2021: A Fearless Journey!

In 2021, I did something dramatic. I left my full-time job at National Review Institute, and my nearly 16-year career in nonprofits, public policy, and fundraising, putting in my notice to NRI in late January and departing the role at the end of February. I moved to Guatemala, where I spent much of my time working on building my own business and expanding upon my writing and other creative content.

During that time, I was also given an amazing opportunity to be a visiting professor at the Universidad Francisco Marroquin (UFM), in Guatemala City. I taught classes on entrepreneurship and innovation. I lived in Guatemala from March through the end of May, returning to Florida for six weeks in the summer. In June, I officially launched a new company, Fearless Journeys, and more than 50 people came to the launch party, hosted by my friends Eric & Christine Wind at their beautiful Palm Beach home. About another 50 people attended the launch virtually. I am grateful for the support of so many friends and family!

While in the U.S. during the summer, I was also given an opportunity to lead a fundraising seminar held in Princeton, New Jersey. I visited friends in Washington, DC, and attended an alumni reunion at the headquarters of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) in Wilmington, Delaware. I was able to catch up with many friends around Florida, from Miami to Fort Myers to Tampa to Tallahassee to Gainesville to Orlando. In addition, I was able to catch an Orlando City game (thus ensuring that I’ve kept my streak alive of seeing the team play live and in-person in every season they have been in the MLS!). I also spent the Fourth of July in Westchester, New York, sailing with my friends James O’Keefe and Steve Bierfeldt. 

Another thing I did while in South Florida was to teach an economics class at a private prison in South Bay – it’s still in Palm Beach county, but nearly a one-hour drive from where my parents live in Boynton Beach. This was a very eye-opening opportunity, with a very engaged class of men who were eager to learn more about economics as they work to turn their own lives around. I hope to do more of this in the future. 

In mid-July I returned back to Guatemala to continue teaching classes at UFM and running the operations of Fearless Journeys online. 46 of my previous podcast guests joined the community as Featured Innovators. Each month, one of them runs a group coaching session (via Zoom) on a particular topic. And, also each month, another one of them leads our community in a live virtual session over Zoom to discuss our book of the month. 

In 2021, the community journeyed together through six books: The Alchemist, Start With Why, Atomic Habits, The Intention Experiment, Give Smart, and Win Bigly. Each Thursday, I send out a summary of each section of the book we are on – those are only for members of our community. And, every Tuesday, I send out a free weekly e-newsletter with an inspirational story about an entrepreneur. This has helped keep my writing consistent and delivered promised content to subscribers and members. 

Speaking of books, my personal reading included completing 20 books this year. Five of those books were re-reads for me – as three were used in the Fearless Journeys community, two in my course at UFM, and another in the economics course I taught at the South Bay prison in Palm Beach County. The other 14 were completely new to me. There were also 7 other books I started but did not complete (some of those are still “in progress” for me, including The Greatest Salesman in the World which is intentionally read, in various parts, every day for the course of a year, so I plan to complete that in 2022). Two of the books I re-read this year, The Alchemist and Atomic Habits were used in the Fearless Journeys community – and Atomic Habits is also used in my courses at UFM – so I actually re-read that one twice this year. They remain two of my all-time favorite books that I constantly recommend to others. 

Of the books that were new to me, I especially enjoyed Greenlights, an autobiography by Matthew McConaughey – and it is certainly the best one I’ve ever listened to by Audible, as it is his book, read by himself, and he’s an actor. A great personal story read by a great actor. It was amazing and was filled with much insight. How Innovation Works by Matt Ridley was very impactful on me and was read so I could use it in my courses at UFM. I now cite it all the time! Tree of Life and Prosperity: 21st Century Business Principles from the Book of Genesis was a great business / economics book but also really added value to how I bow view some of the most impactful Biblical stories. I was also able to have the author, Michael Eisenberg, on my podcast, right after I read the book. Bet On Yourself was an incredible self-growth style book written by one of my previous podcast guests, Chris Mueller, who finished this year as one of the top players on the Orlando City Soccer Club. He is now off to play for a European team. And I also read The Lambi’s Call: A Haitian Journey by Dr. Tom Fame, who I also had on my podcast this year. It’s great when you can have an author on your podcast shortly after reading their book!

At the end of the year, I also listened to the book, The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday. It is a great book that brings in wisdom from the stoics and many other people throughout history to show how sometimes the obstacles we encounter are what challenge us to find our path and succeed. 

In addition to the writing I do each week for Fearless Journeys, as well as some articles I had published with American Action News, The Orlando Local News, and my sometimes weekly columns in The Orlando Sentinel, I also wrote a lot of travel reviews that mostly now appear on the “travel” page at FearlessJourneys.org. I also spent a lot of time this year also working on my book, which I plan to release in the first half of 2022. The book will include stories of the 100 different people who have come on my Agents of Innovation podcast since I started it in 2015. I am using their stories to present to readers what I have learned about entrepreneurship and the American Dream through conversations with 100 innovators.

Speaking of which, in 2021, I released 13 podcasts and finished the year strong with Episode 100, featuring Gerard Kelly, co-founder and former CEO of NRG esports, co-founder of the WSOE and Havik. All of my other guests this year were really incredible: Miguel Crespo, Chris Gonzalez, Claudio Sorrentino, Dan Vineberg, Jamie Rich, Ryan Boylston, Jen Gratz, Dr. Tom Fame, Michael Eisenberg, Laura Vanderkam, Karin Hoffman, and Mike Mannina. What a privilege it is to be able to have these thoughtful conversations and continue to be inspired by so many great people. 

One of the elements of Fearless Journeys are impactful group trips. In this first year, I offered a planned group trip to Guatemala in November. Seven people signed up to go (in the end, we had one very last-minute cancellation, so six travelers came). We had an amazing time which you can read about in this recap of our trip. It was so good, they all told me: you have to bring more people here. So, I have now advertised the next group trip for April 2-9, 2022. We have a few already registered and there is space for as many as 15. One of our guests on the November trip was one of our newest Featured Innovators, Dan Vineberg, a YouTube travel vlogger who came on the trip and documented some of it through his videos on The New Travel. You can see his re-introduction to Guatemala City, our visit with a Guatemalan family that owns a coffee farm, and some of his impressions of visiting Lake Atitlan. 

Of course these travelers were not my first guests to Guatemala. In April, my friend Kyle Huwa visited (he was the person that first motivated me to come to Guatemala when he was living there in 2019). Bob Rubin visited me in May – we explored Guatemala City and Antigua. Later in May, my friends Chris Adams, Chad Blackburn, and Scott Kauffman visited. We explored Antigua, I took my first visit to Lake Atitlan, and we did a grueling hike to the Acatenango and Fuego volcanoes, which I documented in this video. In August, my friend Micah Bock visited me. In addition to showing him around Antigua and Guatemala City, we also traveled (by plane) to the north of the country to visit Tikal, the Mayan ruins of all Mayan ruins. We did a pre-sunrise hike, watching the sun come up over Tikal in what has to be the best sunrise experience I’ve ever had. 

In the first week of September, my friends Lance and Claire Barnett, along with his brother Quinn and his wife, came to visit. I explored Guatemala City with them for a day and then met up with Lance and Claire later that week in Antigua. We were also joined by my friend Grant Hunter and his cousin Ray. All five of us hiked the Acatenango volcano (my second time). This time, I did not do Fuego, but rather got up early the next morning (from the basecamp that is located at over 12,000 feet altitude) and hiked up to the summit of Acatenango just before sunrise. My three best sunrises of all time are in Guatemala: (1) Tikal 2021, (2) Pacaya volcano summit 2019, and (3) Acatenango volcano summit 2021. 

Before I left Guatemala in November, I was surprised by two friends who took last minute trips here: Andrew Bulovsky, his girlfriend, and his mother came in as part of their trip to Central America. I spent one day with Andrew and his girlfriend, showing them around Guatemala City. And on one of my final days in Antigua, I got a text message from Trimmel Gomes who told me he was in town. I did my last hike to Cerro de la Cruz (a cross on a hill that overlooks Antigua), took him to Caoba Farms, and showed him the iconic yellow arch in the old city of Antigua. 

I have now fallen in love with Guatemala and hope to continue bringing more people here to explore its beauty and meet its incredible people. While I am thankful for so many people at UFM, I am especially grateful for the friendship shown to me by Lissa Hanckel, who not only joined the Fearless Journeys community and invited me on a UFM donor trip around Guatemala in August, but also offered me a place to stay at her house in Antigua that is part of the El Carmen ruins. It became a wonderful place to write from and spend time at during many parts of the year. 

Some other places I visited in Guatemala: during that UFM donor trip, I was introduced to the town of Chichicastenango “Chi-Chi” which is a village where more than 95% of the people there are of indigenous descent. It has an amazing market, that was super busy on Sunday; and an iconic church that has a Mayan altar at the bottom of the steps outside. The blend of syncretism between the Catholic and indigenous religious beliefs was really amazing. I also visited a super colorful cemetery in this town that is filled with “little houses” and chapels throughout the cemetery.

In late October, I also took a trip across Guatemala to visit my friend Rossmary and meet her first born child Santiago. In addition, she had some of her friends take me around Quetzaltenango (otherwise known as “Xela”) showing me around this large city and its surrounding areas, its iconic churches, including the oldest one in Central America. We also did some amazing hikes, including one to the Chikabal volcano, which features a lake in the crater. Very cool! 

While in Central America, I decided it was finally time to visit my friend Chris Caballero in Panama. In early October, I took a two-hour flight there from Guatemala and my friend Marshall Swanson also met me there. Chris put us up and showed us around the Panama Canal, the former American canal zone, the historic district of Casco Viejo, and other parts of Panama City. During my final day, I took a day trip out to the San Blas Islands. I was really impressed with Panama and there is no better experience than being guided by a local! 

In the final days of November, I returned back to Florida and spent the final month of 2021 living out of my parents’ guest room. During this time, I also took two short trips to Orlando, one of which was to be part of the awards ceremony for The Orlando Local News, of which I have served as the Business Director since my friend Marshall Swanson revitalized the paper (in both print and online formats) in the earlier part of 2020. I also went back two weeks later to record the 100th episode of the Agents of Innovation podcast. The next week, my parents and I traveled up to Albany, Georgia to visit my brother Manny and his wife Tiffany for Christmas. This was now the second year in a row we have spent Christmas there (and thankfully it was much more pleasant weather this year!) 

One of the great things I also did this year was listen to the Bible in a Year podcast with Father Mike Schmitz. While I didn’t listen every day, on the days I missed, I caught up on other days. But most days were filled with about 25 minutes of listening to the Bible and Father Mike’s short commentary after the readings. And we completed the entire Bible in one year. Completing the Bible is something I’ve always wanted to do and this year it happened. Filling each day with the Word of the Lord is such a powerful reminder that God is with us through everything and He restores all things!

As I look ahead to 2022, I am looking forward to seeing some live music – Marc Broussard in Boca Raton on January 5 and Melodime at the State Theatre in Falls Church, Virginia on March 19 are already dates on my calendar. After the past two years, we all need more live music in our lives – especially me!

I will also be returning to Guatemala on January 15. I have been invited to be part of the Antigua Forum as well as teach a consolidated 4-week version of my course on entrepreneurship and innovation back at UFM. I’ll then return to South Florida around February 20 and will serve as the Miami regional coordinator for National Review Institute’s Burke-to-Buckley program which is taking place in Miami for the first time. It is an 8-session dinner discussion group made up of about 20 Miami-area residents, with notable guest discussion leaders each week. That course will take place on 8 different evenings between February and April. 

During that time, I plan to continue  to live and work from my parent’s home in Boynton Beach. Of course, I’ll also return back to Guatemala for about 10 days or so to run the next Fearless Journeys group trip April 2-9, 2022. Perhaps you’ll want to join?

When I return more permanently from Guatemala in mid-April, my plans are to release my book soon after, find a place to settle down back in Florida (likely Orlando), and continue to build and operate the Fearless Journeys community. In addition, I’ll be in the midst of planning and executing on at least one or two other group trips that will take place in 2022. 

We can make plans all we want, but we all life happens. As I write this on the final day of 2021, it is in the wake of horrendous fires in Colorado, where my brother Tony, his wife, and two children both moved to (from California) earlier this year. Just yesterday they had to evacuate their home and go to safety. When he went back to check today, nearly his entire neighborhood and over 600 homes in the surrounding area were burned to the ground. His was still standing, with some internal damage, but miraculously in overall good shape. It is another disruption to his family’s life in a series of years of disruption. But he and his family are safe and most of their property is as well. There are challenges, but still so much to be grateful for.

Two months after I got to Guatemala this year, I remember having a thought about all the possessions I owned, most of which were sitting in my storage unit in Orlando (and still are). I almost couldn’t remember “what” was there. When I put them all in the storage unit and cleared out my wonderful condo in Orlando, which I moved out of, I was a bit emotional. Was I doing the right thing? My possessions didn’t look as nice sitting in a storage unit. But then two months later after living many wonderful experiences in Guatemala, I almost could not remember what was even in that storage unit. Those things didn’t matter to me anymore. I realized the only thing I missed were friends and family and the things I cherished most were the content I was producing through my writing, podcasts, and YouTube channel and the experiences I was having interacting with so many new people and discovering new places and perspectives. That’s what life is about.

While in Guatemala, I lived in two places. From March to May, I lived in a high rise condo building with a new roommate, Alvaro. I connected to him through my Venezeula friend Jorge who I had met a few years ago in Florida. One of Jorge’s roommates at FAU was Luis, who is from Guatemala. Luis connected me with Alvaro, who had a spare room to rent out in a great condo building in Zone 10. After I came back to Guatemala in July, that room was no longer available, but I found a house (through Airbnb) and lucked out upon an amazing place only a few minutes walk to the entrance of UFM. I rented a room in a 4-bedroom how with amazing roommates, led by Pierre (whose family owns the house), Rodrigo (a local Guatemalan and UFM alum) and Lorenz (of Germany, who is also doing work in Guatemala). What was nice is my friend Dan Vineberg from Montreal, Canada ended up renting that room out for a month after I left (he overstayed from the Fearless Journeys group trip to Guatemala!) It was great to get to know all of these guys through this experience.

I’m also reminded at the end of this year that as much as we build habits and plan, we are never fully in control. But we can’t just throw our hands up. We must simply focus on what we can control and persevere through the rest. And, as I’ve learned and reiterated to so many throughout so many parts of this year: we are all on a journey; none of us should take a journey alone; we should find guides, mentors, and build relationships with friends and family. And we shouldn’t cower to fear or anxiety, but go forth boldly and courageously.

I am reminded constantly of the words starting in Matthew 6:25 “Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat [or drink] or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span? …. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.” 

My hope and aspiration is to continue to find inspiration from others and do my part to share their wisdom and my experiences to provide a little inspiration for others along my path. Whether that is through writing, connections, relationships, or travel, there is so much more left to explore. 2022 here we come!