Identity at Bat

We all hit moments where the ground shifts, where what used to define us no longer fits.

This week, I’m sharing a story about moving forward when a dream ends, and what it looks like to rebuild not just a career, but an identity. From early ambition to quiet reinvention, it’s about learning to carry purpose when the title no longer does the heavy lifting.

The last game I ever caught was a no-hitter.

After that game, I was no longer a baseball player. And even though I still held on to those quiet, naive dreams that maybe a call would come, that chapter was over.

Baseball was my first real dream. I chased it hard. I got drafted, played NCAA and represented my country. And then one day, it ended. It’s something everyone deals with in their own way, when one version of yourself stops leading and you have to figure out who you are without it.

For me, I dealt with it through a mix of early sadness from the beating with the reality stick, and then changed my perspective and opened my mind.

Something else kicked in too. I’d always been creative. Growing up I would draw all day, in high school and university I wrote poetry. I think that sense of creativity helped me reimagine my life beyond a career in athletics. Through building something meaningful from scratch. I applied that blend of skills I learned from baseball differently (discipline, handwork, determination, teamwork) and it became my edge.

So I started leaning on the tools I had, rather than the title. I poured myself into business. Into identifying opportunities through problem recognition. SAXX was the first big win, but I had some early failures I will share along the way too.

Ria and I at a tradeshow in the early SAXX days.

And like most things in life, the chapters kept turning.

After a few companies, Ria and I found ourselves in another transition. I wasn’t the all-in entrepreneur anymore. That intensity, that identity, didn’t feel like the whole story anymore. I was a dad, we were growing a family and those are my priorities now.

Ria and I talk a lot about the difference between identity and purpose.

• Identity is what you’re known for.

• Purpose is what you’re made for, what your natured to do.

And when the title fades, when the company sells, when your name’s no longer on the door, what’s left? I sold SAXX because I knew it would more quickly reach its potential in the hands of expert with distribution - it wasn’t my identity and it didn’t serve the idea to selfishly keep my name on the CEO.

Now, we focus on finding purpose daily. It’s less about scale and speed, and more about depth.

About giving back. About mentoring, teaching, creating space for others to dream. About writing again, not (as much) poetry this time, but reflections, frameworks, stories worth passing on. It’s a constant, and we’re still working on it.

That’s what The Fountain is all about. A place to pour into others. A way to keep creating and being of service. A reminder that reinvention isn’t just possible, it’s necessary and nothing will be the same forever. A surface area of positivity and sharing in the Truth Tree.

If you’re in that space now, between who you were and who you’re becoming, I get it. I've been there. Sit with it. It might be uncomfortable, but there’s power in the in-between. Don’t rush to name it. Let it shape you. And when the next chapter reveals itself, you’ll know how to show up, with purpose and an open mind to the person you will grow to become.

Please reach out or leave a comment if you've been there, are there, or think I've missed something about this very important topic.