The People, Process, & Progress Podcast - You Are Not Behind: Keep Building

Episode Date: February 26, 2026

A lot of young people feel like they are already late. Late to choose the right major, late to land the right job, late to make real money, late to figure life out. In this episode, I share the long arc of my own path, from joining the Navy at 19 to working IT support at 25, going back to college at 29, graduating at 32 with a newborn at home, serving in public health and emergency management through my late 30s, becoming an EMS Captain at 41, and eventually leading an enterprise IT PMO. Along the way, I also built strength in my 40s, earned my Brazilian Jiu Jitsu blue belt, and continued to grow in faith and discipline. This conversation is a reminder that your twenties are not a deadline; they are a runway. You are not behind, you are building.

Please silence your cell phones, hold all sidebar conversations to a minimum, and we will get into this episode of the People Process Progress Podcast in three, two, one. There's a quiet panic running through high schools, college, maybe even post college young folks these days. Young men and women in their teens, 20s, maybe early 30s, they already feel late. late to choose the right major, late to lay on the right internship, to make real money, to figure out who they are. And I want to say this clearly, you are not behind. I recently put two photos side by side. One was taken when I was 19 in the U.S. Navy, working as a hospital corpsman standing on the deck of the U.S.NS comfort, a hospital ship. He was young, I was confident.

Absolutely no idea what the next 30 years would look like. The other was taken a couple years ago, about a year and a half. I was 50 years old carrying kettlebells in my driveway here in Blacksburg, still training, still building, different season. Same commitment to life, though. If you had to ask the 19-year-old me to map out my career, I could not have done it. In fact, what I thought I was going to map out in my mind changed so many times between now and then and now. I joined the Navy at 19. I learned discipline.

I learned responsibility. solve suffering, critical care. I learned that life is fragile and that leadership is personal. 25, I moved into IT support, not leadership, no corner office, support, solving tickets, learning systems, learning how organizations actually function. At 29, I went back to college. At 32, I graduated with a newborn at home. There was nothing glamorous about that season. It was work, diapers, studying, repeat. Through my late 30s, I worked in public health and health care emergency management. I stayed involved in the fire service. And at 41, I became an EMS captain. A couple years later, I shifted into healthcare IT project management,

which eventually led to leading an enterprise IT project management office. None of that was obvious at 19. There was no straight line. There was no moment where I said, this is the perfect path. There was just the next responsible step. Somewhere along the way, we started telling young adults that they need to get it right early. Pick the right major, pick the right job, hit six figures fast, do not waste time.

What that does is create anxiety where there should be exploration. Your 20s are not a deadline. They're a runway. You're not supposed to have your life fully architected at 22. You're supposed to build capacity, skills, judgment, character, work ethic, faith, resilience. Incoming titles tend to follow those things over time, and they rarely precede them. People around you matter more than your job title in your 20s. mentors, coaches, leaders who give you responsibility, friends who push you to grow.

Early in my career, what shaped me most were not job descriptions was the people who trusted me with hard things. If you're young, focus on becoming trustworthy. That compounds over time. You do not need a perfect life plan. You need a process. Show up, learn, take ownership of the job in front of you, ask questions, build skills that transfer. the ownership I learned in the Navy applied in IT support. The discipline I built in emergency management applies in project management.

The training mindset I use in the gym applies to leadership. Process transfers. Progress is not linear. In my 40s, I hit a lifetime max in my deadlift, bench, press, and squat. I earned my Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Blue Belt. I grew in my faith. I became a better father. According to social media timelines, that's backwards.

You're supposed to peak early and then maintain. That has not been my experience. There's no expiration date on growth. You can build strength at 45. You can pivot careers at 40. You can go back to school at 29. You can start over at 25. If you measure yourself against someone else's highlight reel,

you will always feel late. If you measure yourself against who you were a year ago, you will see growth. Anchor yourself in something steady, service, discipline, faith, something bigger than income. Because if money is your only school, scoreboard, you will still feel behind for the most of your life. If you're in high school, college, or your mid-20s and you feel behind, here's what I would tell you. Focus on becoming

dependable. Take care of your body. Learn how organizations work. Say yes to responsibility. Stay humble enough to start small. And understand that the job you have at 22 is not your final identity. It is a chapter. That photo of me at 19 was not the beginning of a perfectly mapped plan. And the photo of me now is not the end of anything. It's just another season. Life unfolds in seasons. You are not late. You are early in a story that is still being written. Keep building. Godspeed everybody. Thank you for listening. Share this for those that need to hear it. Visit people process progress.com for more stability equation information. There's seven pillars of ownership, mindfulness, movement, boundaries, connections, sleep and faith that can help you

keep telling your story. And then of course good planning and project management guidance. They can help you plan your life. Take care.