The Origin of Golf Ball Wisdom: From Dad to Purpose-Driven Leadership
The Story of Purpose- driven leadership Starts in Silence
Before it was a brand, a blog, or a hoodie—Golf Ball Wisdom was just a man trying to stay sane.
I was a stay-at-home dad. Two young kids. A wife working long hours. And me—just trying to hold it together.
Nap times became sacred. Not for rest, but for reclaiming myself.
One day, in the quiet, I opened my phone, tapped open ChatGPT, and typed: “Tell me a story for kids.”
It worked. My kids lit up. I felt present again. And just like that—something shifted. That simple moment became the first seed of purpose-driven leadership in my life.
From Distraction to Direction
What started as a tool to keep the kids engaged became something deeper.
I started writing more stories. Then I thought, maybe these could be books. I started researching how.
I wanted a place to share the stories, my love of golf, reflections on fatherhood. So I built a website. On my phone.
Eventually, the phone couldn’t keep up. My wife found an old laptop she thought was broken. It wasn’t—it just had to stay plugged in.
In those moments, I wasn’t just filling time—I was unknowingly stepping into purpose-driven leadership. Learning to create from the chaos, and to build something that mattered.
When Everything Got Real
Then life threw a punch: my dad’s Alzheimer’s was progressing fast.
I realized how little I knew about his story. That scared me.
So I started journaling—about my life, my struggles, my thoughts. Just in case.
What if my kids grow up and I can’t tell them who I was?
That question became the seed for my book, Jack’s Course.
I wrote it for them. I published it. A few people bought it. But that wasn’t the point.
The point was: I was building something that would outlive me. A foundation of purpose-driven leadership my kids could someday follow.
From Pain to Purpose-Driven Leadership
That book lit a fire I couldn’t put out. I wanted to show my kids what it means to keep going.
So I built Golf Ball Wisdom.
I used dropshipping to sell golf goods. Then moved into custom apparel. Then coaching. All of it designed, tested, and refined through endless late-night conversations with ChatGPT.
This wasn’t a business plan. It was a commitment to purpose-driven leadership—to build something meaningful without adding pressure to my family.
No team. No agency. Just me, my story, and a relentless need to create.
From Life Coaching to Leading with Purpose
At first, I called it life coaching. But as I looked back on my journey, I saw something deeper.
The real transformation happened not just in the personal breakthroughs—but in the way I had been leading all along.
I thought back to my years managing ski instructors—some who lived out of their cars, others who were lawyers or doctors by day but ski coaches on the weekends. No matter who they were, I had to lead them through chaos, cold, and the unpredictable dynamics of kids, parents, and the mountain itself.
There was no textbook for that. Just presence, courage, and the willingness to take responsibility when things got hard.
That was purpose-driven leadership in the wild. I just didn’t have the words for it yet.
Leadership, I realized, wasn’t about titles—it was about how you show up when things go sideways.
That’s what I want to teach.
Not just how to live. But how to lead yourself first—so you can lead others with clarity, consistency, and emotional presence.
Golf Ball Wisdom is becoming a space for that kind of leadership.
What Golf Ball Wisdom Really Is
It’s not about golf.
It’s about resilience.
It’s about picking up the ball in the rough. About rewriting your story when life doesn’t go as planned. About finding clarity and focus when everything feels like noise.
Golf is just the metaphor. Life is the work.
And purpose-driven leadership? That’s the direction forward.
To the One Still Reading
You get it.
You know what it feels like to carry everything silently. To want more for your kids. To try, fail, try again.
You’re why I wrote this.
Golf Ball Wisdom is still small. Still growing. But every hoodie, every blog post, every email—it all comes from the same place:
A desire to turn pain into purpose—and lead with heart.
Thank you for reading.
If you want to support this mission—to show up for yourself, your story, and your future—consider picking up a hoodie.
It’s more than clothing. It’s a commitment to purpose-driven leadership.
