Play

The key is in not spending time, but in investing it.” — Stephen Covey

Even after we’ve left the office for the day, we’re still project managers – mitigating risks, scheduling time, and managing resources.  Thus, project management is a metaphor for life: to get the most out of life, we must manage our resources wisely. 

That’s why when I play, I’m not just spending time on hobbies – I’m investing time into passions...and the ROI is exponential!
​
Here’s how I currently play:​

---

MUSIC

​Music is a pressure release valve for the focused soul.  Whether listening or playing, I can find my groove and lose myself for hours.  Since 2010 I’ve played trumpet with Swing City Big Band (currently a sideman) and am more recently exploring the Final Fantasy repertoire on piano.

Rotary Int'l District Conference - Featured Speaker, 2015

MOUNTAIN BIKING (MTB)
​
We’ve all got that little crazy side.  You know, the one that whispers to disregard your screaming instincts and just keep going, damn it.  Rather than dismiss or avoid mine, I strive to embrace and cultivate it, using MTB to practice and polish the skill of breaking my own self-limitations.

MTB empowers me to push myself mentally and physically, take risks, consciously master a skill, and experience nature… all wrapped up within the flow of experiencing an extreme sport.  For me, it’s a golden activity.  As of 2018, I’ve completed every trail in Northern Ohio, rode Alafia in Florida, and conquered a portion of the Maah Daah Hey in North Dakota.  Now I’m setting my sights on the world! ​

My Avatar in WoW 40-man raids, circa 2005

Swing City Big Band, 2018

DISCOURSE

​Beyond any other passion, nothing energizes me quite like meaningful discourse.  For me, the term ‘discourse’ is all-encompassing: reading, writing, public speaking, technical evaluation, water cooler conversations… I love exchanging ideas in the mutual spirit of finding the right answer.  

However, ideas can’t be adequately understood if they’re not shared in a meaningful or useful way.  To that end, I constantly seek effective ways to communicate complex ideas in their simplest terms.  I am always learning, always teaching, and always improving - and encouraging others to do the same. 

Maah Daah Hey Trail, Medora, North Dakota, 2017

GAMING

Gaming is a highly efficient way to learn strategic thinking.  The faster we can figure out the metagame (the knowledge of how the game really works), the better the chance we'll succeed while playing.  Strategic thinking is a skill that involves self-examination, critical analysis, pattern awareness, flexibility, and planning... each of these can be trained through gaming.

In a sense, gaming is a metaphor for life: success in life has a metagame, and it's up to us to figure it out!