Stand

What would I do if I knew I only had one year to live?
I would …

• spend each day sharing an experience or words of wisdom that I have learned with my children.
• journal my thoughts, feelings and dreams for family, friends and any one else to read when I am gone.
• do my best to live in the moment and seize each day for what it has given me.
• share my remaining time with my wife and let her know what she has meant to me.
• coach one more season of softball as it’s important to me to continue to give back.

What would I do if a natural disaster or terrorist event struck my town?
I would join any volunteer efforts to help recover from the disaster and recruit family and friends to help in this effort as well.

What would I do if a friend asked me to help him move but I really wanted to go see a movie that night?
Friends are more important and I can always see the movie another night, I would help him move.

What would I do if I found out my favorite brand had been exploiting workers and participating in environmentally destructive practices?
I would stop buying the products and share why I have done so with family and friends.

What would I do if I won the lottery?
I would …

• setup trusts for my children to be able to pursue their passions with proper education and training to start them off.
• invest money for retirement and ensure my wife and I are taken care of for our years remaining.
• invest money in local businesses and causes that inspired me.
• treat my daughter’s softball team to games at the Crushers, Indians and Racers, hoping to get the teams to meet the girls.
• Unrelated to the lottery winnings, I would continue to pursue programming and teaching. I would definitely work on AI projects while I continue to pursue speaking at conferences.

What would I do if someone decided to fight me for no good reason?
If a physical fight presented I would walk away. I would not allow myself to be hit and I would also not hit.
In a non-physical fight I would try and resolve such until I see no resolution possible. If no resolution can be reached I would wish the person well and give them time in hopes time heals whatever started the issue.

What would I do if an opportunity for an inside deal came my way with no chance of anyone finding out?
if a question of legality or ethics exists, I’d pass…

What would I do if my team were bashing a teammate behind his or her back in my presence?
I would ask what this person did to them and why they felt a need to do so. I would hope to cease such nonsense and build camaraderie between us.

My Stand

• Share the joys of the day with those you love.
• Allow others to benefit from my experiences as they may see value where I don’t.
• Give back to those that help shape the world my kids will live in.
• Teach others through experience and example as well as words of wisdom.
• Turn away from the nonsense of the world focusing on the important things life offers.
• Bring others together all the time and not just in times of need.
• Exercise the mind and the body equally as only with both are we whole.

Passion

What books, movies, art, or music get you pumped?
My of the books and movies that get me pumped are stories of personal experience or words of wisdom.
Examples include:
Books: Monday Morning Leadership, Dreaming in Code
Movies: Hardball, The Rookie, Coach Carter, Hoosiers

Art is more about spirituality and reflection. I am pumped by visions of nature, lakes, and paths. Creates a sense of inner-peace for me.

Music is all about the beat. A good beat can carry a workout to the finish.

Who inspires you and why?
Steve Jobs – his drive, passion and ability to deliver on knowing what you don’t even know you want yet.
Robin Williams – his ability to think quickly, improv and passion to make others happy.
Jearl Walker – taking pride in teaching and reaching his audience.
Linus Torvalds – creating an OS and Source repository and still striving for better.

What characteristics of yours make you feel great about yourself?
My will to not give up and keep the course
My ability to analyze data and discover different facts, patterns or inferred pieces that no one else sees.
My ability to reach many audiences in different terms of technical understanding by adapting my vocabulary and reading the situation.
My intelligence to grasp something such as programming and mathematics and gain deep understanding into difficult concepts.

What activities would you do if you had more time and no barriers?
Play baseball and other sports, most specifically take the mound on a baseball field and pitch for hours.
Create and architect my own software applications that can be used to better solve issues and making things easier for others.
Write code for AI projects and tap into the notion of creating artificial intelligence through code.
Speak at conferences and schools teaching and sharing my knowledge with another generation of dreamers.

What benefits to others would these activities or characteristics provide?
My will would provide an example of someone others can look up to, someone who persists with goals until they’re achieved. In programming I would provide others solutions so they may expand on them but also so non-developers can use them to solve their own issues as-is. My speaking and teaching desire would then empower others with the knowledge and work I have put together. Preparing them for the next step.

Could you change the world, making it even a tiny bit better, by focusing more on these?
Yes and regardless of the path I take I hope to impact the world for the better.

What would it take to get you to step into the arena of even just one of these activities?
It would take time and also the knowledge that I would not be sacrificing my family.

Purpose

Change the world one line of code at a time sharing my journey and experiences along the way.

Values

• Learn something new each day
• Always will myself to succeed
• Mentor and be Mentored at every opportunity
• Reach others by taking an interest and understanding them
• Be creative
• Be passionate
• Always give 100% into everything I do
• Enjoy each day striving to make a difference