Stop Chasing→Start Creating
Success Without Self-Abandonment


You can be successful by every measure and still feel disconnected from the life you built. 


Not burned out. Not lost. Just quietly off.


You did what you were supposed to do; you checked the boxes, you built the life you believed you should.


And yet something feels missing.


What’s missing isn’t more success.


It’s you.


Somewhere along the way, you learned to trade alignment for achievement, and belonging for performance. 


You didn’t fail. You adapted.


But when success is built from the outside in, it eventually costs you on the inside.


Reinvention isn’t about starting over or becoming someone new.


It’s about reclaiming and restoring who you were before fear, scarcity, proving, and expectation took over your decision-making.


The problem isn’t success. The problem is how that success was achieved.


You followed a blueprint that wasn’t yours.

It was a hand-me-down of shoulds, opinions, and supposed-tos from family, friends, and society.


When you stop chasing and start creating, you seize authorship of your life and design a blueprint that aligns with who you are.


Not who you believe you’re supposed to be.


The life you’ve built doesn’t have to change; the fuel you use has to change.


When you stop self-abandoning, you don’t become less driven.


Quite the opposite.


You tap into previously untapped potential and become clearer, steadier, and more decisive.


Energy spent performing, proving, and protecting an identity is redirected into creativity, focus, judgment, and follow-through.


Life feels cleaner and quieter, less proving, less pressure, more clarity about what’s worth your time and what isn’t.


The result is not just a better personal life.


It’s better leadership, better decisions, and organizations built on self-trust rather than fear.


When people reclaim authorship of who they are, performance doesn’t disappear.


It’s transformed and expanded.


This is the work behind my keynotes and writing.


If this resonates, you’re in the right place.

Speaking Engagements

With a deeply personal story of overcoming federal prison and hitting rock bottom, Craig delivers powerful keynotes that resonate with anyone seeking to unleash their potential, discover purpose, and live authentically.

Midlife Reinvention Newsletter

Are you professionally & financially successful yet woefully unfulfilled? Are you ready to craft your authentic and extraordinary second half? Join the “Midlife Reinvention” newsletter for weekly tips, insights, and inspiration.

Blank Canvas Book

This book isn’t just a memoir; it’s a roadmap for anyone who has ever felt lost inside their own life, a guide back to authenticity, and a call to action to reinvent. Hear more about Craig’s memoir and purchase Blank Canvas.

Hear from Craig

Craig is a regular contributor to numerous blogs and publications and has been a guest on many different podcasts. To read and hear the latest from Craig, see the latest blog posts and our in the media section.

The Latest from Craig

  • Prison to Purpose: Owning My Story Set Me Free

    Prison to Purpose: Owning My Story Set Me Free

    Ten years ago today I reported to federal prison. It was day 1 of 730. Then followed by 3 years of supervised release and an order of restitution. I would do my time in a prison camp, but I was processed in a medium-security prison, the ones we see on TV,…

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  • Alcohol Was My Life. Now It’s Not.

    Alcohol Was My Life. Now It’s Not.

    It’s been just over 3 years since my last drink. I don’t know the exact day I stopped drinking, and I don’t celebrate or mark the occasion. This is strange to me because I wasn’t a casual drinker who decided to stop. But every so often, I catch myself thinking that…

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  • Reflections On Self-Worth And Growth At 51

    Reflections On Self-Worth And Growth At 51

    I turned 51 yesterday. Birthdays are an excellent opportunity to reflect, and I looked into a collection of lines I’ve written that jump out to me. They’re epiphanies, things I’m coming to understand, things I want to explore deeper, messages directed at myself, and questions I’d like to answer. I have…

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  • Unlock a Life of Purpose: One Simple Question to Ask Daily

    Unlock a Life of Purpose: One Simple Question to Ask Daily

    Is your life like that moment when you pull into your driveway and don’t remember driving home?  Do you ever feel like you’re on a hamster wheel? You’re running so fast and getting absolutely nowhere. Busy. Busy. Busy.  And very little to show for it.  It’s exhausting; it’s frustrating and, quite…

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  • Want to Live a Good Life? 9 Simple Strategies

    Want to Live a Good Life? 9 Simple Strategies

    “I want to be happy.” Ask someone what they want, and that’s the answer ninety-nine times out of one hundred.  It was one of my answers, along with freedom.  It’s a solid-sounding response that’s hard to argue with; who doesn’t want to be happy? Only one problem, it’s not a solid…

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  • Learning From Nature: 5 Lessons to the Remarkable

    Learning From Nature: 5 Lessons to the Remarkable

    It’s early in the morning; the sun hasn’t yet risen. The last pinks of the sunrise give way to a clear blue sky of a glorious fall day. A few cirrus clouds slowly transform and evolve, adding dimensionality to an already beautiful skyscape.  I understand why Monet preferred to paint by…

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