Same guy. Still figuring it out.

For most of my life I did what men are taught to do. Climb.

Build the career. Be dependable. Provide. Push through. Don't slow down. Be the fix-it guy — the one who could bluff a vendor, win a pitch, and hold it together when the pressure was on.

I started a company at 30 with blind confidence and almost no money. Ran it for thirteen years. Navigated financial crises, lost a business partner mid-stride, closed the doors, and rebuilt — starting over in someone else's lobby, sitting across from a boss ten years younger, learning what it felt like to climb from the bottom again.

I've been laid off. I've been in the review that landed like a verdict. I've trained for marathons, lost my father, watched my daughters become adults, and spent more than a few mornings at 5:30am wondering what exactly I was building toward.

I'm 56. I'm still building. And I've never been more honest about why.