In this segment of the "Journey of Truth & Growth" podcast, host Speaker B interviews cybersecurity professional Matthew Rosenquist. The conversation covers several personal and professional themes. Rosenquist emphasizes the urgent need to mentor the next generation of cybersecurity talent, noting that the field is evolving faster than it did for his cohort and that failing to support newcomers could have serious consequences. He then shares a practical daily challenge: an overflowing email inbox and LinkedIn notifications, expressing a desire to efficiently manage and respond to connections. When asked about the most rewarding aspect of his life, he cites being a dad. Reflecting on his younger self, he advises his 17‑year‑old self to pursue dreams without hesitation, accept the inevitability of failure, and maintain purposeful risk mitigation and recovery planning. He describes his childhood traits as analytical, focused, introverted, and brutally honest, highlighting a consistent ownership mindset. The interview wraps up with logistical details about an upcoming podcast episode he will host, discussing publishing timelines and platform uncertainties, and concludes with the word "truth" as the encapsulating theme of their shared experience.
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out of your day, out of your week, and help the next generation of cybersecurity professionals come up to speed. You know, it's going to be tougher for them than us. It moves faster for them than it did for us when we started. So if we don't work and help them, bad things are going to happen, right? We have to be able to hand over. And these are the people that will build, that will be protecting your future after you retire as well. So collaborate.
No, absolutely. Okay, really, really quick. I think we can do this in 1.5 minutes, maybe less. So you have to think really, really quick. When you wake up in the morning, what is one problem you would like to solve?
Clearing out my email because it filled up overnight and so did all my notifications on LinkedIn. So, yes.
So which, which problem is it?
LinkedIn, right? Uh, and I get a lot of people that get that connect or have a question, and I want to answer those. Uh, you aren't necessarily going to meet with everybody, but I, you know, I want to help out and want to let them know, hey, go contact this person, okay? Or that is a problem, right?
And what is the most rewarding aspect of your life experience so far?
Being a dad.
Fantastic. Okay, now this one: if you could go back and give a piece of advice to your 17-year-old self. I say 17 because that's how old I was when I came to America. Big dreams, big idea, but I didn't have any resources, didn't know anyone. So standing at the edge of this incredible career you've had, what would you say to that 17-year-old?
Pursue your dreams. Don't hesitate, not even, not even a little bit, right? Apply everything you have and contribute the most that you can.
For what if I fail? What if I fail?
That's part of it, right? If, if you think you're not going to fail, you're delusional. But that's okay, right? You're gonna, you know, move with purpose. You're always going to mitigate risks. You're going to have recovery plans, and you're going to fail, right? And you're going to learn from it. But pursue what you love. You don't work a day in your life, right?
That is fantastic. I couldn't say it any, any better, because even if you make mistake, even if you fail, I think learning from those failures is more important than succeeding, because that's going to— if you get those lessons, it's going to be with you for the rest of your life. Okay. Very, very quick. 3 adjectives describing you as a child. We're at the end here. 3 adjectives as a child.
3 adjectives. I was a horrible child. I was analytical. I was focused. I love technology. That's great. And I was an introvert. I still am an introvert.
I don't like people. So as an adult introvert, give me two more.
I was analytical, very, very analytical. And as a child? So everything I did was measured. I thought about it well in advance. One more. And I took ownership. I was brutally honest. And so I took ownership for it. I felt that was the only way to move forward.
All right. So we are at the end of the podcast. We went 5 minutes over. Thanks so much for being so generous with your time. But for those listening to us now, I'm actually going to be on Matt's podcast right now. We're going to be recording it. It's going to be coming out when?
Probably in a week. We'll get it published in a week.
And you publish yours both on LinkedIn and on YouTube, right? Yeah. Because if you go to Apple Podcasts, my favorite podcast platform, you won't be able to find it.
But maybe— I haven't figured out how to publish there yet. I don't know.
Maybe I'm going to help you fix it and not use too much of your time. So this is it, folks. So very last question. This is it. One word that represents our shared experience together on this podcast right now. Which word comes to mind? Truth. Okay.
It's truth. I am just saying the good and the bad, the ugly and the beautiful.
