Mental Health Without the Bullshit – Entry #2 IMPORTANT NOTE: I am NOT a mental health professional. If you need help, I STRONGLY encourage you to seek it, and you can start here. This series of blog posts is me candidly sharing my deeply personal experiences with you (with some tears along the way). The Ones Who “Have It Together” You’d never know by looking…
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. But let’s be honest—we need more than a month. We need a full-blown reckoning. I’ve struggled with my own mental health over the years—ADHD, addiction, anxiety, depression—you name it. Some days I’ve barely held it together. Other days I’ve been on top of the world, only to crash hard and wonder what the hell is wrong with me. I’ve…
I’m sitting on a cruise ship right now, somewhere between islands and reality, after having one of those conversations that sticks with you long after it ends. This morning, I met an older couple—retired, wise, and just plain kind. We started talking about careers, purpose, and life’s winding roads. It didn’t take long before one of them said something that hit me square between the…
NOTE: There’s no correlation between today’s date and 9/11, this was a topic that came up in a recent conversation. Tonight on InfoSec to Insanity, we’re tackling a subject that’s been gnawing at me for a long time: the slow, quiet erosion of our civil liberties since 9/11. If you’re old enough to remember that day—and most of you are—you remember the fear, the unity,…
Some of the worst decisions I’ve ever made—in business, in security, as a father, as a husband, and as a human being—came from a lack of context. I thought I had the full picture. I thought I knew enough. I thought I was right. I wasn’t. And if you’re being honest with yourself, you’ve probably made the same mistake. The reality is, most bad decisions…
I can’t remember the last time I scrolled through a social media platform without running into some kind of political rant. It used to be that politics had its place—news sites, debate forums, maybe the occasional heated Facebook thread. But now? It’s everywhere. There’s no escaping it. LinkedIn, which was once a professional networking site, has turned into yet another cesspool of political opinion. X…
Let’s get one thing straight: dogs don’t just rule—they (d)rool. And I mean that in every sense of the word. They drool on your couch, your clothes, your face (if you’re lucky), and most importantly, on your heart. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you’ve never had a dog—and honestly, I’m sorry for you. Dogs are the purest form of joy we get…
Let’s get real for a second. Mental health in life, and especially in the cybersecurity industry, is a topic most people love to tiptoe around. Sure, people will slap a hashtag on it during awareness months, or drop a few platitudes about “self-care,” but the truth? Most of it is performative crap. Let’s cut the BS and talk about what’s actually going on here. The…
Work Doesn’t Give a Damn About You “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” isn’t just a saying—it’s a reality check most people choose to ignore. You can pour your blood, sweat, and sanity into your job, but here’s the harsh truth: work doesn’t care about you. It’ll chew you up, take everything you’ve got, and leave you running on empty while…
DISCLAIMER: If you know me, you know that I’m a little (maybe a lot) off the wall. Recently, I was pondering an off the wall question, which is nothing new for me. I was wondering what’s better, a great smoked beef brisket or sex? Now this is a loaded question, but it’s worth exploring. In my (crazy) opinion, this debate deserves some honest analysis. Comparing…