I am a husband, father, entrepreneur, investor, and writer.

 

I grew up in Portland, Oregon where I attended 12 underwhelming years of public school.  I learned what most kids learn in school:  that the key to a successful future lies in getting good grades in school to get a good job afterward.

 

While in school, I worked at an ice cream shop, a cell phone retailer, a semiconductor manufacturer, a customer service call center, a collections agency, and a telemarketing company (if I ever called you at home during dinner, I’m truly sorry.)

 

I spent four supremely indecisive years in college, waffling between various fields of study. Uncertain about where my education was headed, and dissatisfied with the low-wage jobs I was working to pay for it, I took a sharp left turn in my young adult career. I enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps, serving on active duty from 2003 to 2008. I visited Japan, Korea, Iraq, Singapore, India, and Australia.

 

The opportunities to travel and explore the world were awesome.

 

The work-life-balance was not.

 

After separating from active duty service in 2008, I took a nice comfy 9-5 job with a defense contracting firm in Washington, D.C.  I researched and wrote studies and business proposals, analyzed business processes, and helped make government and military organizations make better decisions, more efficiently.

 

It was good work, but ultimately, it was a

J-O-B. I was giving up my time – an irretrievable resource – to make a lot of money for somebody else.

 

Today, I wear several hats:  I am the founder and Investor Relations Director of Castellar Investments, LLC, a Virginia-based real estate investing firm.  I am the founder and curator of ReTHiNK and Get Free, a free online resource devoted to giving that final nudge to those who are teetering on the brink of having their own “wake up” moment.

 

My passions include music, photography, most kinds of food, running (mostly to subsidize the food habit), and travelling the world.

 

But my favorite pastime of all is enjoying the simple pleasure of being present as my kids grow up – a benefit that no 

J-O-B can offer.

 

My family and I currently reside happily in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.