If you know me, you might say I’m a bit obsessed with brands. Not only do I find them fascinating, but I study them for a living. And, of course, I am a brand! If you own your own business, you are a brand, too. One thing that never gets old for me is the…
You can never be sure what the road looks like 5 miles ahead, even if you’ve driven it a million times before. Until you’re in that car, you will have no idea if it’s straight the whole way, or full of winding turns and gnarly switchbacks. There could be a gaping pothole or a deer…
Do you expect your career to take a linear path? What if the perceived failures or rejections we get along our journey are what actually define us and make us stronger? What if a real career is just a challenge in disguise? When I left the Navy to attend business school at UNC Chapel Hill,…
I’m the lucky father of twin daughters, Ellie and Maddi, and this month, Ellie will graduate from my alma mater, the United States Naval Academy. After she does, Ellie along with her classmates, will swear an oath to protect and defend our Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic and be commissioned as an Ensign…
May is ALS Awareness Month, and it’s a time of year – and a cause – that hits really close to home. I lost my brother Jim to ALS in January of 2021. It was such a painful thing to watch someone I loved so much slowly lose his battle with life. Watching him decline…
According to a post on Signalfire, the creator economy is the fastest-growing type of small business, with more than 50 million people around the world considering themselves digital creators. They point to a survey that revealed more American kids want to be a YouTube star (29%) than an astronaut (11%) when they grow up. Yikes….
When I was in high school, I was so excited to take part in the annual science fair. I always had a fascination with the way things work and the science behind the best inventions, so I chose a topic that intrigued me: solar energy. In my senior year, I built a solar collector using…
When I was in high school, I was so excited to take part in the annual science fair. I always had a fascination with the way things work and the science behind the best inventions, so I chose a topic that intrigued me: solar energy. In my senior year, I built a solar collector using…
What does it look like when you leave all you know for something unfamiliar and new? Most of us would be scared of the “what ifs,” and I was no different when I finished my career with the U.S. Navy – the only thing I’d known since I was 18 — and went on to…
Building a brand can be scary. The first time I started blogging, I realized that I was being vulnerable, exposing my thoughts and ideas to the world. Would people receive it? For a while, I questioned myself and felt a bit stuck. But then I eventually realized that I knew who I was and knew…