The Blueprint of a Pivot: Building a Life You Actually Want to Live

August 12, 2026

The Blueprint of a Pivot: Building a Life You Actually Want to Live

The first web domain I ever purchased was in 2012: Chalkmyvan.com.

I was 23 years old, the internet was running heavy into the Blog Age, and social media was just becoming a mainstream necessity for businesses. At the time, I had a large, ugly van that I painted with chalk paint. I would drive it all over San Diego, park it overnight near a popular venue, and leave a bag of chalk next to it with a theme written on the window. Oddly enough, the Facebook page still exists.

The following day, I realized I should purchase my own name, BrandonAthey.com. I’ve owned it ever since.

Over the years, what has lived on this website has changed countless times, and the number of other domains I’ve purchased since then has been nothing short of incredible. I became really good at starting and launching ideas. Out of the 40 or 50 side businesses I dove into, four became full-time operations. But eventually, I would hit the hard part and realize I’d be spending a lot of time doing something I didn’t actually enjoy if I kept pushing them forward.

I’ve learned a lot about starting businesses, but I’ve learned even more about choosing the right paths. Dreams change. Desires change. What we chase changes.

Finding the Core Thread

Through all the chaotic pivots and businesses, one thing never wavered: my love for the water and my desire to film and edit. Those two things always remained the backbone of everything I chased.

In 2014, I opened my first brick-and-mortar business—a performing arts studio. I was living in the back of this historic underground dance studio, and I recognized early on that the business would need to be driven by media to survive. So, I enrolled in radio, television, and film classes at a local college. Everything I produced in class was immediately used as a social page, a studio graphic, or a promotion for the business.

Over the last decade of building, failing, and pivoting, I realized something vital: I wasn't actually chasing business. I was chasing a lifestyle.

I am a solo operator. Several of the businesses I started tied me down to specific locations and people I didn’t really care to spend time with. That led me to figure out what I am actually searching for in life: to experience the world around me and the people who make life interesting. That’s it.

The Foundation of a Pivot

Along the way, I learned how to streamline the chaotic process of starting something new. Whether you are launching a performing arts studio or pivoting to full-time dive travel, you have to build what I call "The Foundation."

I can have these four things up and running in a single day (barring the wait times for government processing):

The Legal Docs: LLCs, filings, and structure.
The Bank Accounts: Separating the money immediately.
The Social Pages: Claiming the real estate.
The Website: Building the home base.

Once that base is set up, I start iterating on the website, the media, and the core philosophy. These things are never truly finished; they are a consistent work in progress. Step two is getting others involved—the actual media outreach and networking, which is a never-ending endeavor in itself.

So, sitting here working on step two of this site, I am building out these logs as a form of documentation. I am collecting affiliate links, reaching out to sponsors, and meticulously recording the money, the time spent, the gear, and the planning that goes into the ultimate fruit of it all: the diving.

The Calculated Cost of Focus

My mind gets so fixated on creation that I happily neglect everyday things.

I let my lawn grow and mow it infrequently, while my retired neighbors treat theirs like a work of art. I meticulously maintain my camera, my scuba gear, and my computer equipment, but I couldn't care less about dirty dishes. I'd rather use paper plates to save the hassle.

Some people look at that like neglect. I see it as sacrifice.

I can either build my dreams, or I can have a perfectly manicured yard. I always figured the nice yard could come after the dreams were in full swing. After all, I’ll probably sell this house eventually, and all that nice yard work will just belong to someone else, yielding nearly zero return on investment.

You can easily get dragged into doing all sorts of work that doesn’t actually push the needle forward.

Stepping Into the Unknown

Then there is God—the One who brings the things you never thought of or imagined right into your path. This is the best part of taking chances and stepping out into the unknown. God is there for us.

Yes, there are risks to everything. But I would rather take on that risk than live a mundane life, spending all my time and talent helping someone else build something that probably isn’t even their real dream. There is nothing worse than helping someone build something they don’t even like, just because it fell into their lap and pays well.