Today, I signed a two-year contract extension with Dunning. As I type this, I\u2019m having a drink and dancing between sentences. But this story isn\u2019t about Dunning\u2019s shirts,\u00a0 pants or their latest high-tech fabric. It\u2019s about the good people at a company that helped change my life.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s clich\u00e9 to say, \u201cFind something you love to do, and you\u2019ll never work a day in your life.\u201d There\u2019s truth in that, but what it doesn\u2019t tell you is how doing what you love can change your life outside of work.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s talk and see if we can help.\u201d That was the DM I got from Annmarie Dodd, Dunning\u2019s VP of Marketing, in 2022.<\/p>\n
I should have seen the end of Firepit Collective coming, but I didn\u2019t. When it folded, I decided to start my own website instead of finding another traditional media job. To say I had no clue what I was doing would be an understatement. I didn\u2019t have an LLC, didn\u2019t know how to build a website and had no plan to make money… I was scared shitless.<\/p>\n
Annmarie and I talked soon after that message,\u00a0 I didn\u2019t have a polished pitch or a business plan\u2014just a vague idea that I\u2019d write and post about golf. For some reason, she offered me a contract anyway. I can only imagine how she sold it to her bosses: \u201cWe just signed this guy with no plan, no structure and no idea what he\u2019s doing\u2026he\u2019s perfect\u201d<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t remember exactly how much it was for\u2014it wasn\u2019t a lot\u2014but it felt like a million dollars. I said yes so fast I probably scared her.<\/p>\n
When I got off the phone, my wife, Stephanie, and I hugged for a long time without saying a word. At the time, we were back in my hometown of Alpena, taking care of my dad, who had dementia. That phone call was welcome news during a hard stretch of life.<\/p>\n
Before all this, I worked in the restaurant business, running a group of restaurants. I liked it, but the hours were brutal. I\u2019d leave before the kids woke up and get home after they were asleep. Back then, I didn\u2019t realize what I was missing\u2014family dinners, school drop-offs and random Tuesday afternoons. They weren\u2019t even on my radar.<\/p>\n
Now, they are.<\/p>\n
Most days, I have lunch with my wife\u2014something we do almost every day when I\u2019m not traveling. She works from home as a phone triage nurse. A few hours later, our daughter, Annie, comes home from school, gives us both a hug and disappears to draw. An hour after that, our son, Jackson, walks in, grabs a ball and asks if I want to play basketball before he even says hello.<\/p>\n
And like most days, I close my laptop and go play.<\/p>\n
Most nights we sit down for dinner together and do something we call Roses and Thorns\u2014each of us shares one good thing and one not-so-good thing from the day. When I\u2019m on the road, that\u2019s what I miss most.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s what Dunning has meant to my life. That\u2019s why \u201cfind something you love and you\u2019ll never work a day in your life\u201d doesn\u2019t tell the full story. Because if you\u2019re lucky, doing what you love doesn\u2019t just change your work\u2014it changes your life.<\/p>\n
Fast forward to three years later, Annmarie and I jumped on another call to talk about a new contract. Once again, I didn\u2019t negotiate. How could I? You don\u2019t haggle with the people who helped you live out your dream\u2014and who made it possible to rarely miss a swim meet, basketball game or lunch with your wife.<\/p>\n
The entire Dunning team has been incredible. Matt, their Social Media Manager, has become a friend and still thanks me for every retweet or video (even though he doesn\u2019t have to). Christian, the VP of Brand, was thrilled when I joined an LPGA broadcast and the Golf Channel team let me promote the brand. Annmarie and I text weekly\u2014about golf, Dunning and life.<\/p>\n
I get to tweet, write and podcast about the minor leagues of golf. That\u2019s my job. Just typing that makes me proud\u2014and laugh a little at how ridiculous it sounds. When people ask what I do for a living, I still don\u2019t really know how to explain it.<\/p>\n
So yes, today I signed a two-year extension with Dunning. But what I really signed up for was another chapter of doing what I love\u2014with people who believed in me long before I believed in myself.<\/p>\n
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