Hi ,
When people meet me now, they often assume I’ve always worked in the world of mindfulness and communication.
But the truth is, I spent years in a very different environment—writing code for organizations like the Texas Rangers baseball team, serving as CTO of a small banking software company, and teaching web server security to Fortune 500 companies.
Eventually, my work caught the attention of Microsoft. By then, I had been awarded “Most Valuable Professional” for six years in the web server category. One day, they called me and said, “Hey, do you want to be the Senior Technical Evangelist for our web server?”
That was an easy yes. And a great decision.
At Microsoft, I traveled the world giving keynote speeches, delivering trainings, and helping launch major platforms. From the outside, it looked like the dream career—high profile, great teams, big stages.
But inside, something was missing.
I’ve always had a passion for understanding how things work—from building businesses to building systems. And that same curiosity turned inward as well. I sought out and studied with some of the best somatic psychotherapists, meditation instructors, martial artists, and group dynamics leaders in the world.
And if I go deeply into it, the core lesson doesn’t start with skills.
It starts with presence.
Presence is the foundation. Skills are the amplifier.
When you lead, communicate, or coach from true presence, the impact is unmistakable. Presence sharpens your communication, builds trust faster, and amplifies the effectiveness of every skill you use—whether you’re in a client session, a team meeting, or a high-stakes conversation.
Spending time developing this sets you apart as a leader, coach, therapist, or partner, and uplevels every conversation. Without presence, all the communication skills and leadership techniques in the world are helpful—but only a shadow of what they could be.
When you speak from a place where you are grounded, aware, and connected, every skill you bring becomes more powerful, more natural, and more effective. And people notice.
Have you ever been in a conversation where someone’s presence was unmistakable—where you felt drawn in, listened to, and impacted not just by their words, but by how they showed up, the quality of their attention so fine that you noticed it?
And if so, how did that influence not only what you heard, but how you felt about them?
This realization led me to apply the same analytical lens I had used in my tech career to my new studies. I found incredible practices within somatic psychology and group dynamics, but they were often locked into the context in which they were taught.
For example, the notion of “dual awareness” in therapy—being present with your experience of yourself and of the other person—is an incredible skill with a dramatic influence on all relationships, professionally and personally. But it’s not often taught outside of therapy or coaching.
Similarly, traditional mindfulness training is very helpful—thousands of research articles prove this. Yet it hasn’t been updated in decades with recent insights into “brief mindfulness” or new thought leadership about “social mindfulness.”
As a technologist, I love systems and “systems architecture,” so I developed a new approach—a more practical, updated model for learning. An approach that teaches people how to become present first, and then how to layer on skills that amplify that presence.
Eventually, I realized: if I really wanted to make an impact, it wasn’t going to be through a technology career alone. It would be through helping people develop the inner foundation that amplifies everything they do.
And I’m very keenly aware of the irony here. Presence isn’t something you “do”, it’s something that emerges from a state of being.
So how does on teach” presence” if it’s something you can’t actually do?
That’s they core connudrum.
And it starts with (re)building, rewiring your awareness to your senses.
Practices that help you connect to who you are at your core.
Then speaking and acting from that place.
Today, my work brings together that unique background—technical, entrepreneurial, and deeply human—to help professionals and leaders thrive in a world that demands both skill and authentic presence.
Over the coming weeks, I’ll be sharing some of the key insights, practices, and stories that have shaped this work—and I hope they’ll serve you as much as they’ve served the professionals I’ve had the privilege to work with.
I’m glad you’re here.
P.S.
Next time, I’ll share a simple practice you can use right away to experience how real presence shifts your communication — even in the middle of a busy day.