It’s been a while since I’ve had anything to say.

Having completed my tenure (and earn out) with SDL last November I lost a bit of my identity that I had been building for the previous four years. I have no regrets and will always treasure the memories of building a start up (Lift9) to its eventual acquisition by SDL. But right now, I’m very focused on the present and the future. The unknown of what’s ahead excites me and keeps me engaged with life.

During the last 10 months since SDL, I’ve had the privilege of spending a couple of months in Montpellier, France, attending the World Cup in Brazil, and playing a lot of golf. I’ve also found another start up to join that has technology around gathering relevant visual content and insights – SocialGlimpz.

Yet, transitions are difficult to maneuver through at any age. This transition has been made somewhat more difficult for me by a few life events. First, my mother has gotten ill and our family moved to Federal Way (southern suburb of Seattle) to live across the street from her. My wife, Shari Song, also decided to run for a Washington State Senate  seat and has been on a full sprint running her campaign most of the year.

Years ago, as a serial entrepreneur, I had written several documents that act as my compass in times of need. One is my “Code of Conduct” document that outlines the four important elements of my life (Living, Self-Awareness, Motivation and Responsibility) and my goals and objectives for each. Revisiting this document always directs me back on my life path.

Another document is my “Experiential Living Top 50 list”. Here, I write down my most memorable experiences and rank them. I then categorize into four buckets (Family, Career, Sport/School and Exploration). This helps me to understand which experiences are the most personally impacting. In addition, I get to live hopeful that a new experience will eventually top the list!

Lastly, at times of transition, I usually rewrite my “What I want to accomplish” list (25). I focus on the top five on this list and am somewhat weary of the rest of the list. This gives me clear goals AND a list of potentially dangerously distracting items. This is a method advocated by Warren Buffet who is a notoriously focused person.