About Me
The Short Version
I spent 30 years in banking and corporate finance advising business owners, CEOs, and CFOs in all aspects of strategic and financial planning. My last full-time role was Managing Director & Market Executive for JPMorgan Chase leading their middle market commercial banking business and team covering the San Antonio, Austin, El Paso, and New Mexico regions. I ran a $100 million business with a $1 billion balance sheet. If curious, you can learn more about my background on LinkedIn.
Eventually, I knew it was time to pursue a different path. So at 52 my bride of 30 years and I retired and walked away from it all. We left the pace, the pressures, the emails, the meetings, and the voice of impending doom. People called us crazy. The path was uncertain and scary. I was leaving a career with prestige and a nice income.
But we had planned for this moment. As long as I can remember my wife, Muffin, and I have dreamed about freedom and taking a year off to rest, rejoice, relax, play, and travel while spending time with each other, family, and friends. My dad and grandfather never lived to the age of 60. We had decided what mattered most and ‘work’ was not near the top of the list.
Over the years we planned, saved, invested, paid off everything including our mortgage, got the kids through college debt free, and found ways to reduce our cost of living.
A year prior to my exit I sought assistance and coaching to make an effective and successful transition and fell in love with this coaching model. I am still coached today and it is the highlight of my week. During our year of rest and reflection with Muffin, we came to realize our mission and discovered the courage to pursue it:
We help people live more intentional lives making the most of each moment and day, as tomorrow is not guaranteed.
Now almost 3 years after our early retirement and nearly 400 days of travel, we are home (mostly). I joined a long-time friend and now work part time for the largest privately owned bank in the country, MidFirst Bank, and continue to coach high achieving business owners, c-suite executives, non profit leaders, emerging leaders, and aspiring coaches. We don’t know what the future holds and try to live every day with open hands and hearts full of gratitude.
The Longer Version
- Jesus lover, redeemed misfit, and deeply loved son of the King.
- Muffin and I have been best friends since we were teenagers and have been married for 31 years. She’s the nicest person I know.
- We have two amazing adult children, whom we cherish.
- I am a recovering ‘performer’ who now knows that my identity is not tied to my achievements and accomplishments. I still fail here, though.
- I value authenticity and transparency. I stopped faking it along time ago.
- Money, status, and prestige no longer motivate me. I desire deep one-on-one relationships and want my life defined by relational richness.
- My superpower is stubbornness. Some people call it persistence. I believe that if you give a monkey a rock and enough time he can create art out of stone. I often feel like the monkey.
- As long as I can remember I have wanted financial freedom and independence. At age 25 we developed a plan to retire around the age of 52 or 53. Our circumstances changed over the years, but we were blessed to retire and walk away from traditional work at 52.
- I can believe lies so I have committed that I will always be a part of a weekly bible study to affirm me and remind me of God’s truth, love, and hope and to help counteract the lies of the world. I’m still going after 18 years. I even led and taught it for 7 years.
- My dad’s sudden death at 59 when I was 31 years old with a newborn and a 2 year old has shaped my life and caused me to live more intentionally than most.
- I love stupid arbitrary goals. I have run a trail 50k, biked 120 miles in a day, and at the age of 51 I trained to run my fastest mile. It was not impressive. These goals help me feel alive and bring me joy.
- I don’t rest in my financial security, rather my eternal security. God does not promise good days; He promises a great eternity.
- Muffin and I attended Financial Peace University in 2008 and it changed our marriage. The class taught us how to dream and plan together and to share the financial responsibilities. We have now led 15+ classes with more than 150 participants.
- We paid off our 2.5% mortgage in 2018. I’d do it again today. There is something spiritual about having no debt obligations. I guess that’s why they call it bondage.
- We sold our ‘big’ house in 2019, sold and gave away most of our belongings, and moved into a 1,200 sq ft apartment in downtown San Antonio close to the riverwalk. It lasted 8 months. Do you know how many times you have to walk your dog each day when you don’t have a backyard?
- We agreed to buy an Airstream without owning a truck. We bought the truck the next day to go pick it up. We have traveled as far west as Moab and as far east as Savannah. We thought about living in it full time, but after 46 days the dog went on a hunger strike.
- I like to write, but it is not easy! Finding the right words is hard because words matter. But writing makes me place a stake in the ground about what I believe.
- We lead and host biblical tours of the holy lands for current and former BSF class members, family and friends. We love to watch people’s hearts and minds open as they see the bible come alive under their feet.
- We spent more than 2 years traveling upon retirement. We planned this years in advance and used the code name Project Jubilee to keep our plans a secret. In all we traveled almost 400 days over two years including 147 days in the Airstream, 157 days in Europe and Asia, 53 days with kids and family, and 5 retreats at Laity Lodge (our sacred place). During this time we hiked the 500 miles of the Camino de Santiago, toured Israel 5 times, followed the journeys of Paul through Turkey and Greece twice, sailed on a clipper ship from Istanbul to Athens crisscrossing the Aegean Sea, saunaed in Finland, toured Italy and Germany, and spent time with many, many fine people.
- We believe in investing in experiences, have learned how traveling opens your mind to new worlds and cultures, and have come to realize that the highlights of each trip are the people. It’s always about the people. People amaze us and we love making new friends. RV people are super interesting. Camino people are fascinating!