My story starts a lot like many peoples’ do: after I graduated high school, I had very little idea of what I wanted to do with my life, or who I wanted to become. I knew two things: I wanted to marry Callie and I needed to go to college.

So, I went to college for a degree in graphic design, one of the few things I showed an aptitude for in high school that I thought would earn me a decent salary down the road.

And, although I stuck with the degree, I soon ditched the idea of becoming a highly successful designer—I just didn’t feel I was creative enough to make it big. Instead, I switched to video production, finished out my four-year degree and landed my first job as a video editor.

After spending a couple of years working in video, I began to cycle my way through various skills, jobs, passions, and companies. For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been an ambitious, driven, and self-motivated person, but for most of my life, I struggled with clarity and focus. 

For a long time, I didn’t have clear, long-term goals for my life. In fact, had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and I’m not even sure I ever practiced regular goal setting. Sure, every year I would set a New Year’s Resolution, and I might have a random, fitness goal in mind, but nothing ever too meaningful or future-focused.