David Buzan of Keizer on Life, Lessons & Legacy

We recently had the chance to connect with David Buzan and have shared our conversation below.

Hi David, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to share your story, experiences and insights with our readers. Let’s jump right in with an interesting one: What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
The gym actually sets the tone for my entire day, so the first 90 minutes are spent getting in an early morning workout. Consistency to fitness goals (and mine are mostly cardio-centered these days) seeps into many other areas of my life. The same plateaus, goal-setting and personal wins I experience in the gym are often mirrored in the realm of creativity. In many ways, the gym is a warm-up for the day’s writing marathon.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Dave Buzan, and I am an Oregon novelist and screenwriter. My bestselling debut novel (“In
the Lair of Legends”) became a multiple award-winner, including the 2023
Best Thrillers Book Award for Historical Thriller of the Year. I’m a graduate of
the Vancouver Film School, and also hold a Bachelor of Science Degree
in Psychology from Liberty University.

“In the Wrath of Legends” is my second novel (a sequel to my debut), and will be published at the end of 2025. My third novel (“Suspension”) will be out in bookstores in November, 2026.

Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
A horrific season of physical bullying at school made me believe that I was weak. The unrelenting taunts negatively shifted my self-worth, and the shame I experienced after being beat up left me feeling powerless. Those awful experiences left me with the impression that I was a very weak person. It was an emotional boulder that I carried for many years afterwards.

As I grew older, I began to realize how that whole experience had completely reshaped me. Kindness had blossomed out of rocky soil; tears of shame had fertilized empathy. As I began to help others who had been facing struggles throughout their own life, I came to understand that I had gained strength from that perceived weakness.

I hadn’t allowed someone else’s cruelty to ultimately define me, which is the very opposite of weakness.

Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
After decades of creative heartache, I actually walked away from writing endeavors for over ten years. There was a final straw rejection that destroyed my foundation of resiliency; I felt that I had absolutely used up everything I had to have gotten as far as I could, and there was nothing left inside that I had to give. So, in 2008, I turned my back on my dreams and began building a different life trajectory for myself.

And that seemed to work. Until it didn’t.

Flash-cut to 2020. I was a general manager of an essential business during the pandemic. Concurrently, Oregon was experiencing the worst wildfire season in recent memory. I was surrounded by choking smoke, masks and mandates, and a real sense uncertainty about the future. During a difficult shift, there was a moment when I stepped outside to look at the distant wildfires. It was then that I felt a felt a distinct pang of regret that soon grew into a flaming desire. I knew at that moment that I needed to once again embrace my dreams or I would be disappointed in myself for the rest of my life.

The next day, I began researching my very first book. Three years later, a publisher took a chance on me and my debut novel was published. Dreams only have expiration dates if you allow them to.

So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What’s a cultural value you protect at all costs?
Context.

Of the ten prominent cultural values as recently outlined by the Cultural Intelligence Center, I find myself guarding context the very most. How someone chooses to communicate–either directly or indirectly–is so incredibly important in all relationships.

Across my 30 years in various professional leadership roles, I find it of utmost importance to understand how a person is communicating. People feel heard if they also feel understood, not just listened to. A strong leader strives to be adaptable in their approach of understanding communication styles and the context in which it was given.

Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. Could you give everything your best, even if no one ever praised you for it?
Longing for praise can be just as damaging as hiding from criticism.

I was raised with a tremendous work ethic instilled upon me by my parents. While positive recognition is wonderful to receive, it has never been my endgame in either work or art. Doing the best that I can in any situation has gotten me through many years of difficult and stressful jobs where the complaints were plentiful and the compliments seemingly an endangered species. There’s a certain satisfaction in knowing you always gave your best.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
* Author photos by Troutman Photography (Albany, Oregon)

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