03/05/2026
The Ex*****on Room – Why This Exists
I figured the best way to start this community is with a little story about how I got here.
My path didn’t start in the corporate world.
I joined the military at 17 years old. I didn’t grow up with the best role models, and losing my mother at a young age forced me to grow up faster than most kids do. Looking back, I’m sure those experiences shaped a lot of who I became.
The military gave me structure, discipline, and purpose.
I ended up serving 25 years in the Navy and retired as a Senior Chief. Along the way I learned leadership, accountability, teamwork, and something that still sticks with me today — mission matters.
After leaving that world, something changed for me.
For the first time, I had space to think. Space to create. Space to learn and explore ideas that had been sitting in the back of my mind for years.
Tools like ChatGPT opened doors that simply didn’t exist before. Suddenly I could test ideas, learn new skills, and build things faster than ever before.
At first, I tried to keep up with every new trend.
But the pace of change was incredible. So fast that I eventually had to step back and just observe for a while. By the time you finished learning one thing, the world had already moved on to the next.
My brain — at least how I describe it to my wife — is like Atlanta traffic.
About 18 hours a day it’s rush hour.
I thrive on learning new things, meeting new people, mentoring, coaching, and seeing people succeed. I’ve always had accountability friends, but at some point I realized something important.
There are a lot more people like us out there.
People who are driven.
People who believe helping others matters.
People who believe karma is real.
I’ve been living in The Villages for about two years now, and somewhere along the way my focus started to change.
The things that used to matter when I was younger don’t carry the same weight anymore.
Turning 50 was probably my biggest eye opener.
You realize you’re on the back half of the journey now, and that tends to make you ask some honest questions.
What have I accomplished?
What still matters?
What do I want to build next?
Even the way I look at life and parenting has evolved. The way we were raised, the lessons we passed down, the expectations society places on us — over time you start to see things from more than one side.
You realize that every action has a reaction.
You start picking your battles more carefully. The things that once stressed you out don’t hit the same anymore. The pressure to keep up with what everyone else is doing slowly fades when you realize how ineffective that game really is.
What starts to matter more is being intentional.
I’ve always been creative — stories, ideas, inventions, projects — but if I’m being honest, my earlier approach was more spray and pray.
Now it’s different.
Now I’m focused.
Intentional.
Driven.
Goal oriented.
I spend my time working on the things I can control instead of worrying about what my neighbors are doing or what society thinks I should be doing.
That sense of purpose is what led me to create this page.
The Ex*****on Room is meant for people who still want to build something.
People with energy.
People who like collaboration.
People who enjoy being around others who are working toward something meaningful.
This isn’t a place to sit quietly on the sidelines.
If you’d rather watch from a distance and never interact, this probably isn’t the right room.
But if you’re someone who believes we can accomplish more tomorrow than we did yesterday…
Welcome.
Let’s start this the right way.
If you’re comfortable, introduce yourself with three things:
• Where you’re from
• What you spent your career doing
• Something you’re interested in building or learning next
You might be surprised how many interesting people are already in this room.
Because the best way to start building something meaningful is by knowing who’s in the room.
Build. Measure. Move.
