About Me

I could write a lengthy page about my philosophy, or my accomplishments, or my interests. But I don’t want to write that page any more than you want to read it.

That being said, I think it’s important to understand a little bit about me - my paradigm and how I see the world, so the rest of this site might make a little more sense.

Here are 10 facts about me, in no particular order…

1.) Sports is the lens through which I view the world.

I’ve watched and played sports my entire life - all of ‘em, and I’ve coached several of them. I see sports-related traits everywhere I look, such as teamwork, collaboration, competitiveness, moving without the ball, “glue” guys, playing to your strengths, etc. And I use sports comparisons to help understand many non-sports situations.

2.) I’m wired for Continuous Improvement (and have been for as long as I can remember.)

This trait was valuable during youth sports, and I was obsessive about taking any hobby or interest to new heights as a teenager. But I didn’t fully understand the concept of Continuous Improvement (or Kaizen) as its own thing until my early adulthood - after reading The Goal (by Goldratt).

I’ve spent the last 30 years leaning into processes and bottlenecks, and trying to end the day slightly better than I started it.

3.) I’m a writer, even though I never thought I would be.

I didn’t care for writing in school, and my SATs scored higher in math than verbal. But I’ve grown into being a writer.

I wrote a real estate newsletter in the early 00s which received a lot of positive feedback (and generated a lot of business). In 2006 I turned that concept into one of the earlier high-traffic real estate blogs (butterhomes.com - no longer active.) I have since authored blogs on several different topics as my interests have evolved over the years.

I find that writing helps me think through problems, and explaining things helps me understand them better.

4.) Family First

Everyone has this one on their list, but I couldn’t imagine how far I would be willing to go “do anything” for my kids - even when they’re being buttheads. It’s amazing.

5.) Special Needs

Being a parent to a young adult with autism, special needs has been a big part of our lives for a long time now. We have been part of, plugged into, sometimes leaders and sometimes participants, in the special needs community, and have developed a wide network of friends and supporters. In fact, my wife still works at NMTSA.

Our current project is to help adults with autism who are not independent enough to participate in engaging day-programs or employment, get the support they need to lead more meaningful lives.

1/3 of this site is dedicated to Shining LITE, where you can learn more (and even make a contribution.)

6.) Early Adopter

It’s not always about technology, but in life in general.. When I discover a different way of doing something, a way that just seems to make more sense, I lean into it - regardless of what is considered normal or if someone might look at me funny.

I was a tech-nerd in the 80s and 90s, so I won’t even go into tech adoption - the list is too long. (I owned a Handspring Visor-Phone, and then a Treo, for example.)

I was early into the barefoot running movement, after finding that running without shoes made my knee feel better. A decade later Nike came out with their “Free” line, where you could pay $100 to feel like you were barefoot.

I bought my first Kettlebell in 2010.

I’ve been doing Heavy Club and Steel Mace workouts for a couple years. I don’t know anybody else (in real life) who is using these, yet.

I started working out in a cross-fit style after reading about what Greg Glassman was doing in 1999 (before the term Crossfit was trademarked.)

Plant-based eating has been around for a long, long time, so I am not a trendsetter here. But I was plant-based before the recent explosion of beyond-burgers being on most restaurants’ menus. And I think the direction we are heading is going to pick up even more momentum over the next decade - pretty soon plant-based will be considered much more mainstream. (And I was early in that context.)

7.) Health & Fitness

This is a big part of my life, as referenced by #6 above and the fact that 1/3 of this site is dedicated to HealthyButter.

We all have different goals, so this looks different for everybody. But I think there should be some combination of physical, nutritional, mental, emotional, and spiritual planned into everyone’s day/week.

8.) Process > Results. Practice > Match

Basketball was a big part of my childhood (see #1 above), and one of my earliest memories is playing with my Dad on the driveway hoop, probably about 5-6 years old, and practicing left-handed layups over and over again - after learning that great players use both hands equally.

The grown-up version of me understands that luck plays a role in life’s outcomes, and there are some things you just can’t control - no matter how hard you try. But if you practice excellence, you’re going to win more often than you lose (and more than your peers who don’t practice as hard.) And if your processes are setup for consistent best effort, you’re going to have success more often as a matter of consequence.

A lot of tennis coaches/books advise to simplify your game when playing a match - minimize as much risk of error as possible. This is because errors cost points, and points cost games. But I don’t like that philosophy. My goal is not to win this one match, tonight, but to improve my game so that I can win many more future matches. Instead, I play each match the same way I practice - hitting balls the way I want to be able to hit them, and looking to improve a tiny bit each match. (Yes, sometimes this causes me to lose. But it also earns every opponent’s respect - I hear that comment almost weekly.)

If you can’t “Embrace the grind”, you probably need to find a different passion to grind.

9.) I’m the grown-up in the room. I’m also a kid in an adult’s body.

I tend to be the risk manager and emotional centering in most settings, whether I’m with family, friends, or colleagues.

I’m also the one who impulsively jumps over something, or climbs a tree, or spins the truck into a donut on a deserted dirt road. And “that’s what she said” humor still makes me laugh.

It seems that I’ve grown up to be a really mature, well-respected, 18-year old.

10.) Quick Hits:

I’ll take the beach over the mountains, although I do love to ski.

I’d rather drive than fly anywhere within about an 8-hour drive. Further than that depends on how many days I can take to make the trip.

Comedies over dramas. Suspenseful espionage over horror/slasher. Documentaries over reality shows. Sports on tv is first choice.

Currently Reading:

Fooled by Randomness, Nassim Nicholas Taleb (recently started)

Range: Why generalists triumph in a specialized world, David Epstein (audiobook, in progress)

Start with Why: How great leaders inspire everyone to take action, Simon Sinek (in progress)

My Dream Time, Ash Barty (recently finished)

How Big Things Get Done, Brent Glyvbjerg (audiobook, recently finished)