Reinventing Myself with AI: How I Went from Burnout to Builder at 36

The Illusion of the Straight Path

Ten years ago, I walked across the stage with a chemical engineering degree in hand, ready to solve complex problems and build a solid career. That’s what I thought, anyway. Fast forward to today, and many of the people I graduated with are now in management roles at large corporations. They followed the traditional track—climbing the ladder, sticking with the system.

But I hit a crossroads. I could either join them—pursue a leadership title inside a large, stable company—or I could choose something far scarier: reinvent myself completely.

I chose the second path.

And it changed everything.

Running Out of Hours

The truth is, I was drowning. I had skills. I had drive. But no matter how much I optimized, I kept hitting a ceiling: time. There just weren’t enough hours in the day to be the engineer I wanted to be, the father I needed to be, and the man I aspired to be.

I’m 36 now. Married to an incredible, supportive wife. Father of four. And when you’re responsible for that many people you love, you feel the pressure—deeply. I wasn’t just trying to grow a career. I was trying to build a future for my family.

And I was burnt out.

The Spark

In January 2023, I started hearing about this thing called ChatGPT. At first, it just seemed like a gimmick. I’d been taught some basic VBA for Excel back in college—two weeks of dry formulas that never did much for me.

But I was desperate to find leverage. Something that could multiply my output. So I started tinkering. Just little things—drafting emails, summarizing text, organizing ideas. Then I pushed further. I used AI to solve small problems. Then bigger ones.

And then I had a moment I’ll never forget: I realized I didn’t have to be a developer to build real tools. I just had to learn what I needed, one step at a time.

The Tinker Phase

I went deep. I started following people who were also figuring this out in real time—Heather Murray, Sonny Sangha, Jon Cheney, Nathan Covey. I found mentors from afar. I watched every video, followed every tutorial, broke things and fixed them.

And the most important thing? I built projects.

I stopped just reading or watching—I started making.

I’ve now created full-stack AI agents from scratch. I’ve launched tools. I’ve solved real, painful problems with solutions I built myself. Not theory. Not practice. Real-world impact.

Facing the Fear

This wasn’t easy. It meant stepping away from the safe, familiar world of engineering in big companies. It meant saying no to the stability of climbing someone else’s ladder. It meant staring down every doubt I had about myself:

“You’re too old to start learning this.”“

You’re not a coder.”

“You’ve got four kids—what if you fail?”

But something inside me was louder than those doubts:

“What if this is exactly what you’re meant to do?”

Breaking the Ceiling

The biggest transformation wasn’t just external—it was internal.

I stopped waiting for permission to grow. I stopped letting my degree define the edges of my potential. I stopped believing the lie that reinvention is only for people with nothing to lose.

I had everything to lose—so I took the leap.

Now I build AI tools that solve real-world business problems. I lead projects that would have scared me a year ago. I’ve become the kind of person who can imagine a solution—and then actually build it.

Not because I went back to school.

But because I gave myself permission to learn in public, to fail fast, and to keep going.

The Mission Now

I want to be a signal to others who feel stuck.

To the engineer who’s great at systems but thinks they “aren’t technical enough” to code.

To the professional who thinks they missed their shot.

To the parent burning the candle at both ends trying to provide and still pursue a dream.

This is your sign:

You can start now.

You don’t have to quit your job today. You don’t have to learn everything at once. You just have to be willing to try.

Follow the Build

This journey is just getting started for me. I’m launching more tools, documenting more of my builds, and helping others take the leap I did.

🔗 Want to see what I’m working on?

👋 Want to follow my journey?

🚀 Ready to start yours? You can. Right now.

Because the real power of AI isn’t in the models—it’s in you deciding to use them.

Let’s build something amazing.