“As many of you know, I’ve always been an intrapreneur — pushing thresholds (and maybe breaking some glass!) with my clients and teams, always looking for the “what’s next.”

The past couple of years have given me a new lens. Part of what shaped that perspective has been the people and experiences that reminded me what really matters — including one young man whose spirit has stayed with me.

I’ve been deeply touched by the passing of Carson Philbin, a young man who wrestled earlier in life with finding joy but, when he did, packed more into 24 years than many of us hope to in our lifetimes. Carson lived by the motto “why not?” and believed in turning the “what ifs” into “remember whens.” I can only hope that my own children learn to step beyond fear and self-doubt and embrace that same spirit. In reflecting on him, I realized that I, too, have more to live and explore.

Of late, I’ve also had my own challenges to remind me how fragile — and how precious — our days really are. And yet, alongside those moments, I’ve felt a spark return: the same energy and thirst for learning I felt in 1999 as the world embraced the internet. Back then, I was working for E*TRADE in Silicon Valley at the height of the .com boom. I played it safe in the comfort of Accenture while my friends took start-up risks. Not again.

Back then it was the internet. Today, it’s AI. And I believe this shift is even larger — not just an evolution, but a revolution in how we make decisions, create value, and live our lives. I don’t want to sit on the sidelines. I want to be one of the builders, shaping how this moment is harnessed. For my career, yes — but even more for my legacy, and to be part of the generation that crafts the possibilities our children will inherit.

Today, I’m choosing to live my own “why not” — why not start my own company, why not reinvent consulting, why not become a builder again? I might be 50, but I feel like I’m in my 20s :)

It’s time to honor the “remember whens” I’ve created with so many of you — colleagues, mentors, and friends who’ve shaped my journey — and to turn new “what ifs” into “why nots.”

Together with my friend, colleague, and Co-Founder Randy Rodriguez, I’m thrilled to introduce UNlock Labs — a strat-tech lab: part advisory, part product — combining the judgment of operators with the speed of AI to amplify your team’s output, strengthen confidence in every step, and accelerate meaningful outcomes.

We’re reimagining how work gets done — built to be lived, not shelved — by putting insights and tools directly into our clients’ hands.

This is just the beginning. More to come.

And in honor of Carson, I want to share the Why Not Foundation (https://whynotcp.org/), created to carry forward his spirit. His tattoo simply read: why not? — a reminder I’ll carry with me as we build Unlock Labs.

Farrell Hudzik