I am your typical IT guy in a lot of ways. I received my Bachelor’s Degree from Boise State University in Computer Networking. Won a national SkillsUSA Competition for Internetworking, earned my CCNA and MCSA quickly thereafter, and then pursued my career in Networking. About 10 years into it, I focused on Wi-Fi as a niche. I have many industry certs to my name (CWNE #285, CCNP Wireless, CCNP R/S, CCNP Data Center, etc) and am successful in that career. I have worked on the customer side, in the consulting/VAR space, and on the vendor side. I enjoy playing video games, geeking out on home lab equipment, and many other common IT guy stereotypes.

Where I differ from that stereotype is that I have always loved talking to people and IT has never been my passion. I didn’t tear apart my family PC as a kid, and I can’t stand programming. I chose IT as a path because I heard computers were a cool and promising career, but didn’t really know much about them. I recall my first goal was to be able to build my own PC. After 1 semester in school, and after building my first PC, I realized I needed to set my career goals a little further out.

IT was cool and interesting, but it never drove me. If I’m being honest, it took a long time for me to find my passion, which is connecting with people. I love teaching. I really enjoyed the hours spent in consulting roles teaching customers how to use the products and how the technology was built. I was an adjunct Wi-Fi instructor for a local community college and loved seeing my students grow and develop their skillset. Something about seeing people learn and grow really drives me.

After years in the industry accumulating lots of certs and climbing the ladder in many different roles, I noticed some unhealthy trends in myself and my colleagues. High levels of burnout, stress, poor work/life balance, and poor communication skills. This led to unhealthy coping mechanisms, most commonly just numbing ourselves. The method of numbing is different for many, but common ones were alcohol, cannabis, video games, doom scrolling, binge watching TV/movies, hiding in our home labs, hyper-focusing on work, etc.

I eventually couldn't sustain the cycle and hit the bottom - job on the line due to lack of motivation, marriage on the fence from constant numbing, dark thoughts, health issues creeping in, and depression. Climbing out of that hole, with the help of my therapist and coach, I found a better way to face life's challenges than numbing. It was to actually face and feel everything that was coming up. Scary, right!

This included exercise, eating better, supplements, getting in nature, and really diving into my own self-awareness. One way I did that was in the form of mindfulness practices including meditation, breathwork, cold showers/plunges, journaling, and diving into the world of emotional intelligence. Within 60 days of being diagnosed with depression, my therapist cleared me!

I approached my emotions with an engineering mindset. I learned about them through books, podcasts, research papers, courses, and in-person. Learning what they were, how they worked, why I felt them when I did, and what they meant. Basically running experiments with them to figure out why I responded to them in different ways and how to change that response. I then troubleshot them, and configured my internal and external environments to allow them to flow differently. I built a better network for my emotions! Which resulted in a more predictable, peaceful, and happier outcome. One in which both my family and boss both noticed and appreciated.

Through this experience I have found my passion. My desire to connect with people, my love of teaching, and a new passion of emotional intelligence. Let me share this with you!