What did you want to be when you grew up?
When I was 7 days old, my parents took me to an airshow in California. My Dad was an aerospace engineer, and Northrup Grumman was rolling out the F-20 Tigershark. From that day, my fate was sealed.
I became a Navy fighter pilot when I was 24. I flew combat missions over Afghanistan. I made over 360 arrested landings on multiple aircraft carriers. I broke the sound barrier, and flew with the Blue Angels.
Then I realized the world was bigger than the military. I started paying attention to what was happening in Silicon Valley. I started seeing peers my age change the world. I read Nassim Taleb, John Boyd, Benoit Mandelbrot. I questioned the established orthodoxy.
I began writing. And I started an insurgency in the Department of Defense. I built three organizations - Disruptive Thinkers, The Defense Entreprenuers Forum, and a Rapid Innovation Cell. They spread like wildfire - with adherents now on three continents.
Soon, however, I realized I needed to set out on my own. I went to grad school, and have a nice job in the private sector. But I'm just getting started.
The things that inspire me are things I never learned in school:
- People from diverse backgrounds willing to challenge the status quo
- The power of experimentation in building a better life
- Discovering and losing love...then finding it again
- The complexity of the world and how embracing uncertainty makes for a more fulfilling and interesting life
I look forward to engaging with this community and learning from you. Send me a question, challenge my assumptions, make me think - I'd love to engage!