I started this blog more than 5 years ago to share my journey as I battled stage 4 throat cancer.   It was a tough fight, and it was often difficult to write about it.  I stopped posting in the middle of the journey. When I look back at my posts, it sometimes seems like I am reading words written by a different person.  Was that really me?  Did I really go through that experience? Yes, it was me; and yes, I did go through that.  The persistent reminder of that chapter of my life is my voice.  The radiation treatment caused scar tissue on my vocal cords, and so no more tenor solos for me.  But the raspy voice was a small price to pay for where I am now.  A few months back my oncologist released me from periodic scans and check-ups.  The cancer is gone and, according to the experts, unlikely to come back.  We won the battle.   

It is now time for me to repurpose this blog and transition to writing about more forward-looking topics.  (And yes, I know; it is also just time for me to get back to writing and sharing.)  Two current passions of mine are “Wellness Health Extension” and “New Technology Adoption.” These topics have become significant parts of my portfolio of activities these days. 

I own and operate a wellness center called RPL Personal Solutions.  RPL stands for Recovery, Performance and Longevity.  These three words define the categories of our clients, or at least their initial goals when they first visit RPL.  People of all ages come for help with Recovery from injury, surgery, or fatigue.   Athletes come for help with achieving a higher level of Performance.  And the largest group are those who want to achieve and maintain functional Longevity.  RPL’s niche involves the use of technologies used regularly by professional athletes, performers, and the affluent, but not widely accessible to the average person.  Indeed, many people simply don’t have knowledge or experience with the benefits of these technologies.  In any event, this is one component of my interest in wellness and health extension.  Check out: RPLpersonalsolutions.com  My own experience with cancer threw me into the middle of this big pond and motivated me to open RPL.  Plus, I have been a keen student (and sometimes experimenter) when it comes to health, fitness and life extension. 

The challenges around New Technology Adoption have been part of my professional focus and a big part of my work for many years.  This is not a new thing for me.  But, in my view, it has taken on a greater level of importance today with exponential technologies riding ever increasing computing power and speed.   The rate of technology innovation is so fast that in the next decade we will experience what in the past would have taken a century.  Artificial Intelligence, for example, is quickly seeping into many aspects of our daily lives.  But this is just the beginning.  The speed of change will come with increasing adoption challenges and, of course, a plethora of new regulations.  I have a ring-side seat to this through my work as a speaker, author, and instructor on governance, risk management and compliance, and my work with an XAI (“Explainable AI”) start-up.  Calling these exciting but challenging times would be a massive understatement. 

So let the transition of this blog begin.  I look forward to sharing the next leg of this Very Different Journey.