On my first day as a teacher, a vice principal said something that didn’t make sense at the time:

“We all have a shelf life. Pay attention to yours.”

Years later, that line came back and quietly changed my direction.

In this episode, I reflect on the mentors, moments, and early clues that shaped a career I never thoroughly planned — from discovering how music wired my brain, to learning the importance of sharing the spotlight, to recognizing when it was time to pivot.

This isn’t an episode about chasing a perfect path.

It’s about noticing patterns.

Listening for signals.

And learning to trust discernment more than rigid planning.

We explore:

• ​How curiosity often shows up as a quiet clue
• ​The difference between regret and trade-offs
• ​Why breadth has a “price of admission.”
• ​How mentors give us lines we don’t understand until we need them
• ​What a real “shelf life moment” feels like

If you’ve ever felt a gentle nudge that something in your life is shifting — or wondered whether it’s time to choose a new road — this episode is an invitation to pause, listen, and reflect.

A last-minute shoe purchase at Heathrow turns into a surprisingly useful life lesson: planning feels like identity, but follow-through is character. Along the way, I use AI as a pocket guide, run a values audit with a zipper, and learn how “good gear” doesn’t change your life—it changes your Tuesdays. This one’s about making the weight, leaving space, and choosing one decision that moves you forward.

I didn’t have a great relationship with water—unless my feet could touch the ground. So it’s weird that scuba became one of my greatest pursuits. But the turning point was simple: I saw bubbles coming off a reef in Cancun…and I watched three divers move like calm, competent ninjas—graceful, skilled, and led by someone who knew how to take care of others. That moment changed my direction.

In Episode 2, I trace the thread from fear to curiosity, tell the “overinflated life jacket” origin story, and share the learning model scuba gave me—start in standing depth, build capability, then go deeper. Plus one rule that stuck with me: as long as you have air in your lungs, you have time—and if you have time, you can figure it out.

Takeaway: don’t rush deep water. Build skills in standing depth, and let curiosity lead. One breath at a time.