It's 2018 and I'm flying off on the very first helicopter ride to Appomattox—a large platform in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico that I helped design and build at Shell. Like a floating city, these platforms perform operations with the precision of a surgeon, miles beneath the ocean floor—so they're pretty impressive.

It’s hard to believe that it’s only been six months since I hit “publish” on that first post. But here we are, six months into a venture that has helped me grow exponentially as a project manager and as a person.

The biggest obstacle I had to overcome was the fear of putting myself out there. I remember sitting in my living room with my wife, Phoenix, at my side. It took me hours to hit publish on the first article, “What is Project Management.” I had so many questions running through my head. What are people going to think? Are they going to like what I’m doing?

Having never posted anything before, I didn’t know what to expect from a readership standpoint, either. Would hundreds of people read my post right away? Or would it be crickets?

I’m a proud second-generation Latino. My childhood was a mix of dancing salsa in the kitchen during family gatherings while my mom served up fresh homemade tamales. But like many second-generation Latinos, I had to balance that life with growing up in an almost all-white Catholic elementary school in New Jersey.

A great project manager is also a great leader.

As a project manager, I am consistently working on being a valuable, trusting leader.

My experience as a father has been one of the best teachers.

My son is almost 15 months now, and I find myself realizing he is making me a better leader, a more thoughtful one.