Episode 15: Brandon Middleton
Intentional Congruence with Brandon Middleton
Not many people have the guts to say that one plus one can equal 11, but for Brandon Middleton, the world has always looked a little different. Brandon has an amazing story, and we are truly lucky to be able to bring you this inspiring conversation with such a powerful individual. In our chat, we chart the history of Brandon's ascent, looking back at his work as a golf caddy, the speech impediment he had as a child, and how Brandon leveraged all of his circumstances and opportunities to continue to grow and succeed. Brandon is a true multi-hyphenate; -thinker, -leader, -father, -developer, --bassist, -rapper, -advocate, and -investor are some of the ways you might describe him, and he has so much wisdom and insight at the intersection of all of these spheres! We talk about bringing all of these areas of life into synergy and using what Brandon calls intentional congruence to get to that next level in whatever you do. He also underlines the importance of humility, why it's necessary to get uncomfortable, and his ongoing commitment to help broaden the horizons of young people. So to hear it all, and share in some of this abundant inspiration, listen in!
Key Points From This Episode:
• An introduction to Brandon and his wide array of talents, interests, and identities!
• Brandon's early experiences in New York City and sleeping outside Yankee Stadium.
• Internships and first jobs; the decision to work at Cisco over Morgan Stanley.
• A commitment to life design and how Brandon approached his goals like a portfolio.
• The important conversations that Brandon started to gain access to in order to level up.
• Approaches to connecting over cultural divides; how Brandon focused on this at a young age.
• How Brandon turned his childhood stutter into a means for empathy and understanding.
• Brandon drops bars; that rap that he wrote for Cisco!
• The strategic moves that Brandon is making in multiple directions at once.
• Tips from Brandon about bringing more congruence into our professional lives.
• How Brandon stays grounded with so much fluctuation and expansion!
• The continual quest for learning and some recommendations from our guest to keep growing.
• Brandon's professional portfolio right now; teaching, crypto, community work, and more.
• A look at Brandon's game development history and the popularity of Tic Tac Toe 10.
• Where does hacking fit into Brandon's life these days?
• How to connect with Brandon online across different platforms.
Tweetables:
“The shortest distance between two points is a line. In order to know where you want to go, you usually see examples of that, role models.” — @brmiddle [0:11:54]
“I learned very early that you could have a job and still be out enjoying yourself, doing stuff with customers, and living with a balance.” — @brmiddle [0:12:43]
“I've never had a job where the network wasn't helpful in me getting into that position.” — @brmiddle [0:13:55]
“I stuttered as a kid, and didn't really feel comfortable communicating until I was about 8 or 9 years old. I spent the early parts of my childhood keeping my mouth closed and my ears way open.” — @brmiddle [0:16:02]
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
Brandon Middleton on Instagram
The fine folks over at Section recently interviewed me about some common mistakes I’m seeing folks make when they use AI. One of the biggest ones? The tendency to expect too little, and get just that.