FIRST-PRINCIPLES SYSTEMS STRATEGIST

A Full Approach For A World Coming Soon

Let's Boil It Down

I solve meaningful problems by connecting disciplines that rarely talk to each other.

When people ask, “What do you do for a living?” I chuckle. Not because I don’t have an answer, but because the expected answers don’t apply.

I’m a strategist who thinks like an engineer, creates like an artist, and empowers like a coach. I use a deep generalist approach to bring first-principles clarity to complex challenges. Then, I build and improve solutions that work in the real world.

At its core, this is a marriage of breadth × depth. I do whatever it takes to improve systems that enhance lives.

Once the why is clear, the how and what become inevitable.

What It Looks Like in Practice

I don’t force myself into predefined boxes. Instead, I focus on outcomes that matter. Here are some recent examples:

A business struggles to articulate its vision, so I help refine their message and translate it into a scalable brand.
A team is overwhelmed by an unmanageable process, so I engineer a lean, human-centered system from the ground up.
A family wants to capture meaning in a photo album, so I bring my eye, lens, and emotional intelligence to the session.
A student struggles to consistently master, so we engineer a system that keeps them on track and gives them a fishing pole.

Think of it as throwing the following roles into the blender (or LinkedIn):

What binds them all together is not the title. It's results.

Multiple Domains: Arts × People × Engineering

Rather than segment my work, I integrate three powerful domains:

🎨 Arts

Creativity, aesthetics, storytelling, and emotional resonance.

Whether it’s music, photography, or writing, I leverage the arts to make ideas feel powerful and resonant.

🧠 People

Psychology, collaboration, learning, and leadership.

I build systems that actually work for humans, not just on paper. Empowering people is always part of the solution.

⚙️ Engineering

Logic, design, precision, and optimization.

Whether it’s a process, curriculum, product, or business model, I break it down to components using first principles and rebuild it for better performance.

These aren’t separate tools; they’re threads of the same fabric. When woven together, they create systems that are elegant, resilient, and remarkably effective.

Breadth: The First-Principles Approach

First-principles were introduced to me in my science and engineering career as fundamental laws that governed the rest.

Think of the laws of gravity, magnetism, heat transfer, and thermodynamics. Even if you haven't studied science or engineering, you recognize that:

Opposites attract one another
Nature finds the path of least resistance
Energy flows where attention goes
Adaptation beats brute force
Tension and release define natural rhythms
Function follows structure
Change is the only true constant

These principles found in nature apply to our relationships, businesses, arts, sports, and every domain imaginable. It provides the breadth of infrastructure that enables us to connect the dots faster.

Depth: Systems & Strategy

First-principles thinking provides the clarity to see how everything connects. Systems strategy turns that clarity into results by adapting to real-world intricacies.

As a systems strategist, I design intelligent, adaptable frameworks that solve complex, cross-disciplinary problems. The goal is not to add more complexity, but to simplify without compromise and strip away what’s unnecessary to align every moving part with a meaningful outcome.

Where others rely on tactics, I begin with fundamentals.

Where others follow trends, I engineer timeless solutions.

Where others rely on linear thinking, I demystify the nonlinear.

Every project starts with a rigorous assessment of the landscape:

What forces are at play?
Where is energy being lost?
What patterns are hidden in plain sight?
And what structure would make future decisions straightforward?

My approach blends technical design, creative insight, and human understanding. It draws on natural laws, behavioral systems, and strategic operations to build tools and processes that work–not in theory, but in practice.

These systems are designed to perform in real-world conditions. They are lean, resilient, and tailored to the unique constraints of the people and environments they operate in.

In a market full of noise and generic advice, strategic systems offer something rare: clarity that scales and adapts.

What Fueled the Journey

This path wasn’t taught in class. I have degrees in environmental science and chemical engineering as well as academic experience on a dozen fields.

It was built through real world-experience.

My growth accelerated when I stopped following the script and started designing my own playbook in my teens:

I replaced passive entertainment with deep, skill-based practice
I devoured platforms like YouTube and Udemy to gain real-world knowledge
I engineered my daily environment for continuous improvement
I studied real psychology to understand how people make decisions
I unlearned the false narrative that “it’s too late” after 25

Instead of choosing a single lane, I built an ecosystem of knowledge, techniques, and skills that have benefitted thousands upon thousands of people.

The ForrestXYZ Project

This is more than a portfolio. It's a proof-of-concept.

It shows that someone with broad learning, deep mastery, and interdisciplinary vision can create immense value in any field through leveraging sound systems and strategy.

That’s what I offer: A new kind of strategist for a world coming to us soon.

If you’ve been searching for someone who can connect the dots, solve the root issue, and execute across disciplines...

Here I am.

ForrestXYZ