Your Thursday Three Things for October 9, 2025
Fight the Monsters
We all have monsters.
For some, they live inside us … shame, addiction, self-sabotage. For others, they live in our communities … exploitation, violence, neglect. Most of us spend our lives pretending they aren’t there. But some people? They turn toward the darkness and fight it.
That’s what Ben Owen does. He and his wife, Jess, are the founders of We Fight Monsters, a Memphis-based nonprofit that takes back drug houses and turns them into recovery homes. They are recruiting everyone from ex-gangsters to former special operators to prosecutors into their movement. Their motto: Be a badass. Save a kid.
Because when adults destroy their lives, kids carry the consequences. And their shoulders were never built for that weight.
His story isn’t about perfection. It’s about persistence. It’s about falling 7 times and getting up 8. It’s about how compassion can be stronger than punishment and how redemption isn’t reserved for saints.
Here are this week’s three things to think about:
1. Monsters shrink when faced head-on.
Ben spent years battling addiction, shame, and the wreckage he caused. When he stopped running and faced it, he began to heal. The monsters we hide from grow stronger. The ones we confront lose their teeth. Where in your life are you still hiding from something that needs facing?
2. Everyone is redeemable (except those who harm children).
Ben doesn’t see enemies. He sees broken people. Drug dealers, gang members, even pimps and he believes most are capable of change when they’re given a real shot at it. Imagine what would happen if more of us looked at people that way … not as problems to eliminate, but as souls to restore.
3. Compassion is a weapon.
Memphis didn’t need another speech about morality. It needed someone to show up, roll up their sleeves, and offer help. That’s what We Fight Monsters does. They reclaim the worst places in a city and fill them with light. That’s mindfulness in action and it’s the kind that changes lives, not just thoughts.
You can catch the full conversation with Ben Owen on Men Talking Mindfulness here:
🎧 Listen: https://pod.fo/e/337de0
🎥 Watch:
Ben’s story reminds us that transformation doesn’t come from comfort. It comes from choosing to stand where the pain is and refusing to look away.
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Here are three incredible, practical resources if you want to fight your own monsters or help someone else fight theirs:
