Remembering the Firsts
I don’t remember my first tweet. I don’t remember my first Facebook post. I don’t remember my first YouTube video.
They’re long gone—deleted, archived, lost to the ever-expanding abyss of the internet.
But I do remember my first real posts. The ones that mattered. The ones that weren’t just quick dopamine hits but actual bricks in the foundation of a brand and a business.
Those firsts shaped how I told my story, how I connected with an audience, and ultimately, how I built the credibility to stand on the stages I dreamed about.
And that’s the lesson I want to bring forward as I come up on 25 years: your firsts matter. They deserve to be memorialized. And in this AI age, where content will explode exponentially, those who strategically re-analyze, rewrite, or even purge their old content will have the edge.
Because your story isn’t just history—it’s a competitive advantage.
Behind Enemy Lines: Personal Brand Launch
January 2001.
I wrote my first personal brand blog post, separate from Matrixforce, called Behind Enemy Lines – Start of Your Personal Brand Story. Inspired by the Owen Wilson movie, I used it as a metaphor for the chaotic but thrilling journey of discovering your personal brand.
The premise was simple: life throws you into hostile terrain. Corporate politics, shifting industries, cyber threats, and personal doubt—they’re all enemy fire. And like Owen Wilson’s character, you either find your way out with grit, courage, and guidance—or you don’t.
In the article, I cast myself not as the hero, but as the guide. I told the reader:
You’re the pilot shot down in hostile territory. I’m the one on the radio helping you find your way home.
That framing became the DNA of everything I wrote after. Not “look at me,” but “here’s how you win.”
You can still read that first post here: Behind Enemy Lines Journey.
It wasn’t perfect. The sentences were raw. The structure unpolished. But it was real.
And real beats perfect every time.
Matrixforce Pulse: A New Way to Talk to Customers
That same month in January 2001, I launched Matrixforce Pulse. Different from personal brand writing, this was the first attempt to tell the Matrixforce story and provide clients insight for competitive advantage.
The opening story was about what happen to inspire the blog and Pulse was where we started saying:
- Technology is really about business best practices.
- Cybersecurity is really about avoiding loss.
- IT support is more than fixing broken email.
It was about people, progress, and the real battles businesses were facing.
You can still read that first Matrixforce post here: Beating Competitors at Their Own Game.
Again, it wasn’t polished. But it was ours. It gave people a window into how we think, what we value, and why we fight so hard for clients.
And in hindsight, it did something else: it planted the seed of what I would later call the Cyberist movement—a new identity for staff and clients working in the trenches of the cyberworld.
MIT Presentation: Courage to Try
Now skip ahead to present day.
I was standing in front of a room at MIT, rehearsing my talk.
I was about 37 seconds short. You wouldn’t think that mattered, but timing is everything when you’re trying to command the attention of some of the brightest minds in the world.
Do I fill it with a joke? Do I riff on a tangent? Or do I try something unexpected?
I toyed with two ideas:
- A short rap about “wicked smaht”
- A couple lines of Bon Jovi’s It’s My Life
Neither was perfect. But what mattered wasn’t the exact words. It was the willingness to risk—to step beyond the expected and show courage.
That moment taught me something about content creation as well. Sometimes you just need the courage to try. To deploy without fear. To test. To put it out there even if it’s not perfect.
Because if you wait for perfect, you’ll never ship anything.
Geometry of Content Explosion
Now let’s tie these firsts together.
In 2001, a blog post was just a blog post and by 2010 a blog was still niche. In 2016, presentations at Microsoft, Harvard, and Nasdaq were a rare privilege.
But in 2025?
Every post you write, every video you upload, every podcast you record is part of a geometric explosion of content.
AI has removed the friction. What once took days or weeks can now be drafted in minutes. The floodgates are open. The web will be overwhelmed with more words, more images, more voices than ever before.
So how do you stand out?
Two things:
- Tell your story. Don’t just share facts. Share meaning. Share why it matters. Share what you’ve lived through.
- Kill objections first. Address the doubts before people even voice them. Own the narrative before someone else defines it for you.
That’s why memorializing your firsts matters. They’re proof of your journey. They show where you started, how far you’ve come, and why people should trust you now.
Good Will Hunting Principle
Which brings me to one of my favorite movies: Good Will Hunting.
There’s a pivotal moment where Robin Williams’ character tells Matt Damon’s Will:
“You’re just a kid. You don’t know what you don’t know. And until you leave your comfort zone, you’ll never grow.”
That principle applies here.
Your early posts—whether awkward, clunky, or even cringe—are part of your growth. They show the world you stepped out of your comfort zone and started telling your story.
If you erase them all, you erase the proof of your evolution.
But if you leave them untouched, you risk letting your competitors weaponize your outdated words against you.
So what’s the move?
Re-analyze. Rewrite. Or purge.
Do it with intentionality, not nostalgia.
Starting Over Without Starting From Scratch
Coming up on 25 years, I’m not starting from scratch. I’m starting over—with all the lessons learned, the scars earned, and the victories memorialized.
The same is true for you.
If you’re early in your journey, memorialize your firsts now. Screenshot them. Archive them. Write down the context. You’ll thank yourself later.
If you’re years or decades in, revisit your firsts. Ask:
- Does this still represent who I am today?
- Does this still serve my audience?
- Could this be repurposed with fresh insights?
- Or does it need to be purged entirely?
The goal isn’t to preserve everything. The goal is to shape a narrative that moves you forward.
Because in this AI age, those who control their narrative will control their market.
A Personal Call to Action
So here’s my ask:
- Go find your firsts. Your first blog post, your first customer email, your first keynote draft.
- Decide what to do with them. Memorialize, rewrite, or purge.
- Tell the story publicly. Share not just what you wrote back then, but what it means now.
Because when you control your story, you don’t just stand out in a sea of AI content—you become unforgettable.
And isn’t that the point?
Closing Thoughts
I don’t remember my first tweet. I don’t remember my first Facebook post. I don’t remember my first YouTube video.
But I do remember my first real posts:
- Behind Enemy Lines: Your Personal Brand Journey (2001) – the start of my personal brand.
- Beating Competitors at Their Own Game (2001) – the start of connecting with clients in story.
- MIT Presentation – the courage to risk and try something different especially with AI.
They weren’t perfect. But they were real.
And real beats perfect every time.
As I start over at 25 years, I’ll memorialize those firsts. I’ll re-analyze what still serves and purge what doesn’t.
Because in this new era, it’s not enough to simply create. You must curate. You must shape. You must lead.
Tell your story. Kill objections first. And never forget: your firsts are where the real journey begins.