Seven personal reflections
Making peace
with myself.
My experiences have shaped me, but they don’t have to determine every choice I make next.
Acceptance has given me more room to see myself honestly, appreciate the life I have, and decide what deserves my attention. These are ideas I return to in my relationships, in leadership, and when life asks me to reconsider something.
Understanding the habits that once protected me.
For a long time, I gave a great deal of myself to supporting employees, business partners, and family, while overlooking what I needed. Burnout made that impossible to ignore. I still care about being someone others can depend on. I pay more attention now to when that responsibility becomes taking on too much, and whether an old habit is serving the life I'm living today.
Giving achievement its proper place.
I enjoy the challenge of building and growing a business. I also know how easily ambition can become a need to prove something about yourself. Success matters, but I don't want my sense of worth to rise and fall with it. That perspective helps me consider what a business needs with less of my own identity caught up in the answer.
Allowing myself to feel what is there.
Being at peace doesn't mean feeling positive all the time. Disappointment, fear, and uncertainty are part of being human. I want to be honest about those feelings and understand them, rather than keep myself busy enough to avoid them. Acceptance gives me a place to begin, even when I don't yet know what to do.
Being willing to change direction.
While I was selling aviation safety software, customers kept asking for help with commercial drone certification. Listening to that demand led me to build a training business, which in turn revealed the need for Drone Complier. That experience taught me to reconsider the plan when the evidence changes. In my personal life too, I'm more willing to question whether something still fits, even when I've invested a great deal in it.
Leading while continuing to learn.
Drone Complier went through several rewrites before we found what worked. Our training students helped test it, and field use exposed a requirement we hadn't properly anticipated: it needed to work without an internet connection. Those lessons came from listening to the people using it. As a leader, I want that willingness to question assumptions to remain part of a business as it grows.
Listening before defending my position.
It's easy to prepare an answer while someone is still telling you how they feel. I try to notice that impulse and give them the time to be understood. At home and at work, I value being able to disagree without losing respect for each other. Listening carefully leaves room for both compassion and clear boundaries.
Appreciating the life I am actually living.
Golf gives me a simple way to practise this. The previous shot has happened; the next one deserves my attention. I try to bring that same perspective into daily life. Being present for my son, spending time with people I care about, and getting outdoors matter in their own right. There will always be another goal, but I don't want to postpone appreciating what is here already.
I’m still learning how to live this. Accepting where I am gives me a place to begin.
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