Q&A with Matthew, Owner of FROPRO
Tell us about yourself.
My name is Matthew Williams, I am 38 years old, grew up in New York, and I am the youngest of 3 boys. I had an amazing childhood and education and traveled the world thanks to school and awesome programs I had access to. I pursued teaching right out of college realizing that corporate life wasn’t for me. I went back for more schooling and pursued counseling to help others find what they loved to do while I was teaching, coaching, mentoring, tutoring, and working in the restaurant business. I love working with people and being around social settings. I have had many personal struggles with drinking and drugging since a young age and that came to head at 28 when I finally asked for help and went into a recovery program and addiction treatment center in 2010. As a result of one the most pivotal times in my life, I listened to others, sought out new routines and started following what I found to be the most interesting and fun things that I enjoyed doing. That has led me to have one of the most life-changing periods of my life in following what I love in my 30s.
What is an obstacle you have overcome or may still be struggling with daily?
An obstacle that I struggled with daily is watching people make the same mistake over and over again and not implementing any change to correct it. It’s something I struggled with for many years and can still struggle with when I am not practicing what works for me.
What are you doing to achieve your goals or overcome your obstacles?
I have a set routine that I learned 10 years ago that I still practice today regularly. I practice the same routine from the minute I wake up and before anything else gets done for the day.
Share a story about the funniest mistake you’ve made. Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
The funniest mistake I made is in business. We were preparing a new batch of our FroPro snack bars and had different ingredients set out. What was supposed to be a planned batch changed because of the ingredients that were mixed up. What ended up being a hit financially and wasting of the product ended up being one of our newest and most loved snack bars that a big company selected to be their bar of choice for their newest grand opening of their store.
Do you have any favorite quotes or life mottos you live by? How does it relate to your life?
“We are in the effort business.” Someone told me that early on when I got sober. They explained that the results were not up to me and that my only job was to get up and give everything I got to do that day 100% effort. If I did that and got through that day then I could rest my head knowing I did everything that I could.
Do you have any routines to keep you on track toward your personal goals or success?
My routines include a constant review of goals and objectives each month in my family, friendships, business and community.
What advice would you give to your 20-year-old self?
Stop comparing yourself to your friends and family. Find what you love and if you don’t know what that is then work as many places as you can until you find something you enjoy and look forward to doing every day.
What advice would you give to others?
Make a lot of mistakes and then own them. Once you own what you’ve done and who you are then It gets easier to make mistakes and find what you are looking for.
Do you have a mentor or someone who keeps you on track or accountable?
Yes. I talk to mentors daily.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful to who helped get you to where you are?
My wife, Chelsea, has been my biggest support and saw something in me when I didn’t. Without her, none of what has transpired over the last 10 years would be possible.
If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? No idea is too big or too small.
A free program for people going through a rough time that gives guidelines on how to feel better about themselves. A program that gives hope, faith and believe that anything is possible no matter what.
If there is anything else you feel is important to share, please do.
Be grateful for each and every day even if it’s the worst time in your life. You’re breathing and that means there’s a chance.