Why I Started This

I've spent 19 years in the military. Over a decade in cybersecurity. I've sat in intelligence operations centers where the analysis I produced had real consequences for real people downrange. I've briefed generals. I handed the FBI analysis that helped send someone to prison. I've co-authored a peer-reviewed paper in a medical journal — on pandemic intelligence, of all things. I also make music. I shoot landscapes. I climb rocks and hike in the mountains when the weekends allow. And somehow, none of that prepared me to answer the question: What is your personal brand?

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I built this site because I felt like I was supposed to. That's the honest answer. Every career advice thread, every LinkedIn thought leader, every entrepreneurship podcast eventually says the same thing: build your platform, own your narrative, establish your brand. So I bought the domain. I set up the site. I wrote the about page.

And then I sat with the blank draft of this post for longer than I'd like to admit (started working in March 2026 — it is now June).

Because I know how to analyze ambiguous problems. I know how to operate in environments where the full picture is never available, and decisions still have to be made. I've done that in war zones, boardrooms, and security operations centers at 2 am. But asking "who are you, really, and why should anyone care?" requires a much deeper look at yourself than a productive career working in intelligence.

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Military intelligence. Cybersecurity leadership. Music production. Photography. Climbing. Film. Building companies. The list goes on.

For a long time, I have treated this breadth as a liability. That I needed to pick a lane. Stick with it for 30+ years, and retire wealthy. Growing up in an era when we were taught to go to school, get good grades, and work hard, I learned that a scattered resume and an unfocused career were the wrong moves. I know many people close to me over the years have wished that I would just lean into the one thing that paid the best and let the rest be hobbies.

I don't believe that is true. Today, more than ever, I believe that having the breadth is the point.

The same analytical instincts that made me good at intelligence work made me better at music production — listening for what's wrong, isolating the problem, fixing it with precision. The same tolerance for ambiguity that lets me function in an increasingly ambiguous world called cybersecurity is what lets me start business projects without fully knowing where they are going.

I used to view these things as negative — a mere symptom of crippling ADHD and an urge to constantly create something new without truly finishing something. Today, I have embraced it not as a scattered identity but rather as a philosophy.

Today, I do what is hard over what is easy. Because I fundamentally believe that in everything we do, whether it be relationships, work, creative endeavors, or even starting your own business, doing anything less will undoubtedly lead to an average life. And I am not average — nor do I desire to be.

Some things to keep in mind before you read on:

• Going to the gym is hard. Being obese is also hard.

• Eating well is hard. Feeling sick and tired all the time is also hard.

• Going to work is hard. Being homeless and in debt is also hard.

• Saving money is hard. Living paycheck to paycheck is also hard.

• Learning a new skill is hard. Getting passed over because you are behind is also hard.

• Being in a relationship is hard. Being single is also hard.

• Saying no is hard. Burning out is also hard.

• Asking for help is hard. Struggling alone is also hard.

• Discipline is hard. Regret is also hard.

The list can go on...

The most interesting life is one spent doing hard things.

This is me, doing another one.

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So what is this site for? What is the brand? What is the purpose?

(these are my own insecurities projected into this blog post — just stay with me)

Frankly, I think I am still figuring it out.

What I know is that I want a place to think out loud. To document what I'm building, what I'm learning, what's working, and what isn't. To write about my work in Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, and my own business work. I view this as an effort to highlight the weird intersection I constantly battle with between my analytical rigor and my creative efforts. I've lived at this intersection my entire career, and while I believe it has served me well, I don't see it talked about enough.

Maybe this turns into consulting. Maybe it becomes a body of writing that helps someone else navigate a nonlinear career. Maybe it's just a place that makes the chaos of what I do feel a little more coherent.

For now, that's enough.