I come from a world many know well but few escape—shaped by generational hardship, systemic limitations, and inherited assumptions about what life is supposed to be. Like many, I was born into environments that normalized struggle: fractured families, financial instability, inherited fears, constrained education, and institutions that valued obedience over truth.
But somewhere along the way, I began to question it all.
Every attempt to “move up” seemed to require buying into systems I could never fully respect—structures built on inequality, rewarded by compliance, and sustained by collective denial. And yet, I too would drift—lured by the promise of comfort, success, or belonging—only to wake up again in a repeating loop of ambition, disillusionment, and quiet reckoning.
Over time, that cycle forged something in me.
I found my way into systems design, software architecture, and the use of mental models—not just as a profession, but as a way of seeing. I learned to break things down to their most fundamental principles, stress-test them at their extremes, and rebuild from truth rather than assumption. Eventually, this turned me into something I never expected: a philosopher in engineer’s clothing.
Now I use that lens to reverse-engineer modern life—challenging the stories we’ve inherited about work, identity, success, justice, health, and meaning. My goal isn’t to tear things down, but to help others see more clearly, so they can choose more deliberately. So that maybe, one generation at a time, we can stop inheriting the same traps and start building something freer, wiser, and more worthy of us.
This work is personal, but not unique. Others see what I see.
If enough of us learn to think clearly, live deliberately, and design systems aligned with truth, we may finally outgrow this broken paradigm—stop reacting, and start responding.
— Toby Miller