As I write this, I'm chuckling.
I went to Military Creator Con 2026 for a lot of reasons. I expected to meet people, learn, make connections, and come home with new ideas. What I didn't expect was for a ten-minute conversation in a breakroom to change the direction of a creative problem I had been wrestling with for three years.
I had been trying to write a book about recovering from my quadricep tendon rupture. According to my Atticus software, I had written about 30,000 words.
The problem wasn't having a story to tell.
The problem was getting through the hard parts.
Whenever I reached moments that required me to revisit some of the most difficult parts of my recovery, I would freeze. I knew what I wanted to say because I had lived it, but I couldn't get my fingers moving on the keyboard.
Then a friend at Military Creator Con gave me three choices:
- Don't write the book.
- Keep writing, even if I could only manage eleven words a day.
- Or turn the story into a podcast.
"You do a podcast, and you're pretty good at it," he told me. "Why not tell your story there and then write the book from the podcast?"
I couldn't believe I hadn't thought of it.
Out of all the great things that happened at Military Creator Con, that simple conversation may prove to be one of the most important.
It got me moving again.
Where the Story Comes From
A quadricep tendon rupture is a catastrophic injury. My surgeon believes mine may have originated from an injury I suffered while serving in the Marine Corps. Decades later, I had to learn how to walk again, and I still deal with aspects of the rupture every day.
But I never wanted this story to become another self-help book telling people how to live their lives.
I want people to look at my story and recognize the power they already have to change their own.
The 3-Sided Coin
That is where the 3-Sided Coin comes in.
I needed motivation to start. I needed discipline to keep doing the work when it hurt. Most importantly, I had to believe I could recover.
Eventually, belief became evidence.
Almost a year ago, I won a National Masters Weightlifting meet. Standing there after everything I had been through, I thanked God and cried a little on the inside.
It wasn't simply about winning. It was proof that the work mattered.
Listening to other veterans, entrepreneurs, and creators at Military Creator Con, I realized they understand this too. Creation requires sacrifice. There are setbacks, doubts, lonely nights, and moments when nobody else can see what you see.
You keep going because you believe.
Flip Your Coin
That unexpected conversation helped give birth to my new podcast, Travis' 3-Sided Coin.
Yes, people have already told me, "There's no such thing as a three-sided coin."
Actually, there is.
The third side has been there all along. It's just not where most people think to look.
Someone asked me what the third side of my coin is.
I smiled and said, "If you listened closely, I already told you."
Sometimes motivation gets you moving.
Sometimes discipline keeps you moving.
But neither matters for long unless the coin itself is forged from something stronger.
Belief.
I believe in the power you have to change your life.
Now I can't wait to see what happens when you flip your coin.
