About

“If you don’t take responsibility for yourself, you will merely exist as one of the least versions of yourself.”   -BSB

Hi, I’m Bill. I have diabetes but I believe in becoming a better version of myself every day no matter what gets in the way.  That’s why I created HackingwithBill- a space intended to be a reference guide of the different ways we can take responsibility for and change our lives.

It may be unfortunate, but if you want to maximize your enjoyment of life you have to work for it.  When it comes to your well-being, there is no system, group, or individual, despite the best of intentions, that can optimize your well-being without your complete investment.

I’m a firm believer in challenging ourselves, that we are the only ones who can truly maximize our enjoyment of life, and in experimenting to create change. I hope this space can be an incubator of R&D for ways to hack the hassles of living with diabetes and maybe someday a solution to the disease itself.

Enough philosophy and dreams, who am I?

I’m just a regular guy in my early 30s. I grew up moving around the country, but consider myself from the Midwest. I like tea, rock climbing, cooking, eating, reading, playing games, various sports, music, travel, and outdoor activities. I also have type 1 diabetes ((T1D) as the kids are calling it). 

Diagnosed at 13, I’ve lived with T1D for 18 years now and it has taken more than 15 of those for me to accept it and take responsibility for myself. Initially, I wrote it off thinking I just wouldn’t let it affect my life. I placed my life in the hands of a general system of treatment and ignored it. I went through all the phases- losing control, feeling helpless, feeling sorry for myself, and developing a real disdain for the established medical system. I wasn’t happy, I wasn’t healthy, and I wasn’t getting any better.

I didn’t realize that each person, regardless of any diagnoses they may or may not have, is unique and must approach their healthcare and well-being with a tailored, individualized system.

Unfortunately, you probably aren’t getting the comprehensive and tailored, individual care you need to maximize your well-being. I wasn’t, because I thought others would take care of that for me, that’s why you go to the doctor, right?

There are a lot of health and lifestyle improvements out there that the standard doctor won’t consider as a part of your treatment. But to maximize the life you are living with diabetes you should.  It’s your responsibility to find what works best for you. The biggest step for me has been realizing that I can’t ignore my situation and I need help from others to be my best, but I have to put in the work first.

In the last few years I’ve done a bunch of experiments to get a grip on living with diabetes, bringing my A1c down, improving other health markers, and most importantly improving my well-being and quality of life.  I hope creating this space will provide a platform for greater creativity and a support network as we all share and experiment with new ways to improve ourselves. I’ve finally started taking care of myself and am still learning how. I want to keep that trend moving and hope to help you start as well.

Whether you have diabetes or not, I hope we can use this space to learn from and support each other as we take responsibility for our own unique needs and situations to become better versions of ourselves.

Always Carry An Empty Cup,

Bill