The year 2000 came and went. Y2K fizzled, the clocks kept ticking, and the digital world did not fall apart after all. But my own world was beginning to shift.
By this time, my daughters were grown, or nearly so, and life had taken on a new shape. AMBASSADOR BOARD BBS had faded as the Internet blossomed.
August of 2001 saw me move half way across a continent. From Canada to the U.S.A. Kansas became home. I was just getting settled in. Getting my feet wet. Figuring things out. And disaster struck.
September 11, 2001 at 7:46 AM CDT the world as we knew it changed. Regular border crossings were no longer easy. Running my Canadian-based business from the U.S. became impossible. Massive change arrived swiftly and uninvited, reshaping everything..
I sold off my ISP, closed the doors on the local server room, and stepped back from the hardware and wires. The pulse of connection was moving in a new direction; and so was I.
To make money quickly, to earn a living, my new soon-to-be wife and I turned to online sales. I sold websites. Lora became the online expert in used shoes. Who knew so many people would step into other people's shoes. Literally.
I was stepping away from the breakneck pace of the dial-up revolution and corporate IT. But I was far from done.
Instead, I began building again. This time, not just systems; but support structures. Websites for small business owners. Hosting packages for people with ideas. Digital resources for those who wanted to reach others without getting lost in the tech. I found myself helping people set up their first domain, write their first email sequence, record their first course video; even if that meant walking them through how to turn on their webcam.
In short: I became the guide I wish I had had.
By the late 2000s, WordPress had become the new frontier; and I staked my claim. I began building membership sites, content delivery portals, client dashboards, and training hubs, often for those who had no idea such things were even possible. I became known as the WordPress Wizard; a name that stuck not just because I knew the platform, but because I helped demystify it.
Through it all, I never stopped learning. I kept up with the rise of mobile, the explosion of social media, the pivot to video, the shift to streaming, and eventually, the evolution of artificial intelligence.
I was there when online business became the business. I lived through SEO fads, algorithm changes, and countless gurus promising six-figure dreams. I kept showing up; as myself, offering clarity, not hype.
At some point, I began calling myself the Coach’s Coach. It felt right. I was not just building websites anymore. I was building confidence. Empowering others to create, connect, and succeed online. My mission evolved into a simple statement:
"To give as much value as I can, to as many as I can, as often as I can, for as long as I can."
In these years, I built multiple websites of my own; some as community resources, others as full-fledged businesses, and a few simply to give back.
Kansas offered not only space to work but space to reflect.
I was no longer the kid in the computer center with punch cards or the guy wiring a modem in someone’s living room. I had become the elder on the path; the one with a lantern, a compass, and a hand outstretched.
And still, I am here.
📌 Still building.
📌 Still writing.
📌 Still guiding.
Not because I have to; but because I get to.