blueprint

Yesterday I was journaling about a process I went through five and a half years ago. The same process I now help leaders go through in my coaching practice. I was not trying to create content. I was trying to understand why I am still so passionate about it. When I hired my Blueprint coach,…

If you’re using this Friday to look at next week, this might be worth trying. Open your calendar and look two weeks out. Flag the things you already feel yourself resisting. Not to delete them right away. Just to notice them. Highlight them. Change the color. Circle them if you’re looking at a printed calendar.…

When things get uncertain around you, it helps to know what is steady inside you. Not in some abstract way. I mean, actually knowing the inventory. The things you’re good at. The work that gives you energy. The values that keep showing up. The parts of your purpose that keep pulling on you. When the…

I finally got to reconnect with my friend Maurice Philogene on his Try Life On podcast. What made this one fun for me is that Maurice and I have a lot of resonance around the same idea, we just come at it from slightly different angles. At one point in my Navy career, my answer…

Most people think the transition starts with a job search. I don’t think that’s the hardest part. The harder part is figuring out what matters to you before life starts feeling urgent. Because once it does, reflection gets crowded out fast. You start doing. Sending resumes. Chasing interviews. Taking calls. Trying to create momentum. And…

I realized something in a coaching session a while back. Not one I was running. One I was in. The realization was this. Earning income and expressing purpose are two separate things. I’d been treating them like the same thing. When you build a business around what you believe your purpose is, it’s easy to…

Two roles on the table. One pays $125K. Big title. Big responsibility. The other pays $75K. Smaller on paper. I asked him which one he’d take if both came through. No hesitation. The $75K. In a heartbeat. Not because he doesn’t want more money. Because the mission of that organization lines up with his purpose.…

“𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻.” That line from Tom in this LRR Chat really stuck with me. When leaders start operating at a new level (e.g. a new role, a new organization, or a completely new arena), the instinct is to build the perfect plan. But over time many of us realize something…

I looked up one day and realized I should have more clarity than this. Four years at the Academy. 22 years active duty. Commanded a squadron. By any measure, a successful career. And yet I woke up in this new chapter asking myself, Why don’t I know exactly what to do every day? That’s what…

One of the first realizations when you step into a new role or a new organization: What worked before isn’t going to be enough here. That’s uncomfortable. Because the habits, instincts, and expertise that got you here are still part of you. But the environment is different now. The context is different. The expectations are…

One phrase that stopped resonating with me over time: Work–life balance. I understand what people mean by it. But it assumes work and life are separate things. They’re not. It’s all life. If you’re working, that’s your life. If you’re with your family, that’s your life. If you’re leading a team or making decisions that…

One shift many leaders notice as responsibility grows is how quickly their calendar fills. What’s less obvious is how easy it becomes to stop questioning it. Here’s a simple exercise I’ve used with leaders navigating that transition. Look at your calendar for the next two weeks. Don’t change anything. Just notice how each commitment makes…