Train Smart, Not Hard:The Secret to Becoming a Champion Without Burning Out The Pain of Doing It the Hard Way I was 33 years old and thought I was invincible. I had just wrapped up a grueling shift at the Hyperion Water Treatment Plant next to LAX. The kind of day where every step felt like a war of attrition against concrete, steel, and deadlines. I was sunburned, dehydrated, and my boots were soaked with sweat. But instead of resting, I drove straight to the dojang. Why? Because I was...
1 day ago • 6 min read
The Secret of the Square, Triangle, and Circle The Wrong Hammer for the Wrong Nail When I was 26, I was sent to work on an industrial electrical crew out at a water treatment plant. Hyperion Water Treatment Plant Just rigid conduit, stainless steel boxes, and the constant smell of well, a waste treatment plant. I'll leave it at that, lol. First big project of my life. One morning, the foreman barked at me to go hang panels along a steel frame wall. I had watched the other guys do it a dozen...
2 days ago • 6 min read
If You Build It… They Still Won’t Come Why Self-Promotion is the One Skill You Can’t Afford to Ignore The Quiet Genius Who Lost Everything A few years ago, I had lunch with an old friend—let’s call him Joe. Joe’s the kind of guy who knows everything about his craft. In his case, it was graphic design. 20+ years in the game. Award-winning work. Clients that should’ve made him a millionaire. But when I saw him, he looked… tired. Not just physically—but soul tired. Over coffee, I asked how...
3 days ago • 6 min read
The Lost Art of Dialogue:How to Have Conversations That Actually Matter The Cafe Clash That Opened My Mind I met him at the local cafe I hang out most mornings. Young guy, full of ideas, well-read, politically charged, and more than a little fired up about changing the world. We started talking over coffee. At first, I thought, This should be fun. We didn’t agree on much. Politically, philosophically, even spiritually, we were polar opposites. But I love that kind of tension. That...
5 days ago • 4 min read
How a Stupid Teacher Taught Me to Be a Smart Leader When Being Called Whale Sh*t Taught Me to Think for Myself In 1988, I was a first-year electrical apprentice, I learned early what it felt like to be at the bottom of the food chain. We were called whale shit on the job site—because "nothing is lower." It was a badge of humiliation passed down from generation to generation. You sucked it up, did the work, and kept your mouth shut. Two nights a week, I had to sit through class with a guy...
5 days ago • 6 min read
Know What You Want,Why You Want It,and How You’re Going to Get It The 3 Answers That Separate Warriors from Wannabes A Young Man Without a Map When I was 25, I had no idea what I wanted. I was swinging a hammer on a construction site, trying to pretend I knew what I was doing with a wrench in my hand and a chip on my shoulder. My paycheck barely covered rent. My diet was Top Ramen, quesadillas, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and a whole lot of regrets. And even though I wore steel-toed...
6 days ago • 5 min read
How I Schedule My Life to Get the Most Out of It (and Why You Should Too) The Science Museum Epiphany I still remember the first time I saw the bell curve at the Los Angeles Museum of Science and Natural History. I was just a kid, wandering through the exhibits, fascinated by everything around me. But one display caught my attention more than any other. It was a giant metal board filled with pegs, and at the top, a small hole where thousands of ball bearings would drop, bouncing randomly off...
7 days ago • 5 min read
The Power of Self-Reflection and the 1% Compounding Effect "We first make our habits, then our habits make us." — John Dryden Riding Through Life on Two Wheels I think about that quote a lot—especially when I’m on my motorcycle, cutting through the morning air, the world waking up around me. Maybe it's the hum of the engine beneath me, the wind hitting my face, or the hyper-awareness that comes from knowing one mistake could be my last. But there’s something about being on a bike that forces...
8 days ago • 5 min read
Why Belts Don’t Mean Shit(But They’re Still Important) The Night My Belt Didn’t Matter I was 25, still full of fire, and ready to prove myself to the world. One night after a long shift on the job site, I stopped at a gas station in a not-so-nice part of town. I had trained in martial arts for a few years by then—earned a couple of belts, sparred plenty, felt like I could handle myself. As I stood at the pump, two guys started arguing near the entrance. One of them turned and locked eyes with...
9 days ago • 4 min read