The Thinker
In the dark recesses of my mind lives the thinker — and it’s his turn to lead.
2025 has been a whirlwind. I blinked and suddenly it’s December. This year has stretched me, transformed me, and replaced last year’s version of me with someone new.
A different driver has taken the wheel, it is time for the thinker to put into practice the 30 years of quiet learning.
The journey through 2025 wasn’t smooth.
Money made, money lost.
Teams built, teams dismantled.
And through it all, a new version of me emerged — a version that has always been there, quietly observing, waiting for the right moment to speak.
Let’s get into it.
Without a doubt, I overthink most things. I flirt with obsession on everything from coffee to sharpening kitchen knives.
After B-school I worked with an executive coach (thank you, randall mcneal), and during that time I learned a lot about myself. The biggest breakthrough came from a personality test he administered. It revealed parts of my mind I’ve spent the last 12 years trying to understand.
Two elements stood out: curiosity and an appreciation for beauty.
In many ways, those have always been the gears that turn inside me.
Today, I’ll dig deeper into curiosity.
I snapped the image for this post during a site walk at the University of Houston; that statue sits in front of the Law School.
The moment I saw it, I was taken back to 1995, when I first saw Rodin’s The Thinker while visiting family in São Paulo.
Maybe that moment planted a seed. Maybe it was exactly what I needed to become who I am today. Thirty years later, snapping that photo brought everything full circle.
The path to 2025 hasn’t been a cakewalk. Setbacks? Plenty. But when I look back over the last 30 years, one thing never left me: a deep desire to learn.
And please don’t mistake that for academic success — I wasn’t a straight-A student. I graduated undergrad with a 2.8 and my master’s program with a 3.3.
I once told my daughter I have an F on my transcript; she nearly fell out of her chair. She sees all of the books we have in the house and the work I put it, I wanted to show her that her father is....working to become better each day.
I wasn’t pushed to make good grades. I passed, earned the degrees, and moved on.
But the one thing I did do well was learn.
I chew through books and life experiences.
I throw myself into the deep end, no life vest, just survival.
SWIM MOTHER FU^^ER!
If you’re reading this and wondering whether you should make a change — do it.
You won’t know until you try.
If the fear of failure is holding you back, hear this: the sting of failure fades quickly.
Rene Descartes said it best: je pense, donc je suis — I think, therefore I am.
Think about who you want to be.
Then get off your ass and go make it happen.
The year is almost over and today is as good a time as any to begin.
Thank you for following along.
