Hi and welcome!

We have agency to build the future we want, so why not just do it?

This Substack is where I try to make sense of a world in flux and help others do the same. I write about politics, culture, and technology, with a side of life stuff. Always with a human touch, low-key humor, and middle-aged sensibility.

I started this space in October 2023 to pick up the pieces after a weird political chapter. I’d jumped head first into the Trump movement in 2016 and was a long-time participant on the American Right. But along the way, I realized Trump is a con, partisan politics is bankrupt, and I’m more centrist than I realized (who knew). After Jan 6, I realized I want to be part of the solution, not the circus. I am still figuring out what that means, honestly.

Along the way, I’ve become a (gay) dad, landed from my midlife crisis, built and sold businesses, and done a bunch of woo-woo work as an executive coach. These experience have given me a broad canvas to draw from. As I see it, this is a space to contribute to the discourse™, connect with interesting people, and hopefully inspire.

About me

I’m a dad, entrepreneur, and writer based in Florida. I also run a think tank called the Boyd Institute, which explores the intersection of geopolitics and technology. In past lives, I’ve built multiple companies, invested in startups, and published in places like NATO, Harvard Business Review, Entrepreneur, and American Affairs. I graduated from Stanford many moons ago.

Where to start

The most personal thing I’ve written was A letter to myself in 2015, which kicked off my Substack journey.

Other favorites include reflections on agency, my kid’s birth book, and the value of writing essays. A while back, I wrote a series on men of different generations that resonated.

A few greatest hits:

• The remarkably talented and alienated late millennial man.

• Is fiction too female-coded?

• Be the elite you wish to see

• How toxic femininity fueled Trump’s victory

• Tell the beautiful truth, not the brutal truth

• 80,000 dads and not a friend in sight

Off Substack, a few highlights:

• Dealing with the fallout of selling your business (HBR)

• It’s time to embrace memetic warfare (NATO)

• The terrain of discourse (American Affairs)

• Why the American Right should break from Trump and Trumpism (Medium)

Subscription options

Everything is currently free. If you’d like to support my work, a paid subscription is just a fancy way of buying me a cold brew each month. I really appreciate that! No pressure — just subscribing means a lot.

Thanks for being here.