Longform Writing

I face a dilemma, and I believe it’s a common one. Where should I spend my side project time? We all have ideas and passions. We all want financial stability and/or independence. But we have limited free time for side projects. So how do you decide…

We’ve been making slow but steady progress on starting a non-profit to help other amputees, but we still have a long ways to go. In a way, the decision to go the non-profit route was the easiest decision to make, but it was still incredibly scary. It’s…

As my leg has improved since amputation and gradually been able to handle more, I’ve thrown more at it. Like with any physical activity, however, it never gets easier. You just push yourself harder. Lately, after workouts, I’ve come home and been in…

it’s been two years since my elective left below-knee amputation. It’s been more challenging than I anticipated, but there’s still no regrets. Recovery hasn’t been as straight of a line as I’d like. Instead, it’s more of a really slow and boring roller…

You know that feeling when you have an idea and it’s about something so deeply personal that you can’t stop thinking about it? Then you notice that, through a series of events in your life, the stars have been quietly aligning for years to make it…

Eight years ago, I wrote a blog post about how starting was easier than sustaining. It rings just as true today. A few years after that, I wrote a book sharing what I had learned building and running a web application as a sole founder. Here we are a…

A year ago, I was starting physical therapy after a below-knee amputation. Yesterday morning, for the first time in my life, I ran a 5k–at 8,800 feet of elevation no less. Well, I ran most of it. It took fourty-one minutes. For context, the first place…

A year ago today, I had my left leg amputated below my knee. I’ve still got a ways to go in recovery, but the worst all seems to be behind me. I’ve gone to the beach with my family, snowboarded, mountain biked, played full-court basketball, and much…

I’m working on a big update to Starting & Sustaining to add in my experience gained running Sifter through my health problems. I also have some lessons learned through selling it. What started out as a whimsical plan to fill in some gaps and expand…

In general, life post-amputation is great. Learning to deal with it is certainly an adjustment, and there are new challenges every day. For the most part, the only rough patches are those without my leg. But, there’s another downside, and it’s kind of…

Saturday, I spent the morning with a group of amputees at a running and mobility clinic put on by the Challenged Athletes Foundation. In the days leading up to it, we were in the process of moving, and I had been pushing my leg a bit too hard. It was in…

This time last year, I was still debating whether to settle with my ankle fusion or move forward with amputation. I was about one year into my ankle fusion recovery, but it was still painful. So I tried snowboarding with it. I barely made it down one…

On March 1st, 2016, JD and team took the reigns of Sifter. That day, it absolutely felt like the right decision, but now, with a year’s worth of perspective, how does it feel? Even better. Handing over a project after pouring eight years of your life…

I had it made. I was running a comfortably profitable low-six-figure revenue company, and I answered to nobody but myself and customers. Growth wasn’t explosive, but business was healthy, and financially, I was doing well. So why leave it all behind?…

This year, I had my left leg amputated below the knee, and it took off the blinders to how privileged and lucky I have been. As I recover and catch up with friends and acquaintances, everyone is encouraging. People occasionally use the word…

I forgot how much easier life is when you have two legs the entire day. Three months after my amputation, I’m finally able to get through most of the day with my prosthesis, and it’s amazing. Not entirely pain-free, but still amazing. I’ve even started…

Three years ago, I was in intensive care trying to save my foot. Our first daughter was two, and I had to miss her first real Halloween. Just days before, we had learned that the surgery that put me in ICU was unsuccessful and we’d have to try again. In…

You may not know this, but a few weeks ago, I had my left leg amputated below the knee. About six months before that I sold Sifter. The two events are somewhat related, but they didn’t have to be. Financially, things were great because recurring revenue…

It seems that more and more people have visions of someday being self-employed. There are plenty of good reasons to pursue this, but there’s also a strong case to be made for the steady reliability of a 9-to-5 job working for someone else. Having spent…

Elective amputation is a nerve-wracking decision. There’s no way to go back if it doesn’t work out, and there’s almost always other options to explore. The result is a constant temptation to exhaust every available option that isn’t permanent before…