This Wasn’t Supposed to Be a Book

So, apparently, I wrote a book — Sparked: Rebellious Leadership Beyond the Ordinary.

I didn’t really plan to write this book… it started as a series of tensions I couldn’t ignore and questions I couldn’t shake. This Q&A pulls back the curtain on that journey — the push, the doubt, and the moments that finally sparked SPARKED.

What motivated you to write this book, and why now?
I’ve lived a career full of moments that made me stop and think, How did I even get here? As a kid from the inner city, nothing was handed to me. Every opportunity had to be chased down, fought for, and figured out in real time. And while I’m grateful for that journey, I often wish I’d had more people along the way to help me see the lessons while I was living them.

This book is my way of becoming that voice for someone else. It’s about shortening the distance between experience and understanding. If I can help someone move more quickly, see more clearly, and step more boldly into their life . . . then it’s worth it.

At its core, this book is about living fully. Not cautiously. Not halfway. But deeply—pulling every ounce of meaning, purpose, and possibility out of the life you’ve been given.

What was the most challenging part of writing your book?
Honestly, the writing itself wasn’t the hard part. The stories were already there, waiting. What challenged me was the responsibility to get them right. To go beyond surface-level storytelling and deliver something with real depth. Something useful. Something that sticks. I spent far more time refining than drafting—sharpening ideas, tightening language, pushing every chapter to hit harder and land cleaner.

How does your personal or professional background influence your writing?
This book is my background. Every lesson, every story, every scar and breakthrough—they all show up here. My work, my teaching, my leadership—they all come from the same place: a refusal to accept the status quo and a deep belief that we’re all capable of more. I write the way I try to live: fully leaned in, relentlessly curious, honest to a fault, and always ready to light something on fire if it needs changing.

Who do you hope this book will resonate with the most?
This is for the people who feel overlooked. The ones who know they have more in them but haven’t been given a shot. The ones who’ve been told—directly or indirectly—that they don’t belong in certain rooms. It’s for the people who have felt underestimated. Because the truth is, those “big rooms” aren’t reserved. And the idea that you can’t play at that level? That’s crap, and that’s a fact.

What advice would you give to someone thinking about writing a book?
Start. That’s it. Don’t wait for the perfect setup, the perfect idea, or the perfect time. None of that exists. Write a little. Then a little more. Capture thoughts wherever they show up—your phone, a notebook, a voice memo mid-walk, an email to yourself. You can organize later. You can refine later. But you can’t edit what you never wrote. Momentum beats perfection every time.

What’s one thing readers might be surprised to learn about your journey, whether in life or in writing?
Spanish is my first language, and being Latino permeates all my experiences. It shapes everything, from how I think to how I communicate. It’s also meant I’ve had to work harder to translate ideas clearly across cultures and contexts.

And then there’s this: I’m what I call an “otrovert.” On the outside, I’m engaged, expressive, connected. But internally, I often feel like an outsider looking in. That tension between belonging and observing has probably shaped my perspective more than anything. It’s why I see things the way I do and why I write the way I write.

Do you have a writing routine or ritual that helps keep you focused?
I’m less ritual, more readiness. I try to stay in a constant state of capture. Notes app, tablet, voice memos—whatever’s closest when the idea hits. Some days it’s structured. Some days it’s chaos. But the goal is simple: Don’t let the moment pass without grabbing something from it.

Is there a particular quote, motto, or piece of wisdom that guided you through the writing process?
There’s a line from Walden by Henry David Thoreau that’s always living in my head: “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately . . . and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. . . . I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life.”

That idea of living deliberately, fully, and deeply sits at the core of this book. It’s not just something I admire; it’s something I’m chasing. I’ve been sucking the marrow out of life in every experience for as long as I can remember.

Are you working on another book or project you’d like to share?
I’ve already started the next one. It’s focused on mentorship—one of the most defining forces in my life, both when it was present and when it was missing.

We don’t pursue mentorship with enough intention, and we don’t always show up for others the way we should. That gap has consequences. My next book is about closing that gap and making sure to pull people up when we do.

What are five books that have had a lasting impact on you?
I read broadly, but a few come to mind right away:

Born in Blood and Fire by John Chasteen
Black AF History by Michael Harriot
Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull
Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon
Blink by Malcolm Gladwell

Each one, in its own way, shifted how I see the world and how I move through it.