Picking up the pieces and showing up — in politics, business, and life.

Hi, and welcome!

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

I started my Substack journey in October 2023 as a messy quest to forge a more constructive future. Politics is one theme, but it’s broader than that. It’s about picking up the pieces and showing up wherever we need to in life, business, and beyond. 

I 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 rather than the problem.

Becoming a (gay) dad, landing from my midlife crisis, building businesses, and doing woo-woo work on myself and others as an executive coach have given me a broad canvas to share. As I see it, this is a space for big ideas, personal stories, spicy opinions, humor, and human connection. A place to share ideas and be inspired.

About me

I’m an entrepreneur, writer, and executive coach based in Florida. I also run a think tank called the Boyd Institute, which focuses on the intersection of geopolitics and technology. In the past, I built and sold multiple companies, invested in startups, and published articles for NATO, Harvard Business Review, Entrepreneur, and American Affairs. I graduated from Stanford many moons ago. These days, I value being a dad to my seven-year-old. I also enjoy running, yoga, hiking, and ice cream.

Where to start

The most personal thing I’ve written was my first post, A letter to myself in 2015.

Recently, I wrote about my son’s birth book, writing essays, and Elon Musk’s free speech conflicts. I also wrote a series on men of different generations which were popular.

Here are some of my most-read posts:

  1. The remarkably talented and alienated late millennial man.

  2. Is fiction too female-coded? Perhaps it’s time for some literary manspreading.

  3. Gen X Man’s conflicted call to greatness. An exhortation to my generation.

  4. Be the elite you wish to see. The folly of populism and why we need to reconceptualize elitism.

  5. Born to be wild. Embracing political homelessness and an evolving political identity.

  6. Tell the beautiful truth, not the brutal truth. A rule to live by.

  7. 80,000 dads and not a friend in sight. Why lonely men should seek fellowship instead of friendship.

I have written many essays on business, politics, and information warfare off of Substack. Here are a few you may find interesting:

  1. Dealing with the fallout of selling your business (HBR)

  2. It’s time to embrace memetic warfare (NATO)

  3. The terrain of discourse (American Affairs)

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

Subscription options

Whether you sign up for free or upgrade to a paid subscription, I hope you will join me on this adventure. 

At this point, everything is free. There’s no benefit to the paid subscription other than being a patron — which I do greatly appreciate! As a paid subscriber, you can buy me a cold brew coffee each month to keep me energized :)

No pressure either way. Just subscribe! I really appreciate your support.

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People

🇺🇸 dad, entrepreneur, post-Trump political wanderer, investor, executive coach, tech-geopolitics think tanker @BoydInst. Love ice cream and cold brew.