What I'm Up To - Vol. 71
Here's what I've been up to since Volume 70...
What I'm Up To Volume 71
Hey friends,
Here’s what I’ve been up to since Vol. 70…
1. Madcap May
Before I share some highlights from last month, a mea culpa. Last month I teased a weird bit of trivia Wendy brought home from the Grand Canyon and neglected to share the answer. How many human bodies would it take to fill the Grand Canyon? 66.2 trillion, almost nine times the population of Earth!
I kicked off the month with a trip to Chicago to speak at the Midwest REI Networking Summit. I got to deliver a new presentation combining the principles of The ONE Thing with two decades of wealth-building lessons. It was a treat to create and share. I also got to lead a session on the why and how of Goal Setting Retreats for busy couples. We still have a few tickets left for our next retreat in Scottsdale, if you’re curious. It’s been life-changing for Wendy and me.
I also found time to hang out with some local pals, Angie, Meg, and Shoes. Meg secured a reservation at the Armitage Alehouse, so I can enjoy my traditional post-speaking burger in style. The juicy Wagu burger leapfrogged Au Cheval’s on my lifetime top ten burger list.
Every May, Keller Williams hosts RED Day where our 180,000+ associates around the world don red t-shirts and dedicate the day to community service. Our Austin team converged on Austin Sunshine Camps, a nonprofit that provides summer camp experiences for underprivileged kids. My group spent the day helping Dillon create an outdoor classroom for his Eagle Scout project.
That weekend, my old college pal, AJ, and his daughter Elise visited. He was bringing her home for summer break from Southwestern where Gus will go this fall. We grilled steaks, drank good wine, and played some Wingspan. Gus also had his senior prom.
The following week we hosted our top agents and teams in Austin for a three-day mastermind and Leadership Academy. These small group events are often our most impactful. We went deep into delivering value between transactions, hiring, scaling, and leading. As much as I enjoy teaching and leading, the highlight was after hours. Wendy and I hosted our charity poker tournament benefitting Heroes for Children. We raised almost $180,000 for families with kids battling cancer and had a great time doing it. Congrats to Alisha Flickert who beat over 200 players to win it all.
Finally, this breathless, madcap May ended with a trip to Maui. Wendy and I had been invited to keynote Brandon Turner’s BetterLife REI Summit. Gus was done with school so we brought him along to shadow us. The shadowing was ostensibly a way to complete his final high school apprenticeship and also a selfish way to grab more time with him before he leaves the nest. I can also now say I’ve visited all 50 states!
Maui was as magical as advertised and the event was world-class. In lieu of making this a 30-page newsletter, you can check out highlights on Instagram here, here, and here. I also wrote about one of Gus’s best aha’s, The Reputation Snowball. Big thanks to Brandon and his team for making Gus feel super welcome. We did a podcast and Gus even makes a cameo. Not sure when it will drop, but the pod is well worth subscribing (Apple Podcasts / Spotify).
2. What I’m Reading
For nonfiction, I enjoyed Talent Magnet by Mark Miller. It’s a fable about creating a culture to attract and keep the best people. I also finished the epically long audiobook, What’s Our Problem by Tim Urban. I’ve followed Urban on social and his blog for years. Honestly, I’d recommend buying the ebook so you can skim. The big ideas are great, but it’s overly long.
My main takeaway is language to describe our political discourse beyond “right”, “left”, “conservative”, and “liberal.” That’s just the horizontal axis. If you add a vertical axis, you and add “low-rung” and “high-rung.” “Low-rung” describes the political pugilism that characterizes the worst of what we see today. If you’re not 100% aligned with me on the right, you must be a “RINO” or a “communist.” Or on the left, any misstep is a sign of “racism” and “authoritarian.” This kind of name-calling keeps everyone defensive and puts democratic free speech in a deep freeze. It’s a zero-sum game with only winners and losers. “High-rung” is less about being right than a willingness to debate and explore the truth. “High-rung” thinking has been on the ropes of late, but I’m hopeful we’ll find our way back. I believe that we don’t have to abandon our convictions to listen, understand, and find compromise. I don’t agree with everything Urban says. But I admire his courage in taking on the extreme left and right in his work.
May was a great month for fiction. I loved, loved, loved Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. It’s a novel about two video game designers and their best friend which unfolds over decades of love, heartbreak, breakthroughs, and tragedies. Huge thanks to Jennie for suggesting it. Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney is a page-turning thriller with the ultimate unreliable narrator. Finally, I read my old writing professor’s latest, The Ferryman by Justin Cronin. Just when I lost patience with all the dream sequences, Cronin revealed their relevance. All was forgiven. It’s a solid Sci-Fi yarn with a twist.
3. What I’m Watching
Wendy and I loved the Amazon documentary, Judy Blume, Forever. If you grew up reading her books, you’ll want to add it to your list. The Nike/Air Jordan biopic, Air, also lived up to billing. Great flick and probably Oscar bait. While Wendy was traveling, I watched the John Wick wannabe, SISU. It’s 94% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes but I thought it was a bit over-the-top. Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant with Jake Gyllenhaal and Dar Salim portrayed the fate of a US military translator after the Afghanistan withdrawal without devolving into politics or melodrama. As war films go, I thought it was rock solid.
I knocked out two more excellent seasons (4 & 5) of Better Call Saul during my travels. The writing, cinematography, soundtrack, and Bob Odenkirk are sublime. Finally, bid a sad farewell to Ted Lasso. The final season admirably wrapped up multiple storylines with humor and heart. TV needs more shows like this!That’s it for this month. Please reply back and let me know what you’re up to!
Be well, do good deeds, and eat tacos!
Jay
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