai to market.

 

I’m ready to finally build the nationwide sales team for Smartr that I’ve dreamed of for years. I want to fill the American Airlines Center with the families I’ve helped. And now the path to doing it is so clear I can taste it.

 

I’m ready to help business owners and founders scale, succeed, and build lasting legacies.

 

I’m ready to fight for the people who can’t fight for themselves through our new advocacy division. I want to hold businesses accountable when they mistreat customers or tenants. I want to stand up for patients who are ignored or taken advantage of by the healthcare system.

 

And I’m ready to start buying thriving businesses and placing in charge the people who deserve it most. Veterans, parents, and families who have the heart to lead but not yet the resources to do so.

 

This next chapter isn’t just about recovery. It’s about redemption. It’s about Making America Great Again.

 

Building with Purpose, Not Pressure

 

I’ve realized something important over the last few months: the next stage of my career isn’t about building faster. It’s about building deeper.

 

At Jason Criddle & Associates, we’ve always built things that matter. Our software, our companies, and our clients all share one thing in common… a focus on human growth.

 

SmartrCommerce isn’t just a payment processor; it’s a bridge that helps small business owners grow sustainable, recurring revenue.

 

DOMINAIT.ai isn’t just an AI system; it’s a new infrastructure for entrepreneurship and digital ownership.

 

Carbon isn’t just a social car community app; it’s a movement for connection and community.

 

Everything we build has a soul, and that soul comes from the intention behind it. Now, that intention is stronger than ever.

 

Turning Setbacks into Structure

 

The world teaches us to see pain as a problem. But if you look closely, pain is often the foundation of something greater. And just because something hurts, doesn’t mean it’s bad.

 

When I was stuck in that hospital bed, I couldn’t build software or close deals. I couldn’t socialize or network. But I could think. I could pray. I could plan. And in that stillness, God began rebuilding me from the inside out.

 

I started mapping out new frameworks for Carbon.

I began outlining the next phases of DOMINAIT’s development. I wrote 3,303 documents that turned into Ryker’s backbone.

 

I wrote down plans for the largest affiliate expansion SmartrHoldings has ever had. I started designing how our advocacy program will connect with people in need; from veterans and single parents, to patients and tenants fighting for fair treatment.

 

Even when I couldn’t move physically, I was still building spiritually. Builders don’t stop building. We just shift the way we choose to build going forward. Days I spent building nothing sent us quantum leaps ahead of steps we would be able to skip. Imagine realizing you didn’t have to spend time or effort getting to higher rungs on the ladder. You just had to think processes through as if they were already being done.

 

The Difference Between Goals and Purpose

 

I’ve always had big goals. But this season of life taught me that goals mean nothing without purpose.

 

Goals are things you want to achieve, but purpose is why you’re achieving them.

 

For me, that purpose is no longer about just creating wealth or technology. It’s about creating systems that heal the world.

 

I went from helping the helpless for free to building a network of high net worth people. Why, because broke people couldn’t pay me. Now, I realize, I don’t need broke people to pay me. I need to use my wealth, infrastructure, and influence to provide for them.

 

DOMINAIT.ai was born from a desire to take back control of digital infrastructure and empower individuals to build real businesses. Now, it’s evolving into something even more powerful… a foundation that connects purpose-driven entrepreneurs all over the world.

 

Carbon is becoming a platform that brings together communities. Real people with real passions, using technology to connect in meaningful ways.

 

SmartrCommerce, SmartrMarketing, and TVBuilderPro will soon help business owners not only manage their transactions, gain more media traction, and grow their customer base, but also train their own teams, create new income streams, and achieve true financial independence.

 

Everything I build from this point forward will be about impact. Not just output.

 

Using Business as a Vehicle for Good

 

I believe that business is one of the most powerful forces for good in the world when it’s built with integrity.

 

That’s why my next goal is to acquire businesses and place them in the hands of those who deserve a chance to lead.

 

There are thousands of veterans, parents, and families who dream of owning a business but don’t know where to start. Through Jason Criddle & Associates, I plan to make that dream a reality for them. By purchasing successful companies, restructuring them for scalability, and then mentoring new leaders as they take over. People who couldn’t begin to dream of affording a million dollar brand should have a chance to own one, and I’m going to give it to them.

 

It’s a new model of empowerment. It’s one I believe can reshape how we build the future of entrepreneurship and brands going forward. Business shouldn’t just create profit… they should create purpose and opportunity.

 

Faith as the Foundation

 

None of this would be possible without faith. I used to think faith was about believing things would go my way. Now I know it’s about trusting that whatever happens is the way.

 

God doesn’t always give us what we ask for, but He always gives us what we need.

 

When I prayed for strength, He gave me struggle. When I prayed for clarity, He gave me silence. When I prayed for growth, He gave me pain. And through it all, He gave me exactly what I needed to become the man I was meant to be.

 

So today, I stand in gratitude. I’m thankful for the pain, for the process, and for the purpose that came out of it. And now, I’m not just ready for the next stage of my business… I’m ready for the next stage of life.

 

This Is Only the Beginning

 

If you’re reading this right now and you’re going through something difficult; a setback, a sickness, a loss… it doesn’t matter. I want you to remember this:

 

It’s not happening to you. It’s happening for you.

 

Every hardship has a hidden lesson. Every delay has divine timing. Every obstacle has a purpose.

 

My story is proof that no matter how dark things look, there’s always a light waiting to break through. And sometimes that light comes from within you.

 

I’ve learned to see pain not as a punishment, but as a passage. A path to something better. Something bigger. Something divine.

 

And as I step into this new season stronger, wiser, and more determined than ever, I know this is exactly where I’m supposed to be.

 

I’m not just healed.

I’m reborn.

 

And I’m ready for everything that comes next.

 

—Jason Criddle