My father, Bill Williams, was Tom Lyle Williams’ nephew and godson.

 He grew up at Villa Valentino in Hollywood, close to his uncle and surrounded by the world Tom Lyle had created. From him, my father learned many of the secrets behind Maybelline’s extraordinary success—not simply how to build something, but how to believe in yourself strongly enough to keep going when the odds are against you.

My father carried that philosophy into his own life. He became an extraordinarily talented interior designer and builder, a man who seemed to believe there was always a solution to every problem. His philosophy was simple: “Yes, I can!”

I learned the true meaning of those words in 1993, when the Laguna Beach Firestorm destroyed my home. I wasn’t there when it happened, and I lost everything. I was devastated. For a time, I wanted to give up completely.

But my father wouldn’t let me.

He held me together when I couldn’t hold myself together. When I doubted whether I could ever rebuild my life, he believed for both of us. He designed and helped me rebuild my home, but in many ways, he was rebuilding me at the same time. His determination taught me that losing everything does not mean your story is over. Sometimes it means you have to find the courage to begin again.

Years later, he stood beside me once more, helping me research and write my book and sharing the family history he had absorbed growing up so close to Tom Lyle.

My father gave me something far more valuable than an inheritance. He gave me resilience, determination, and the belief that I could overcome what seemed impossible.

Today, I carry his voice with me: “Yes, I can!”

And perhaps the greatest way I can honor him is to pass that spirit on to the next generation—to teach them that success isn't simply what you inherit. It’s what you find within yourself when life knocks you down and you choose to get back up.