Prosperity Through Pain
How struggle, discipline, and grace shaped my mission to let people prosper
Hello friends,
What if the fight for economic freedom isn’t just about policy—but about overcoming the battles within?
We spend a lot of time discussing taxes, spending, regulation, and inflation. I’ve built my career doing exactly that—pushing for a freer economy so people can rise.
But there’s a part of this story I haven’t shared enough.
Testimony
About three years ago, after a formal evaluation, I was diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) and major depressive disorder (MDD).
Since then, I’ve had prayer, counseling, medication, and made progress—especially with patterns that had gotten in the way over time.
I’m not sharing this for sympathy. I’m sharing it because it’s true. And because truth matters. These diagnoses didn’t come out of nowhere. They likely grew out of years of trauma, especially in childhood.
Struggles
My dad had epilepsy. My parents divorced when I was young, remarried, and then divorced again by the time I was eight. There was instability early on. During a very difficult stretch at my mom’s house in Houston, I moved to live with my grandparents in Springtown, Texas, in most of fifth and sixth grades. In sixth grade, I missed 45 days of school and still passed with high grades. After that, I was homeschooled from seventh through twelfth grades.
That kind of life shapes you. It builds resilience. But it can also make you intense, hyper-aware, driven to control outcomes, and constantly trying to create order where there once was chaos. I carry that.
Rockstar
As a late teenager and into my early twenties, I went hard in the wrong direction. I was a drummer in a hard rock band called Sindrome, living the lifestyle—drugs, sex, and rock and roll.
Then came a moment that could have ended everything.
Wreck
At 20 years old, I was in a serious car wreck as the front passenger in an Acura RSX going 120 MPH while racing another car down the frontage road near Houston. I was life-flighted to a hospital in Houston with a possible head injury.
By the grace of God, I went home that same night—we all did.. That moment didn’t fix everything overnight. Life isn’t that clean. But it was part of the wake-up call.
Death
Then came more loss. My dad died at 56 years old in 2011 from SUDEP. My mom died at 64 years old in 2022 from end-stage liver disease. Losing both parents too soon changes you. It strips away illusions. It forces you to ask what actually matters and what kind of life you’re building.
But God
Through all of that, God had different plans for me than the ones I was writing. That didn’t remove OCPD or depression. It meant I had to learn how to live with them—and direct them.
OCPD can mean relentless perfectionism, rigidity, overwork, and a mind that won’t shut off. MDD can mean heaviness, discouragement, and stretches where everything feels harder than it should.
Those aren’t abstract ideas to me. They are realities I’ve had to work through while trying to lead, serve, and love well. And yet—this is important—I am flourishing. I’m happy. I’m loved. And hopefully, I’m becoming more lovely.
I’ve built a flourishing business at Ginn Economic Consulting, doing work I believe in and work with wonderful people. I write a newsletter every day. I publish commentaries often. I do TV and podcast interviews. I work with leaders across the country to reduce poverty and get government out of the way so people can prosper.
And I get to come home to what matters most. A beautiful wife I love and am continuing to grow with. Three young kids who bring energy, chaos, joy, and perspective into my life every day.
I’m at soccer practices. I’m kicking the ball around. I’m trying to be present. I’m trying to build a home filled with more stability, love, and faith than the one I often experienced growing up. I’m working out, eating better, and feeling healthier than ever.
That is real prosperity. Not perfect. Not easy. But good. Meaningful. Worth it.
Perseverance
That’s why I don’t just see OCPD and depression as limitations. They can be. They have been at times. But under discipline, treatment, faith, and grace, they’ve also become part of what fuels me.
The same mind that fixates can focus deeply. The same pressure that can overwhelm can also drive. The same pain that can isolate can also deepen empathy. The same intensity that can hurt can also build.
That’s why, in an honest way, I think of them as part of my “superhero wiring.” Not because they’re glamorous. They’re not. Not because suffering is noble. It isn’t. But because what could break you can also, when rightly directed, be used to build something meaningful.
And that connects directly to my work. Prosperity isn’t just about policy. It’s about people.
People
Yes—taxes matter. Regulation matters. Spending matters. Inflation matters. But people aren’t machines. They’re not just inputs in an economic model. They’re human beings with trauma, dignity, responsibility, and purpose.
Government cannot heal trauma. It cannot create purpose. It cannot manufacture discipline. It cannot love your family for you. At best, it can protect freedom so people and the institutions closest to them—family, faith, community, entrepreneurship—can do what they were meant to do.
That’s what “let people prosper” means to me. Not just better numbers. Better lives.
What Policymakers Should Know
1. People are not robots.
External incentives matter, but internal struggles matter too. Ignoring that leads to bad policy.
2. Freedom and responsibility go together.
A flourishing society requires both liberty and strong families, faith, and character. Government cannot replace them.
3. Government has limits—act like it.
When policy tries to do too much, it often weakens the very people and institutions that drive real prosperity.
Closing
I’m not sharing this to be defined by diagnoses. I’m sharing it because it’s part of the truth. I have OCPD. I have major depressive disorder. Those realities have been hard. They’ve likely held me back at times. But they’ve also sharpened something in me that I don’t take for granted.
A drive to keep going. To keep building. To keep loving my family well. To keep showing up. To keep fighting for a freer society. To keep working toward a world where people can truly rise.
Call to Action
If this resonates with you—as a policymaker, leader, parent, or someone carrying your own battles—reach out. I’d welcome the conversation.
Subscribe and Share this with someone who needs it, subscribe if you haven’t, and let’s keep building a freer, more humane society where people can truly prosper.
Let people prosper,
Vance Ginn, Ph.D.