See you all in 2026. I’m stepping away into a digital detox, 100% off social/digital to re-tool as I approached the job market wrong, all wrong. I approached it as the American workplace I had once thought it to be, but that is long gone. I thought, lead with story first, with heart first, and empathy would resonate. I was dead wrong as the fight or flight response at the first sign of an emotional moment seems to be to flee, when it was once what fueled the drive and the fight in this nation. There is just too much inward focus right now and couple that with hiring in Q4 rarely happening anyway, I think it is the optimal time to step back, soak in the current stat of things, and re-think life post Layla.
The truth is, I never did stop once Layla was gone. Just 8-days after she passed I was on a 4-hour virtual conference for a first ever collaboration/summit between two large entities in the pediatric cancer space. As the Chief of Children’s National said to me last month, “I was in SHOCK you were there…” as I finally turned my camera on at the end to share my take on precision, personalized, medicine. For most of the meeting, my camera was off and name was changed so no one would know it was me but I had to speak up as Layla showed the field so much.
So now, it’s time for me to double back, as a starting point at least, to what was instilled in me when I first locked eyes on the joy in the eyes of this picture. This will be the 7th time I am re-shaping myself as my magic has always been personal evolution, so we’ll see what comes of that as we roll into 2026 as well as what strategy I develop to attack the market should the winds blow me back that way.
This the first time I’ll have had a chance to re-charge in 4+ years, longer than almost any spent deployed in WWII. It has been 51-months of non-stop, pressure cooker, all fight , no flight, stress. I’m still talking to and meeting with folks that some reading this have referred me to (thank you again), but I won’t be checking messages here or many other places until 2026. I’ll leave my email below.
And to the four people that know about the “big” long term goal, who I know are reading this because you’re part of it, that is full steam ahead, so no worries there and the framework will be completed soon but most of the above is why it is not already. That could be the play in 2026 because it is just so incredibly good, but there is also another possibility as well as, I also want to see what comes to me through this soul clearing process of stepping out of the Matrix.
Layla will guide the way. That is about the only certain thing I know. If I pick up the scent of something as I relax the mind, it’ll be off to the races. I will be taking a trip or two but low frills/bare bones, so if you’re a ninja with a camera in your hand, underwater, or in the sky and are feeling creative, get in touch.
Merry Christmas and have a good new year all. We’re going analog, “turn the Wi-Fi off and life back on.