What I'm Up To - Vol. 46

1. Rapid Fire Updates

‍Because it’s the only way I can think of to get you up to speed with brevity….

• The One Thing celebrated its 8th birthday on April 1st. With almost 2.5 million copies sold across 50 translations, it’s been quite a journey! I’m musing about the 10th Anniversary update already.
• Wendy (Pfizer), Gus (Pfizer), and I (Moderna) are all fully vaccinated. No one had severe side effects, but we all slept a lot the next day!
• We are almost five weeks into our Ideal Protein diet. I’m down almost 20 pounds and a few inches in all the right places. Wendy isn’t far behind. It’s a keto variant so we’ve been burning a lot of fat. One benefit to pandemic restrictions is that it’s been a lot easier to avoid temptation. We’re just not going out much.
• I got to interview JL Collins, author of A Simple Path to Wealth, one of my favorite reads of 2020. We’ll add it as a bonus episode to Season 5 of Think Like a CEO in the coming weeks.  JL didn’t disappoint, so subscribe and be sure to listen.
• Wendy and I took our third retreat to the lovely El Sol Cabin in Wimberley. Since we haven’t been able to travel much with COVID, these getaways have been great for reconnecting and recharging.

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2. Gus’s Crew

‍Gus had a great month. He kicked it off by PR-ing in the 2,000-meter ERG (ergometer) race and placing 1st on his team. His time was 6 minutes and 57 seconds.  I don’t know how he does it. Five hundred meters on a rowing machine in less than 2 minutes and I can’t talk or move my limbs. Gus also got to travel to Port Aransas with his high school class. At Acton Academy, the kids do 100% of the planning. They pick the destination, the route, create grocery lists and do their own cooking. He was so happy to finally get to spend time with friends. We all need more of that these days.

Finally, Gus had his first regatta in over a year at the end of April. We drove up to Oklahoma City for the 2021 US Rowing Central Youth Championships. Gus was assigned to the “stroke” seat (the rower in the stern who sets the tempo and is often the strongest) for the first time. They finished last but never faltered and pulled hard to the finish.

Austin Rowing Club is a young team and Gus is one of the oldest on the varsity squad at only 16. Racing against crews with seniors, they didn’t have much of a chance. When I asked Gus how he felt about the regatta, he shared that he was focused on setting a good example for the junior boys -- great attitude, solid teamwork, and consistent contribution on-and-off the course. He’s a great young leader and I’m beyond proud of him.

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3. Christmas in April

‍A highlight for us was having my Memphis family come to Austin for our holiday gathering. Everyone had to scramble to remember where they stored presents, who they were for and what they bought... Some of the givers were just as surprised as the recipients when we finally opened presents.

My great-niece, Mia, stole the show most days. For a teething toddler, she is not very fussy and always seems ready to smile. I love how babies inject so much joy into family gatherings!

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I got to play two rounds of golf with my dad and brother-in-law. It was the first time I’ve swung a club in over three years. I’m happy to report that my back didn’t bark too much, and I actually hit the ball well. I shot a 100 at Fazio Foothills Golf Course, which is great for a hacker like me. Brent helped me keep dad from climbing into any ravines to look for golf balls. He isn’t steady on his feet anymore and took a bad fall last year; but old habits die hard.

Dad has been battling stage 4 prostate cancer for about a year. After dinner on the final night, he called a family meeting. Not knowing how this will turn out or when we’ll all be together again, he made sure that we all knew how much he loved us and was proud of us.

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4. What We’re Watching

‍This was a busy month so there wasn’t much time for watching shows. Wendy and I finished WandaVision and enjoyed the unique approach Disney+ took. It takes a few episodes to get drawn in and then you’re hooked. Wendy spent a few days at the ranch with friends. I used that time to watch season 2 of Hanna. I enjoyed it much more than the previous season where they rehashed the eponymous movie.

Finally, we also watched Godzilla vs. Kong. I liked it. Wendy didn’t. I have a higher tolerance for kaiju films. After disappointing popcorn movies (hello, Wonder Woman 1984), I enjoyed watching them battle on land, at sea and even at the center of the earth.

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5. Rapid Fire Reads

‍In the interest of time, I’m only linking to what I think might broadly appeal.

• How People Get Rich by Paul Graham -- In this short blog post, Graham compares the Forbes “World’s Billionaire List” from 1982 to 2020. The punchline? Start a tech company.
• Analyzing the Design of Unusual Japanese Butter Tableware by Rain Noe -- I love nerding out on stuff like this. You know the holes in your cheese grater? They are called “nacelles” and when employed on butter, you get “butter noodles,” which are easy to spread on toast!
• What Would the Rockefeller’s Do? by Garrett Gunderson -- Meh. I did a deep dive on estate planning and this was recommended. It’s all about whole life policies and I’m not a fan.
• The Prosperous Coach by Steve Chandler and Rich Litvin -- Again, meh. I did like how they create a purposeful coaching experience before ever selling. That’s smart.
• The Confessor (Gabriel Allon #3) by Daniel Silva -- My cousin, Nancy, recommended this series last year and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it. Besides being good thrillers, the author mixes art, WWII and Shoah history in an interesting way.
• Trillion Dollar Coach by Eric Schmidt, Jonathan Rosenberg and Alan Eagle -- Boom! Five-star business read. If you’re intent on being a better leader, this is a must-read. Made me want to cuss more in meetings and reminded me to always focus on the team, not the problem.
• Humor, Seriously by Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas -- Another 5-star read. I loved this book. The authors have been teaching a class on humor in the workplace at Stanford for years; so it is both funny and serious. As a result, we’re also hiring two professional comedians to suggest up to 50 “dad jokes” for our next manuscript. If you can add a laugh, why not?

One question the authors ask is, "When was the last time you really laughed?

For me, it was the scene in Ted Lasso where he jumps and hits his head on the door frame. True story: Jason Sudeikis really hit his head and needed stitches afterward. I guess I have a dark side. It had me in stitches, too….

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That’s it for this month! Please reply back and let me know when was the last time you really laughed?

In the meantime, be well, do good deeds, and eat tacos!

‍Jay  

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