I started a newspaper in middle school, and a t-shirt company in college. i got my master’s thesis aired on PBS across the U.S. And I’ve helped about 20+ brands mean something—or mean more—to people in China and around the world.

I moved to Shanghai with a suitcase—maybe two—full of camera gear. I even brought lights, for god sakes. Three weeks after I landed (jobless, with a girlfriend and a master’s degree), I was the managing editor of the largest ex-pat magazine group in China, running three titles, launching two more, creating an ad department, and transforming editorial from print-first to mobile-first.

I left and went on to help bring stories and experiences to life for Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Cadillac, Porsche, Coca-Cola, Sprite, Fanta, Minute Maid, Huawei, Nissan, Estée Lauder, AUDI, General Motors, Cadillac Formula 1, Tuborg, and McDonald’s. Some big. Some small. Some great. Some not. All while polishing and pitching tons of work for other brands like BMW, oppo, Shisedo, Anessa, Castrol, VIVO, Honor, Maserati, Philips, Alipay+, NIO, ….and too many to even remember.

What I’ve learned is, typically, simple wins. But getting to simple is often very complicated.