I am a father of identical twin daughters who are extremely athletic, so much of my free time is spent traveling around the city and country for their soccer games. When not doing that, I love to be outside either playing golf or attending one of my many favorite sporting events involving the
I served ten years as an active duty U.S. Marine, so I have lived many places both domestic and abroad, including Kansas, Missouri, North Carolina, California, Hawaii, Australia, and Japan.
One of my favorite places was Okinawa, Japan. The culture and the people were such a wonderful blend of new and old world. Being surrounded by such beautiful landscape and history was something that constantly kept me engaged. I fell in love with the food and the people so much so that as I was preparing to leave with the Marines, I almost made the choice to stay in Japan permanently. It will always hold a very special place in my heart, and I plan to take my daughters there very soon.
The book Stolen Valor is one of my favorites. It highlights the Vietnam war and those who served and those who didn’t. It also brought to light the term “stolen valor,” which is something I take very seriously. It’s a term for a practice that has become common, where people falsely claim military awards or medals they did not earn or service they did not perform.
“Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world, but the Marines don’t have that problem.”
Ronald Reagan, President of the United States; 1985
I love to bake. My mother owned a bakery for a time when I was young, so my whole family learned to bake. As a result, nothing in my house today comes out of a box: cookies, cakes, and pies are all from scratch. Now, I teach my daughters how to do this, and it’s become a family tradition.
Leadership. I am constantly trying to evolve as a leader, and my ultimate goal is to be more of a servant leader every day. There are so many ways to lead people, and there are just as many ways to enhance that given leadership style. You have to be open to learning from all levels of people around you. That means learning both the good and the bad—I have many times seen poor leadership that encourages me to strive to be self-aware enough to not echo that behavior on my own teams. I believe that surrounding yourself with other strong leaders that you can collaborate with is very important, since you cannot improve in a vacuum.
