I'm on Fire

Owning Your Life

One thing I’ve been realizing lately is how many people are waiting for someone to save them. A politician. A law. A check in the mail. Someone else stepping up to fix their life.

The truth is, that savior isn’t coming, we know that, but many have a hard time accepting it. 

And if we’re honest, the only person who was ever going to save us… is ourselves. Another hard thing for many to accept. 

Lately I’ve also been realizing how easy it is to drift away from who you actually are. To start saying things you don’t really believe, chasing attention for things you don’t even truly care about. The older I get, the more I realize how dangerous that can be.

Life’s too short to spend it pretending to be someone else just because it works.

Life Updates

It’s wild that Kallie’s already heading back to work. This is her last week of maternity leave and I honestly can’t believe three months have already passed. It honestly breaks my heart that she HAS to go back to work, but some day soon that will be a choice instead of an obligation. 

Our son is just over nine weeks old now and the time has flown by in a way that’s honestly hard to explain. It makes you realize how fast life moves and how important it is to actually be present for it.

Last week I scheduled a breathwork session because I could feel something was off. I hadn’t felt like myself for a while. I wasn’t as present as I wanted to be and I hadn’t given myself the space to really sit with why.

The thing that hit me during that session was that I had been letting too many outside voices pull me away from who I actually am.

I’d been talking too much about politics. Pretending to care about things that, truthfully, I don’t really give a shit about. Mostly because that kind of content performs well.

And somewhere in that, I got scattered.

I lost my way a bit.

Then a thought hit me a couple mornings later that I haven’t been able to shake.

One day I’m going to hug my son for the last time.
One day I’ll kiss my wife for the last time.

Say goodbye to my parents for the last time.
I’ll sing my last song.
Take my last walk.
Write my last post.

And the last thing I ever want is to look back and realize I spent those moments pretending to be someone I wasn’t.

Life is way too short and way too precious to spend it chasing money, recognition, or approval by being someone you’re not.

Kallie and I have also been talking a lot lately about getting back to Ohio. We’re heading to Hawaii in September, and when we get back from that trip we’re going to get serious about making the move.

The plan is to spend a couple of years there while she decides if she wants to keep working or not. After that, we’d likely sell the assets we have and buy an RV and just hit the road for a while.

Travel. Explore. Raise our kids with some freedom.

Because the truth is, you never know what life is going to throw at you. And I don’t want to miss the chance to live it fully and do the things I know I’ll never regret. 

The Savior Problem

Something else I’ve been realizing on this content creator journey is how many people are desperately looking for someone to save them.

Sometimes I’ll post something calling out foundational problems in this country and it takes off. Tons of views. Tons of comments. Messages telling me I should take the lead on fixing it all.

Or people see a politician promising everyone a $12,000 check and genuinely believe that would somehow change their lives.

But I’m not that guy.

I’m not your political savior.

I’m honestly just trying to live a simple life. One on my own terms. Hell, I question whether this whole content thing is even for me on a daily basis, let alone leading some kind of political revolution.

I just talk about the things that tug at my curiosity.

But here’s the part people miss.

Even if every one of those things actually happened — if everyone got that check, if taxes were lowered, if more money suddenly showed up in people’s pockets — how many people would actually use it to truly change their lives?

How many would blow it on shit they don’t need?

How many would pay off debt only to rack it right back up?

How many would invest it… build something with it… or finally break the cycle of living paycheck to paycheck?

If we’re being honest, not many.

Because most people still refuse to accept responsibility for their own lives.

They won’t acknowledge the uncomfortable truth:

The only person who can actually save them… is themselves.

The Challenge

If you believe big changes need to happen in this country because you think it will make your life better, that’s fine.

But before you spend all your energy waiting for someone else to fix things, hoping someone else or something else will save you, I want you to do something.

Write down where you are currently waiting for someone else to come along and make life better for you.

Then ask yourself one simple question:

What can I do to fix this problem for myself right now?

And if you’re not sure what that answer is yet, ask for guidance. Schedule a breathwork session. Ask questions. Seek wisdom.

But stop waiting to be rescued.

Be yourself. 

Own your life.
Start today.

Song of the Week

I'm on Fire — Bruce Springsteen

Kallie and I watched the movie about Bruce Springsteen, Deliver Me from Nowhere, this weekend.

What stuck with me was how much of his best work came when he stopped trying to be what people expected and started making the music that felt honest to him.

“I’m on Fire” has that same grounded intensity. No big performance. No overproduction. Just something real simmering underneath the surface.

That’s kind of the season I feel like I’m in right now.

Less performing.
Less pretending.
More just being the guy I actually am.

And trusting that being true to that guy is what will ultimately build the life I want.