Core Beliefs – Omnipresence

The first locomotive railway, the Penydarren, was built by Richard Trevithick in 1804. The Wright brothers took flight in 1903. Ford's Model T reached mass production in 1908. These milestones were more than engineering feats. They expanded human presence.

For centuries, transportation was the engine of globalization. Trains made cross-continental travel affordable. Planes made international movement accessible. Cars made suburbia a reality.Movement enabled people to build, trade, learn, and connect.

But something has shifted.

While the pandemic forced society into isolationism, five years have now elapsed. You can feel the energy shifting back, but a long tail of habits remain. Technology, once a tool for connection, is now often used to avoid it. We can simulate presence without ever leaving the couch. Video calls replace handshakes. Emojis mimic eye contact. Group chats stand in for gatherings. The friction of movement is gone, but so is the instinct to be physically present.

Where earlier generations crossed oceans and borders in search of opportunity, the modern world offers an easier option: stay home. The neighborhood becomes the world. The screen becomes the interface. The individual grows more isolated.

This is the age of comfortable isolation. And yet, there is alpha in resisting it.

While many embrace convenience, those who choose the discomfort of real presence are increasingly rare. In a time when anyone can be virtual, few choose to be physical. But physical presence is becoming scarce. And scarcity creates value.

Now I'm in San Francisco every two weeks, New York every six. That rhythm of moving, showing up, and being in the room has made me believe that presence compounds. It builds trust, sparks ideas, and opens doors in a way virtual never will. We're no longer bound by the limits of the past.

We have tools, networks, and access that earlier generations could not imagine. But that freedom comes with responsibility. Not to retreat into digital convenience, but to be present. To show up where it matters, when it matters.