Field Notes

March 25, 2026 3 min read

The Bubble Trap: Why Safety is Your Child’s Greatest Risk

The world is a rough place, and it doesn’t have a “safety” switch. Then there’s the irony that a lot of parenting advice comes from Madison Avenue’s advertising agencies and people in government pushing policy and opinions on us parents. Most have never had to juggle dirty diapers with no sleep. All while trying to make ends meet and still... The world is a rough place, and it doesn’t have a “safety” switch. Then there’s the irony that...

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March 24, 2026 4 min read

Sometimes Saying "I'm Sorry" Is the Ultimate SEAL Team Move for Your Family

I heard laughing, and then a loud crash and boom that sounded like it came from my guest bathroom.Oh sh*t. I walked out to find Madison running for cover, and my youngest, Tyler , looking guilty. , Tyler, and I at his high school graduation. I told he was big!) I stepped in and took a look in my newly... I heard laughing, and then a loud crash and boom that sounded like it came from my guest...

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March 20, 2026 7 min read

a gen z manual for parents

as a former navy seal, and intelligence operative, i have spent a lot of my life operating in the shadows and conducting operartions in some of the most hostile environments on the planet. my book, puddle jumpers talks about the leaps of faith we take in life, but nothing has tested my patience quite like raising my three gen z... as a former navy seal, and intelligence operative, i have spent a lot of my life operating in...

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March 16, 2026 2 min read

Why 15 Minutes of Unfiltered Presence Beats a Weekend of Half-Hearted Parenting

I see a lot of parents who are ghosts in their own homes, haunting their kids with a physical presence while their brains are trapped in a digital and career dungeon. They sit on the sidelines like a sack of wet flour, staring at a glowing rectangle while their children scream for a witness to their existence. If you want... I see a lot of parents who are ghosts in their own homes, haunting their kids with a...

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March 12, 2026 4 min read

How to Build Unshakeable Loyalty with Your Children by Admitting You Are Wrong

When I was a Navy SEAL sniper, if you miscalculate the wind or make a bad shot, you don’t stand around pretending it was out of your control. You own it. You fix yourself and you move on.When it comes to parenting, some parents think they need to maintain the facade of perfection. They treat their kids like some sort... When I was a Navy SEAL sniper, if you miscalculate the wind or make a bad shot, you...

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March 9, 2026 4 min read

Don't Let Career Success Be a Failure at Home

You focus all your energy on your career and justify it with internal self-talk that goes something like, “I’m doing this for my family.” But it never stops and over the years time away from your kids compounds and puts you at risk of not having built a meaningful relationship. You tell yourself it is all for them. You tell... You focus all your energy on your career and justify it with internal self-talk that goes something like,...

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March 2, 2026 4 min read

Why Asking Better Questions Can Uncover Your Child’s Hidden Pressures

Let’s be honest. As parents, we often think we know our kids inside out. But as they hit their late teens, a whole new world of complexities and pressures opens up for them, and we might be missing the boat. We tend to focus on the external only. Grades, activities, obvious milestones, and forget that the real treasure, the hidden... Let’s be honest. As parents, we often think we know our kids inside out. But as they hit...

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February 22, 2026 5 min read

The Son I Met Through a Satellite Phone

Right after the 9/11 attack in the US I found myself deployed as a sniper in Afghanistan with SEAL Team 3. 7,000 miles away from the birth of my first son who I learned of from a satellite phone after an intense multi-day mission in the north of Afghanistan. . I didn’t smell his little head. I didn’t hold my... Right after the 9/11 attack in the US I found myself deployed as a sniper in Afghanistan with...

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February 16, 2026 5 min read

The Company You Keep: A Father’s Hard Truth About Reputation and the Epstein Fallout

I spent a decade in the Navy SEALs and eventually walked away from a great career because my kids were more important to me. Raising kids is perhaps the toughest but, most rewarding job I’ve had. A big opportunity we can use as parents is using current events to teach our kids about life. I’ve used the toxic wreckage left... I spent a decade in the Navy SEALs and eventually walked away from a great career because my...

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February 6, 2026 2 min read

Why Our Kids Need More Than Just Disney

We live in a globally connected world, whether you like it or not. Regardless of what the political fast food shoved in front of our faces daily says, it is only going to get more so. Our kids are going to be dealing with people from every corner of the planet, and if their only frame of reference is TikTok... We live in a globally connected world, whether you like it or not. Regardless of what the political...

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February 3, 2026 4 min read

Parenting ROI: When Your Kids Become Adult Friends You Actually Want to Vacation With

As I get older, I’ve realized the most significant win of my life didn’t happen in the Navy SEAL Teams or with any business I’ve run. It happened at a dinner table in Lisbon, while swimming in Capri, and on a ski lift in the mountains.The ultimate win as a parent is when your grown kids turn into people you... As I get older, I’ve realized the most significant win of my life didn’t happen in the Navy...

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January 30, 2026 4 min read

The Best Kind of Brave: Why My Daughter is My Hero Today and Every Day

Twenty-two years ago, after almost having a roadside birth, I was handed a tiny little girl at the birth center in Mission Hills, California. I’d missed my son’s birth while deployed to Afghanistan with SEAL Team 3 in 2001 so this was all new to me. She looked remarkably like she’d already seen the dark side of the moon and... Twenty-two years ago, after almost having a roadside birth, I was handed a tiny little girl at the...

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January 26, 2026 4 min read

How to talk to your children about the Minnesota shootings

The news cycle is bad enough on a good day, but lately, the headlines have been gut-wrenching. Enough have asked, so here it is: As someone who used to carry a gun professionally, and having watched the extensive video footage on both incidents, these shootings should NEVER have happened. A total leadership failure, and the officers involved will have to... The news cycle is bad enough on a good day, but lately, the headlines have been gut-wrenching. Enough...

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January 23, 2026 4 min read

The Parenting ROI: Are You Raising a Captain or a Casualty?

The parenting industrial complex is a predatory beast, a multi-billion-dollar machine fueled by the neuroses of successful adults who think they can buy their way to a “correct” childhood. It is a parade of soft-handed experts and Instagram gurus selling a version of domestic bliss that is about as real as Trump buying Greenland. They chase perfection, but parenting is... The parenting industrial complex is a predatory beast, a multi-billion-dollar machine fueled by the neuroses of successful adults...

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January 20, 2026 3 min read

The Truth About Money No One Wants to Say Until It’s an Emergency

Last week, my 21-year-old daughter scared the hell out of me and her mom. One minute, life is normal. The next minute, your daughter is sitting in a public ER in London that feels like a DMV designed by Putin.Health issues can come out of nowhere. Fluorescent lights, uncomfortable chairs, and a waiting room full of people quietly realizing the... Last week, my 21-year-old daughter scared the hell out of me and her mom. One minute, life is...

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January 17, 2026 13 min read

Write It Down. Make It Real.

Every year, I take a personal trip to read, reflect, and write down my goals for the coming year. Last year I went to Austria, and this year it was Paris. I preferred the loud silence of the Austrian Alps to the Parisian bustle, and next year will be someplace with fewer distractions. I am sharing this personal goals and... Every year, I take a personal trip to read, reflect, and write down my goals for the coming...

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January 14, 2026 3 min read

Why Letting Kids Fail Is an Act of Love

Every parent I know wants the same thing. We want our kids to be happy, confident, and safe. Somewhere along the way, though, many of us started confusing protection with preparation. In trying to shield our kids from discomfort, disappointment, and failure, we are robbing them of the very experiences that make adulthood survivable.The real world does not come with... Every parent I know wants the same thing. We want our kids to be happy, confident, and safe....

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January 12, 2026 4 min read

Be the Calm "Airline Captain" Voice in the Cabin for Your Kids

The world feels really loud right now. Media competes for our attention with urgency, outrage, and worst case scenarios. The modern news cycle does not exist to make you wiser. It exists to keep you activated. Triggered even. Fear keeps people scrolling. Calm sends them offline to the Maldives.What’s changed is not that the world is dangerous. The world has... The world feels really loud right now. Media competes for our attention with urgency, outrage, and worst case...

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January 8, 2026 2 min read

Your kids don’t need better rules. They need a calmer leader.

Most parents… React instead of regulate.Project instead of pause.Try to control outcomes instead of shaping mindset.I learned this the hard way.As a Navy SEAL sniper, before we ever touched a rifle, we trained the mind.Breathing. Visualization. Positive Self-talk.Because panic kills performance.Parenting is no different.Your kids don’t need you louder.They need you calmer.They’re constantly recording the world through your reactions.Your tone... Most parents… React instead of regulate.Project instead of pause.Try to control outcomes instead of shaping mindset.I learned this...

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January 7, 2026 3 min read

Small Skills, Big Confidence

I’ve tracked terrorists in the mountains for a living, and I’ve watched boarding teams take over hostile ships at a thousand feet as a helicopter sniper. None of that compares to teaching a kid how to tie their shoes and seeing that big grin of accomplishment like they just summited Everest in the 1930s.Here’s the truth most people miss. Little... I’ve tracked terrorists in the mountains for a living, and I’ve watched boarding teams take over hostile ships...

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