Embracing the Unknown and Entering Infinite Possibilities: New Adventures
In the hours after CDIC dissolved, I went through every stage of grief. Messages flooded in, but I had no words—because I didn’t know what to say. I was stuck, frozen by the weight of what had just happened. Thankfully, my good friend and Deputy Director stepped up, finding the words I couldn’t, and messaged the team on our behalf.
I was still paralyzed, staring at the reality that everything we’d built was gone.
I messaged Jonathan, "We need to talk."
He hit me with an empty response: "There’s nothing to talk about, brother."
Just like that, CDIC was dead.
Meanwhile, Kyle from NVIS was blowing up my phone. When he finally texted, "We need to talk," I wanted to shut it all down, just like Jonathan had but I didn't.
I texted back, "Jonathan just shut everything down. I need to strategize."
Kyle’s response was a lifeline: "I have a meeting with him in 10. I’m going to talk him off the ledge."
"He won’t talk to me," I replied.
"I’ll hit you back in a few," Kyle promised.
That small breath of hope was enough to clear my mind, for the most part. But one question kept nagging me: "How? How can I do this on my own?"
I didn’t have time to dwell on it, notifications were lighting up every communication channel and I was holding out for Kyle’s call. Messages from my best team players came through and my heart sank further. I needed to respond, but more than that, I needed to give them something definitive.
Minutes later, Kyle messaged back. "Jonathan isn’t budging."
I wasn’t surprised. "I figured. Things have gone too far to turn back now. I wish I’d seen this coming."
Kyle’s next question pierced through my haze: "If you had seen it, what would you have done?"
I didn’t hesitate. "I would have started my own CDIC-like thing, focused on Security instead of Intel."
Kyle didn’t miss a beat. "Then do it! Come onboard with NVIS’s founding team while you spin up your org. We can partner up."
My mouth said, "What?" But my mind was already calculating, moving chess pieces into place. A plan was forming even before I could fully process it. "Agreed. Let me call you back."
When I finally opened my messages, I was stunned. Half my team had already come to the same conclusion. And there was a long list of other people, from different divisions, all waiting on me to make a move.
It was surreal. They were—ready to build something new.
Disaster recovery, business continuity, damage control, priorities. I sketched a mental outline in three minutes. We needed a communication channel, a Google account, and a list of team members and skill sets.
90 minutes later we had enough to begin again: a Discord server, a Google account, a team of skilled players ready to do what seemed impossible just a few hours before, and a partnership with NVIS.
#NewAdventures #EmbraceTheUnknown #InfinitePossibilities #CareerJourney #Startups #RapidPaw #NVIS #GrowthMindset #LeadershipDevelopment
Manager Business Development Matheson Constructors
2moCongratulations