California shaped how I think about strategy, innovation, and foresight more than any other place. It expanded my perception. Being back in Los Angeles reminded me of a fundamental:

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗼𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗲 - something to test, rather than debate.

𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝗯𝗮𝘁𝗲. 𝗜𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

Here’s what that mindset gets right:

𝟭. 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗿𝘂𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝘀 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 - You’re allowed to question the default.Not to destroy it but to redesign what no longer serves.

𝟮. 𝗠𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁. 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝘀 - You sense. You build. You iterate. The system catches up later.

𝟯. 𝗢𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 - The conviction that better systems can be built, and that you’re responsible for building them.

𝟰. 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘀 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 - Breath. Nervous system. Embodiment. Clarity infrastructure for decision-making and innovation, not soft add-ons.

𝟱. 𝗕𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 - Aerospace sits next to meditation studios. AI founders share space with artists. Venture capital flows into longevity and human performance. Innovation happens at the intersections.

𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗲, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁.𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗼𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗲. 𝗔 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁.