As a young man, any time I told my dad I needed something, we set about building a solution rather than buying it from a store.

For better and worse, I carry that with me into everything that I do – give me a problem and I will just go out and try to figure it out for myself. This explains why I worked in the education sector for over 20 years – anything worth doing starts with learning. It explains why I’ve maintained a magazine-style website since 2013 without hiring help – I am my own harshest critic and best self-promoter.

I keep a photo of my father’s homemade workbench on the art table I built myself to remind me that even when I fail, I will have learned something and not only is that the best teacher, it’s free of charge.

I was the only kid on my block with a wooden Han Solo blaster.