I talk about digital writing & personal progress

Here's a quick rundown of how I've spent my last 5 years:

1. Studied math and played football at Princeton. I graduated in 2018 with a degree in financial engineering and played center for the Tigers. In college, I was a 280-pound offensive lineman, so for the last 5 years, I've had to completely rewrite my personal operating system on the health & fitness front. I currently weigh 185 pounds and have learned a lot along the way!

2. Graduated and immediately started working for BlackRock in New York City. I worked as a junior hedge fund trader for 4 years, focusing on global macro markets. This was my dream job and the only corporate job I've ever had. In fact, it's the only job *interview* I've ever had (since I interned there as a junior in college).

3. Realized working for someone else was not going to be the long-term path for me. 12 months into working on Wall Street, I saw someone in their mid-40s ask their boss for permission to go to their son's Little League game. At that moment I realized I wasn't cut out to take directions or instructions from other people for very long.

4. Started to write on my old blog, then on Twitter. Rather than quit immediately, I started to passively explore other opportunities by writing online, starting out on my old blog (which no one knew existed), then transitioning to Twitter in July of 2020.

5. Changed my trajectory with a 30-day writing challenge, which led me to start Ship 30 for 30. In September 2020 I was ready to give up writing entirely. But I gave it one more shot, this time moving from a weekly blog post to a daily Twitter thread. The challenge was a huge success. It took me 9 months to reach 100 followers and 1 month to go from 100 to 2,000. And that personal writing challenge turned into the foundation of Ship 30 for 30, which started as nothing but a Slack accountability group to help people publish consistently.

6. Scaled Ship 30 while working remotely for all of 2021. I built and scaled Ship 30 with Nicolas Cole to over 2,000 students in 2021—all while continuing to work full-time (remotely) for BlackRock. But towards the end of 2021, Ship 30 hit an inflection point and it no longer made financial sense for me to continue working on Wall Street.

7. Left BlackRock in March of 2022 to write and build on my own. After weeks of weighing the pros and cons and trying to project my path forward, I made the decision to leave BlackRock and chart my own path. 15 months into making that decision and I'm confident it's the best one I've ever made.

Dickie Bush 🚢

This writer posted on LinkedIn about quitting his job.

And from that ONE post he got some epic results:

Booked 5 sales calls.
And closed a $1,000/month consulting deal.

Insane.

Especially since Stefan didn't:

• Go viral
• Use some secret LinkedIn hack
• Or do anything anyone else couldn't

All he did was:

• Say what he does
• For who
• And how he helps them

Now, this doesn’t mean if you just hit publish you'll book a bunch of sales calls (or any at all).

But every single LinkedIn post you publish is a lottery ticket.

Some will flop.
Others will only get you views.

And then sometimes, you get lucky and the right kind of high-paying clients resonate with your content.

Which is why you should be publishing consistently on LinkedIn.

It's an easy way to land high-paying clients & make 6+ figures as a ghostwriter.

But first?

You need to:

• Find your own lucrative niche
• Create an Irresistible Ghostwriting Offer
• Learn the secret to charging premium prices

So, I put together a 5-day crash course with everything you need to start making money ghostwriting on LinkedIn in 2026.

Click here to get instant access (for free): https://lnkd.in/ekBqPdQQ

Reminder to self:

You can focus on no more than 3 things:

• 3 habits
• 3 values
• 3 goals

And you can only do this over a 3-month time horizon.

I had to learn this painful lesson the hard way:

Every year, I would sit down and write out 10 goals for the coming year (like I was building some grand master plan).

Felt incredible in the moment.

Made me feel:

• Organized
• Ambitious
• Like I had my life together

But then I'd find that list 3 months later and realize I couldn't even remember what I'd written down.

Let alone tell you if I actually achieved any of it.

The truth is:

Any time I have ever made a plan beyond 3 months, it was basically a useless exercise.

It didn't change my behavior.
It didn't keep me accountable.
It just made me feel good for about 20 minutes.

Here's what actually works.

You can focus on no more than 3 things.

If you can't rattle off the three things you're most focused on right now without pausing to think, then you're unfocused.

Make them something you can actually track and measure.

And then ignore everything else until those 3 are handled.

You'll get further with 3 clear priorities than you ever will with 10 vague ones.

Tier One Coaching, LLC

Founder

Leadership Ready Room

Co-Founder

Tier One Life Insurance, LLC

The Outlier Project

Outlier

U.S. Naval War College

Professor

US Navy

Officer

Commanding Officer

Executive Officer

Prospective Executive Officer

Staff

HSM- 46 Maintenance Officer

HSM-46 DET 6 Officer in Charge

Romeo Transition Student

Topcat/Air Department Training Officer

Catapult Launch and Recovery Officer

Lead eight commissioned and non-commissioned officers, and over 150 enlisted Sailors responsible for flight deck, and crash and salvage operations on board USS NIMITZ aircraft carrier.

V1 Division Officer, Air Department

SH-60B Fleet Replacement Instructor Pilot

Quality Assurance Officer/Maintenance Safety Officer

Maintenance Division Officer

Weekly Operational Schedules Officer

HSL 48

Flight School/FRS

DODReads.com

DODReads Advisory Board Member

20+ Years of Leading & Developing Teams in the Navy | Coach | ICF Member | Founder | Empowering People to Unleash Their Best Selves & Escape The Golden Path Fallacy

You’ve accomplished a lot.

And this next chapter is different.

You’re stepping into:

• More responsibility.
• More visibility.
• More impact.

Deep down, you know your old playbook won’t cut it.

This time, it's not about having the right answers.

It’s about leading from alignment—with clarity,
confidence, and purpose.

That’s where I come in.

I partner with growth-minded leaders to help them:

• Clarify their purpose, passions, values, and strengths
• Lead authentically and confidently
• Empower their teams to thrive

I’m not here to give you more tips, tools, or techniques.

I’m here to help you uncover what’s already within—so
you can lead in a way that’s deeply aligned and
impactful.

My coaching is grounded in:

✅ 22+ years leading and developing teams in the Navy
✅ ICF-accredited coaching (ACC)
✅ The Blueprint Process: a powerful way to reveal
your values, passions, purpose, and cause.

𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼.

You need a trusted partner who sees your potential,
challenges your thinking, and helps you unlock your next
level of leadership.

𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲:

• Reveal your Blueprint—what truly drives you
• Make decisions aligned with who you are
• Lead with conviction, clarity, and impact
• Create the conditions for your team to grow

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘀𝗮𝘆:

"𝘉𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘦. 𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦
𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵—𝘋𝘔 𝘩𝘪𝘮." – Cody H.  

"𝘐 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵—𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘐
𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥." – Chris C.  

"𝘈𝘴 𝘐 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘢𝘷𝘺, 𝘉𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦
𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵." – Matt L.  

"𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨—𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯." – Paul H.

Are you ready to lead with clarity, empower your team,
and align your leadership with what matters most?

📩 𝗗𝗠 𝗺𝗲. 𝗟𝗲𝘁’𝘀 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱.

Brandon Jenkins

Fifteen years.

Last night, Julie and I celebrated our anniversary.

Today marks 15 years, and I’m feeling deeply grateful.

What stands out most to me isn’t any single milestone.

It’s the consistency.
Showing up for each other.
Coming back to each other when things were hard.

Learning, over time, how to love each other in the ways
the other person actually needed.

We’ve been through a lot together.

Two kids.
Three full deployments.
More work-ups than I can count.
Five big moves (plus a few in-town for good measure).

And all the challenges that never make it into photos.

I’m proud that when things got difficult, we chose
growth instead of letting the challenges pull us apart.

Not perfectly. Not even close.

Just honestly. Together.

I’m grateful to have found a true teammate in life.

Someone willing to walk through it with me, side by side.

Happy anniversary, Julie.

-Jenks

Brandon "Jenks" Jenkins, ACC

Leadership Coach | Empowering Leaders To Move From Expert → Leader of Experts With Clarity, Alignment & Confidence | 22-Year Naval Aviator | ICF ACC

Wow, it is incredibly fulfilling to be able to partner with someone in this way. 

I’m grateful for you, Hendo, and all of the leaders I’m teamed up with.

Thank you. 

-Jenks

Paul Henderson

graphical user interface, text, application, email

One of the easiest leadership traps to fall into is this:

• You see the situation.
• You’ve done something similar before.
• You know how you would handle it now.

So you tell your teammate what to do.

It feels efficient.
Helpful, even.

But there’s a cost most leaders don’t notice until later.

When you consistently tell your team what to do, you
quietly take away their chance to learn how to think
through it themselves.

You take away:

• their opportunity to collaborate
• their chance to assess and adjust
• their ability to try, learn, and self-correct

Over time, something predictable happens.

Small decisions come back to you.
Then slightly bigger ones.

Eventually, it feels like everything needs your input.

Not because your team is incapable.

But because they were never given space to develop
their own judgment.

This is one of the hardest shifts for leaders moving from
expert to leading experts.

It’s uncomfortable to step back when you believe you
already see the way forward.

And it’s exactly the shift that creates innovative,
self-sufficient teams.

If this tension feels familiar and you want space to talk it
through, I offer a free 30-minute leader thinking session.

It's a conversation with a thinking partner, not another
set of instructions.

Link to book time is in my Featured section.

-Jenks

Snuck out the other day for a walk by the water.

I’d been inside too long.

Staring out the window at a gorgeous day.

Feeling a little stuffy and cooped up.

Nothing dramatic. I just needed to get outside and move.

On walks like that, I try not to think about projects
or solve anything.

I just pay attention.

The air.
The movement.
What I’m noticing.

My mood usually shifts first.

I feel lighter. 
More energized.
Calmer.

And without trying, that’s when things tend to surface.

An idea.
A connection.
A thought that inspires me.

I call it “receive mode.”

Not forcing anything.

Just present long enough to notice what shows up.

Mostly, though, it’s just nice to be outside, 
moving my body, enjoying the day.

Maybe you’ve noticed something similar
when you step away for a bit?

-Jenks

There’s a moment that doesn’t usually get talked about.

You’re holding a decision.

It matters.

And you can feel the weight of it sitting squarely
on your shoulders.

You don’t have all the information.
You probably never will.

And the thought creeps in quietly:

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨?
𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭?

That’s often where leaders start hesitating.

It's not because they are incapable.

It's because they’re deciding alone.

What’s missing in that moment usually isn’t more data.

It’s different perspectives:

• to ask questions you wouldn’t think to ask yourself.
• to help surface the assumptions you’re carrying.
• to help you see other angles before you move.

Not so the decision becomes obvious.

But so you have enough confidence to move forward
and a way to learn once you do.

That’s what the clip below is really about.

Not waiting for certainty.

Instead, creating the rhythm, feedback, and
collaboration that let you adjust as you go.

It isn’t about getting it right the first time.

It’s about knowing you won’t be alone if you
need to adapt.

If this feels familiar, and you’re looking for a place to
think things through with others, I’m a DM away.

-Jenks

taplio

The Battle

Dickie Bush 🚢

Brandon Jenkins

Followers

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Performance ScoreDickie Bush 🚢's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreBrandon Jenkins's LinkedIn Performance

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taplio

The Battle

Dickie Bush 🚢

Brandon Jenkins

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Dickie Bush 🚢's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreBrandon Jenkins's LinkedIn Performance

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Performance ScoreDickie Bush 🚢's LinkedIn Performance