About Breaking Average

Breaking Average began with a simple but meaningful question: What if everyday people, teams, and organizations could break free from the status quo and step into the fuller, more purposeful lives they're capable of?

That question sparked a journey of exploration through writing and speaking—starting with a blog, growing into books like Breaking Average, Imagine, and Face the Mountain, and evolving into the Breaking Average Podcast, now co-hosted with Barry Smith. This site serves as the central hub for those efforts, gathering insights on life, leadership, learning, resilience, and growth. It's a passion project pursued alongside my primary professional work.

By day, I serve as Chief Technology Officer at SimVentions, a company I co-founded in 2000. I'm proud of the mission-driven work we do—leading engineering teams that deliver innovative solutions in support of our nation's defense. The people at SimVentions are exceptional, and I'm grateful to work alongside them.

This space plays a complementary role in my life. It's where I recharge, sharpen my thinking, and refine ideas through writing and conversation. Writing helps me process and gain clarity; speaking allows me to test and evolve ideas in real-world dialogue. If anything here inspires or equips you to push beyond average in your own life, work, or leadership, then it's fulfilling exactly what it was created for.If this resonates, I invite you to follow along—subscribe to the podcast, read the blog on Substack, explore the books, or stay connected for future updates.

Thanks for visiting. I'm glad you're here.

- Paul 

Bio 

Paul Gustavson is a technology leader, author, and speaker known for helping people and organizations grow with clarity, purpose, and momentum—often by challenging how they imagine what’s possible. As co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of SimVentions, a 25-year engineering firm supporting those who protect our nation, Paul guides the company’s technical vision and champions innovation grounded in service, integrity, and excellence.

His guiding belief is simple: “Your legacy isn’t what you build—it’s who it builds.” Paul equips leaders to navigate complexity, rethink assumptions, and step into the impact they were created to make. Drawing from decades of engineering leadership, mentoring, and values-anchored principles, he develops practical frameworks that turn imagination into meaningful, lasting action.

Over a decade ago, Paul was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Anchored in hope, he continues to live fully active—a journey that has deepened his perspective on resilience, faith, and intentional living.

Paul is the author of Face the Mountain, Leaders Press On, Imagine, and Breaking Average—books that blend story, strategy, and insight to strengthen mindset, character, and influence. He also leads the Lead Bulletproof Community, a growing network of leaders committed to resilience, growth, and service.

A graduate of Old Dominion University with more than thirty years of experience in engineering and leadership, Paul is known for helping leaders cut through noise, reimagine what’s possible, and translate ideas into lasting impact.

About the Lead Edge Group

The Lead Edge Group LLC was established to support Paul's passions outside of SimVentions, providing a dedicated foundation for his books, podcast, speaking, and leadership resources.

Through it, Paul publishes books—including Face the Mountain, Breaking Average, Imagine, and Speech Blueprint—hosts the Breaking Average Podcast (co-hosted with Barry Smith), and develops tools like this site to encourage and equip leaders at every level. These efforts also power the Lead Bulletproof Community—a nationwide network of growth-minded leaders committed to resilience and excellence—and the annual Lead Bulletproof Summit.