I’ll Settle for 44K for My Birthday

Well, this Friday, May 11, 2012 I’ll be officially one year older. It’s been quite a journey and I’m so thankful to everyone who has supported me over the years. It was just over 4 years ago with the prospect of turning 40 that I decided to lay everything on the line and pursue what I believed in. I have no regrets. During that time, I have helped to provide educational and career opportunities for over 1500 teachers and students in Central Texas and have dropped 80+ lbs. None of it has been easy, but I can’t imagine doing anything else. Even now, as I face a seemingly insurmountable task of of raising 44K to support the It Could Be U Digital Youth Academy that kicks off exactly 1 month after my birthday, I only get excited about the opportunity to serve others.

I’ve come to believe that the previous 20 years of my adult life were ultimately about my own selfish and gluttonous pursuits. Not to say that I was on a negative track at all. I was a school teacher in priority schools, developed web sites and software, produced and played music, broke into the advertising community and generally had a good time. Nevertheless, I realize that I was indeed fearful of truly venturing out on my own. My entrepreneurial endeavors were half-baked and I was unwilling to deal with the hardships that come with virulent commitment to seeing such things through to their conclusion.

And then their was my physical state. I was obese. I estimate that I was at least 330lbs at one time. I was in serious DENIAL and headed to an early grave. It’s amazing the lengths that one can go through to remain in that state. I have never been skinny. Nevertheless, I was an all state athlete in high school and frankly despite my natural gifts I was lazy. I worked hard on the field and in practice but I never really dedicated my own personal time to getting in shape. Working out was just what I had to ‘deal with” in order to play the sport I loved at the time – high school football. After high school and no real attention from major colleges, I set those dreams aside to pursue a music degree.

I love music but I also came to recognize that performing was not my true passion. I didn’t have a need to be on stage or really even be validated in that way. Again, I had some natural gifts and I worked hard at honing them to a certain extent. Nevertheless, I was often bored with music. In my 30′s I began to discover the art of “producing”… that is facilitating for others. I have a knack for recognizing talent and putting them in situations where they can flourish.  Whether it was music, voice over, software development or media production, I began to figure out that was my sweet spot. I prefer to be in the background making things happen for others. That is what brings me joy.

Robotics instructor Mark Barron explains the basketball playing robot his students developed this year. 

Some of my best days are visiting classrooms to interact with students and teachers. Great teachers inspire me because they often times toil away in relative obscurity. They are driven by more than money and they really love their students. They go beyond teaching subjects and teach people. That’s the difference. I get excited just being around them because their dedication is infectious. They are the real game changers. All of the things that I have experienced to date have prepared me for what I do today… being an athlete, a creative, an educator, a techie allows me to see connections that others may not. The issues we face today are not going to be addressed by traditional approaches to education because the nature of work has profoundly changed. Modern product development is not done in silos. Great creative without technical infrastructure is virtually useless and the same goes for innovative tech devoid of good design.

The It Could Be U Digital Youth Academy addresses this issue. 20 students who have competed via portfolio submissions come together for 5 weeks to learn from the best and the brightest across media, tech, finance, health and science to develop digital content and applications to promote healthy lifestyles among their peers. Even better, they get to return to their respective communities in the fall to execute and measure the products they create during the summer. This IS modern product development. Harness creativity, technology and science to solve real problems. These tasks are not beyond our youth. It’s just that we’ve never really engaged them in process.

So, if you believe in my passion, I need your help. As little as $10 helps us accomplish our goals for the summer and gets you special perks via our Indiegogo campaign.

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