Latest Posts
Thoughts on reinvention, clarity, work, money, and the quiet decisions that shape a life. New essays each week as we explore what it means to build a life with intention.
Not the Lattes. Here's What Actually Retires You Early.
His name was Steve. Long hair, Harley-Davidson, youth pastor at a church I had little connection to. He had a gift for finding the kids nobody else was looking for. He took us to the cliffs along the Potomac and taught us to climb. I learned a lot on those rock faces. About gear. About trust. About what it means to believe something before you fully understand it.
Six Things I Wish My 45-Year-Old Self Had Known
I went back to look at photos from June 2019. I was 45. My son was heading into high school. We had just spent 10 days in Alaska, helicopters over glaciers, sled dogs, ice calving off tidewater walls, and a bear-watching tour that produced zero bears and a family pun tradition that still runs. My wife and I stayed up past midnight somewhere in the Inside Passage, the sun refusing to set, talking about the life we were building.
I had a job I loved. A great team. I was present for the moments that mattered.
And still, looking back from 52, there are six things I wish I had known, not because I was failing, but because knowing them would have made a good season even better.
The 10-Year Window Most People Miss
The shopkeepers were washing down the sidewalks when I arrived. Paris at dawn is quieter than you'd expect. I had my fountain pen with me. I always do. I sat there for an hour, maybe longer — writing, praying, asking hard questions about the window I could feel closing. I didn't know yet what to call it. I do now.
The Four Types of Work — And the One Most People Never Reach
I sat on a Blue Ridge overlook for five hours and made a decision that changed everything. Most work hits one or two of the four circles. Here's what changes when financial independence makes all four possible.
I'm Not Leaving Yet — And Here's Why You Might Not Want to Either
The mail boat doesn't wait. Neither does your life. A childhood memory from Lake Geneva, the art of timing the jump, and everything you need to build a well-timed exit from a career that has served you well.
The Three Paths Out of Midlife Stagnation
What does a 650-mile run across Europe for a ten-pack of tacos have to do with FI and midlife stagnation? More than you'd think — and the answer might change which direction you're heading.