4x founder | 9 years Fortune 200 leader | Writing about leadership and personal growth

I’m the founder of Ghost Nomad, a custom vehicle studio focused on thoughtful builds, fabrication, and engineering-driven design.

I work hands-on, designing, building, testing, and refining vehicles with an emphasis on how they drive, how they feel, and how they hold up in real-world use. The work blends mechanical problem-solving, fabrication, and aesthetics, with a preference for doing things deliberately rather than quickly.

Before Ghost Nomad, I spent nearly a decade in leadership roles at a Fortune 200 company, building and operating complex digital systems and teams. That experience shapes how I work today through strategic thinking, strong systems, and disciplined execution applied to physical products.

Ghost Nomad is where engineering, design, and long-term use come together.

Jonathan Butterworth

The Value Road Almanack

The Value Road Almanack is a newsletter that offers rare insights into wellness and value creation. Fueled by years of clinical healthcare experience and a system of mental models inspired by Ben Franklin and Charlie Munger, The Value Road Almanack offers helpful tips on healthy living and rational thinking.

Founding Editor

Independence

"Acknowledging what you don't know is the dawning of wisdom." -Charlie Munger

Data Analyst & Value Investor

Greenway Health

Revenue Cycle Consultant

Provided revenue consulting, claims analysis, and practice management services for a healthcare technology company.

Claims Analyst

Erik Brodin & Co.

Employing sports psychology, modern science, and technology, a young god of justice attempts to rewrite the doomsday prophesies of ancient Norse mythology. 

But he's up against Loki, his son, and some very large forces of evil.

Penned as Erik Brodin, I wrote and published "The Endangered Norse Gods" trilogy:

- The Lost Sons of Asgard
- The Well of Destiny
- Last God Standing

In this trilogy, the Norse gods are a highly incompetent bunch running a terrible enterprise down the doomsday drain.

Successful turnarounds are rare in the corporate world. They’re even rarer in the Norse world.

But they’re way more entertaining.

Laugh more. It’s healthy. It's even good for your abs. I would know; I'm a former healthcare director and physiotherapist.

Author

Reuma-Sol Center

Led the healthcare department of an outpatient & inpatient facility equipped with a hotel and 44 apartments, offering physical rehabilitation as well as other medical treatments and services. 

Wore many hats as I started building teams. Interviewed 100s and hired 45+ professionals. 

Created systems and procedures for activities ranging from patient treatment, HR, EHR, sales, coding, billing, and other areas related to healthcare and business operations.

Director Healthcare

Chief Physical Therapist

Physiotherapist

Helgelandssykehuset Hf

Meditation & Mental Strategies

As a physiotherapy student in 2002, a 63-year-old patient introduced me to meditation. I studied and practiced meditation alongside my studies and later physiotherapy work, then decided to start teaching it to people suffering from distress during the financial crisis in 2008-09. 

Long story short, to further improve my thinking and decision-making, I now employ a system of mental models inspired by the brilliant teachings of Charlie Munger.

Staying rational is key. Here's the thing: meditation as a subject is littered with nonsense. Like mystical nitwits claiming to levitate.

So let’s dispel the nonsense.

If you boil down all the techniques, you’ll find two types of meditation: 

1) Mantra = Narrow focus/attachment (concentrative)
2) Mindfulness = Wide focus/detachment (non-judgmental)

Mantra = any single point-of-focus, such as a letter, word, book, sound, touch, image, person, or an elephant. Whatever you concentrate on.

Mindfulness = Everything that enters your mind, the fullness of your awareness. 

Effect: The more open and non-judgmental you are, the more mantras you’ll register. 

Mindfulness is therefore a good way to prevent a common problem: Denial.

But if there are only two types of meditation, why so many techniques?

Based on historical evidence, such as tools made during the "great leap forward" which Jared Diamond has written about, our ancient ancestor's brains evolved modern minds and awareness roughly 50-60,000 years ago. 

Meditation has turned into a mainstream activity over the last couple of millennia. Especially over the last decades in Western societies.

Some instructors teach. Others invent their own stuff.

Therefore, millions of people are practicing meditation and thousands of instructors are profiting.

Still, underpinning it all, the first principle of meditation is simple: Focus.

There's nothing mystical about that.

Founder

Screenwriter

Southern Therapy Services, Inc.

Physical Therapy Technician

You crack your knuckles for the tenth time today, the stiffness in your back mimicking the tension in your deadline.

"Burnout City, here I come," you mutter, sitting at your desk, staring at the overgrown to-do list mocking your motivation.
 
Avoid that wretched place, fellow creator and desk warrior.

I get it. I used to live and breathe a world of deadlines, hunched backs, aching joints, and mental stress.

Once upon a time, I was even a physiotherapist and healthcare director treating patients and personnel.

Don't ignore the signs. It’s your body trying to tell you something, but it’s counterintuitive.

Even writer's block can be overcome by going deeper.

Bottom up!

I'm talking about leveraging your body's physiology to alleviate tension and unblock your mind.

This can also make you a better decision-maker and unlock opportunities, especially when you leverage physiology and mental models.

Benjamin Franklin said, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

Here's the good news: prevention is possible. 

I'm not talking about quitting your passion (though a walk outside wouldn't hurt!).

I'm not talking about medical advice either (if you have a medical condition, consult your physician).

I'm talking about brief, impactful tweaks that fit seamlessly into your day.

No need for fancy equipment, just a few quick strategies to reduce tension and boost your energy.

These things are so simple yet effective. In fact, they're so simple that we tend to forget to use them.
  
Never sacrifice your well-being for productivity.

Reclaim your energy and approach your life’s work with the focus and motivation you deserve.

Whether it's wellness tips or content you need, I'm here to help.

Cheers,
Oz

P.S. Sign up for my free newsletter to get a flying start to your day.

taplio

The Battle

Jonathan Butterworth

Øystein "Oz" Vorland

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?