The journey matters. This I know from lived experience.

We all move through life’s journey playing different roles. I’ve played many—some better than others—but each has taught me something worth holding onto. The Journey Matters is a place for those lessons: observations about life, travel, culture, leadership, and the quiet wisdom earned along the way.

Today, my roles include entrepreneur, author, speaker, strategist, husband, father, recovering tennis pro, an aspiring guitarist, and an unapologetic believer that some of life’s best thinking happens on a motorcycle. I serve in national leadership with USTA Coaching, helping shape the future of coach education and the sport itself. I’m also the founder of Ian Symmonds & Associates and the creator of FirmSmith, an incubator designed to help purpose-driven consultants and founders build enduring firms. At my core, though, I’m a teacher and a student of culture—deeply committed to the transformational power of education and allergic to hypocrisy and self-absorption.

This site is also shaped by a living body of work I often call Things I’ve Learned—short reflections, patterns, and truths collected over decades of work, travel, leadership, failure, and renewal. In a digital world full of noise, I’ve intentionally stepped back from performative personal social media and recommitted to sharing work that adds value, invites reflection, and contributes—however modestly—to healthier communities.

I live and work in Southern California and travel extensively for consulting, board leadership, racket-sports development, and personal exploration. If you’re looking for my research, consulting work, or speaking engagements, you can find that at iansymmonds.org.

The Journey Matters, though, is something different: a record of movement, meaning, and the belief that how we travel through life is just as important as where we arrive.