Field Notes

May 15, 2026 6 min read

From the Wall Street Journal: A Former Navy SEAL on How to Raise Confident, Risk-Taking Kids

I wanted to share my recent Wall Street Journal Interview with Pamela Paul …I’ll share some other great podcasts and interviews in the coming weeks. Thank you all for buying or gifting my new book, Puddle Jumpers, and please share this with someone you think it would help. Full Interview from the Wall Street JournalBy Pamela Paul Brandon Webb is... I wanted to share my recent Wall Street Journal Interview with Pamela Paul …I’ll share some other great...

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May 12, 2026 4 min read

The Parking Lot Moment That Changed Everything I Thought I Knew About Raising Kids.

We had just come off the mountain after a long day of skiing. Legs smoked. Everyone ready to get home. And my youngest, Tyler, spotted it in the parking lot.A half-frozen puddle of mud and slush so gnarly it looked like it had its own ecosystem.His face lit up. He started running straight for it with the delight of a... We had just come off the mountain after a long day of skiing. Legs smoked. Everyone ready to...

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May 4, 2026 8 min read

What a Handwritten Postcard From My Daughter Taught Me About Twenty Years of Parenting.

My daughter Madison and her friend, Tali, from grad came to visit me in Lisbon recently. They flew in from London, where they are both studying, and we spent a week doing what I love most when my kids show up here. Good food. Long talks. Movie night and a bit of spoiling. When they left, Madison put a postcard... My daughter Madison and her friend, Tali, from grad came to visit me in Lisbon recently. They flew...

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April 27, 2026 7 min read

AI Is Eating White Collar Jobs From the Bottom Up. Is Your Kid's College Major in the Way?

Kids and school can be tough, and it’s gettin’ tougher! My youngest, Tyler, was on the verge of failing out of eighth grade. I am not talking about a rough semester. I am talking about a kid who had checked out of the system entirely…Turns out he just had a bad teacher and that was affecting him in a negative... Kids and school can be tough, and it’s gettin’ tougher! My youngest, Tyler, was on the verge of...

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April 23, 2026 6 min read

I Sent Two of My Kids to College in the UK. Most Americans Have No Idea What They’re Missing.

My son went to St. Andrews. My daughter studied design at Goldsmiths, University of London. We saved hundreds of thousands of dollars compared to what their American peers paid. Here is exactly how.In 2024, my daughter Madison visited me in Lisbon during her summer break from Goldsmiths, University of London, where she was finishing her design degree. We sat down... My son went to St. Andrews. My daughter studied design at Goldsmiths, University of London. We saved hundreds...

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April 20, 2026 11 min read

Nobody Is Coming to Teach Your Kids About Finance. Except You.

Inflation, student debt, outrageous medical expenses, and a housing market that is starting to look a lot like the movie, The Big Short, all over again…Our kids are inheriting a financial mess in America.Most Americans still talk about the “American Dream,” but the data looks more like an American Nightmare.A few years back, I attended a one-week seminar by a... Inflation, student debt, outrageous medical expenses, and a housing market that is starting to look a lot like...

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April 17, 2026 6 min read

Your Kids Are Swimming in a Sea of Garbage. Here Is How to Teach Them to Swim.

I want to tell you something nobody in your social media feed has the spine to say out loud: the world your kid wakes up to every morning is, in large measure, a professionally engineered slaughterhouse of confidence. Algorithms tuned to outrage.Comment sections that would make a seasoned priest question humanity. Influencers selling manufactured cynicism like it is a lifestyle.... I want to tell you something nobody in your social media feed has the spine to say out...

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April 14, 2026 4 min read

The Art of Raising Leaders

If you want to raise a leader who can walk through fire, you have to stop protecting them from the world and start preparing them for it.As you know from my writing, I’ve always been a proponent of the Puddle Jumper mindset. It is that “ordinary magic” of being allowed to fail, get dirty, and realize you are the one... If you want to raise a leader who can walk through fire, you have to stop protecting them...

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April 7, 2026 4 min read

A Navy SEAL's 3 Tips to Keep Your Family Safe on Vacation

I love extreme family trips. Skiing, SCUBA, travel, and more…Recently I was reading about the skiers who perished in the Tahoe Donner avalanche in February and it became clear that it was a textbook failure in risk mitigation.For those of you unfamiliar, a group of fifteen experienced skiers were on a guided backcountry ski trip near Donner pass in California... I love extreme family trips. Skiing, SCUBA, travel, and more…Recently I was reading about the skiers who perished...

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April 6, 2026 5 min read

How Fun Adventures Keep Your Kids Coming Back to Visit

Right now, you might be surrounded by the scattered blast radius of young kids…stray socks, dirty clothes, half-eaten sandwiches, and the constant glow of screens reflected on your kids faces. But there is a silent, inevitable date approaching. One day soon, the house will be quiet, and the only thing that will determine if your adult children want to spend... Right now, you might be surrounded by the scattered blast radius of young kids…stray socks, dirty clothes, half-eaten...

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March 27, 2026 4 min read

A Father’s Guide to Raising a Confident & Capable Daughter

A lot parents spend too much time trying to protect their kids. Especially the first one. The second? Go ahead and bang your head on the table, you need to learn…haha. Am I right?We see a jagged edge and reach for the foam tape. Some build fences instead of giving kids the gate key and the freedom to roam. Then... A lot parents spend too much time trying to protect their kids. Especially the first one. The second?...

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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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