What I'm Up To - Vol. 53

1. Contrary to Popular Belief

‍I try to break out of the KW training bubble a few times a year. So I kicked off the month attending Codie Sanchez's impressive, inaugural conference, the Contrarian Uncon. Codie recently relocated to Austin and I love her focus on acquiring blue-collar cash flow businesses like laundromats and self storage. She’s also great at audience-building through newsletters and social media.

Residential real estate is good for building net worth, but generally poor for cash flow. Wendy and I hit a wall on our financial journey about a decade ago and decided we needed to start building businesses. While there were few resources on how to do that 10 years ago, Codie fills that space admirably well today.

Highlights included talks from Sam Parr, founder of The Hustle, Nathan Barry, founder of ConvertKit, and a mesmerizing seminar on recruiting from a former CIA officer. You think recruiting talent is hard. Brooke spent 16 years recruiting agents to spy for the USA. I filled my notebook with 17 pages of ahas that will find their way into my writing once they’ve percolated a bit more.

2. Have a Pheasant Day

‍I joined my friend, Andrew Jackson, for a pheasant hunt in Nebraska. Our mutual friend, Todd, hosted us at his family farm. For three days we stalked the edges of harvested corn and soybean fields. Pheasant hunting is strenuous. I logged over 33 miles hiking through thick, at times chin-high brush. We’d march for hours with no sign and then flush a bouquet* of birds. Pheasants flush within a few yards of your boots, startling you back into focus, and then jet away. You have seconds to call out “hen” or “rooster” and then, for the latter, aim and shoot. I loved it. We flushed dozens of birds and collected seven of eleven shootable roosters. I will certainly do this again and, hopefully, bring Taco.

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Almost forgot. Todd said something I loved and don’t want to forget. He was celebrating a birthday and his mother-in-law made him a chocolate pie. “When I have pie,” he declared, “I always have two pieces.” That’s some wisdom I can appreciate.

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3. Retreat to Advance

‍We hosted our 5th annual Goal Setting Retreat at the Lakeway Resort and Spa. While I love how many people we can reach virtually, in-person training builds community like nothing else. This time, we did both. About 110 attendees joined live, and we streamed the event for about 1,000 more.

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The event, as always, was transformative. But it was also a bittersweet moment for our team. We’ve added several powerful executives in the past year; yet this event was a farewell to our longest-tenured leader, Kaelyn Loes. Her DNA permeates our products, training, events, and community.  Kaelyn, Brent, and their baby, Wilder, are relocating to Reno, where she’ll start a new opportunity with a tech security company. I was happy for the chance to celebrate her publicly and sad to say farewell.

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4. Where are My Stretchy Pants?

‍At long last, we made it back to Memphis to see my family for Thanksgiving. While we were not able to see our extended kin in Mississippi, we got lots of time with Deedee, Papaw, my sister’s family, and my great-niece, Mia. We checked out the Memphis Zoo and some art galleries but mostly ate our body weight in barbecue, dressing, and caramel cake. Oh yeah, and we made a mandatory trip to Gibson’s Donuts.

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Also, if you can’t make it to Vermont to catch the autumn colors, you should consider a trip to the Bluff City. I forgot how beautiful the trees are there. Wendy and I took several walks to appease our consciences after meals, and marveled at the variety of colors. Ginkgo trees with their yellow, fan-tail leaves are my favorite!

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5. What I’m Reading

‍My only nonfiction read of the month was The Wealthy Code by George Antone. It was poorly written but had some solid ideas on analyzing investments and maximizing your returns. I would recommend it to the serious real estate investors out there. I’m still working my way through Thinking Fast and Slow, which is wonderful but best enjoyed in small bites.

For fiction, I checked off one of my last remaining stand-alone novels by Blake Crouch, Abandon. Crouch expertly weaves a tale of a deserted Colorado mining town with modern-day explorers trying to solve the mystery of what happened to said town. I also enjoyed The Dark Hours by Michael Connelly, the most recent in his Renee Ballard series. Ballard isn’t quite as entertaining as Bosch, but it was an LA Noir fix when I needed it. I must also confess to reading Better Off Dead by Lee Child. Jack Reacher hasn’t evolved in about ten books but maybe that is the appeal. He’s a modern-day Lone Ranger.

I also loved this Skip Hollingsworth piece in Texas Monthly, The Notorious Mrs. Mossler. I can feel an HBO mini-series in the works! Long ago I bookmarked this post by Steph Smith called, How to Be Great? Just Be Good, Repeatably. I am very good at not quitting, which is the main reason I have any shot at greatness. We all know a lot of what Smith is sharing. But it's a good reminder to stay the course.

I got my Moderna booster shot mid-month, which put Covid back on my active radar. So I’ll recommend this blog post --  Ivermectin: Much More Than You Wanted to Know. I’ve seen this cited multiple times but refused to read it. It’s really long (72 minutes) and I had already made up my mind on this issue. Why read it? The payoff is there. It’s a great, mostly accessible, intro to the scientific method circa 2021. (Skip to “The Analysis” to get there unless time permits.) His analysis on ivermectin-boosters and anti-vaxxers rings true to me. People have their reasons and they aren’t as unreasonable as some think. Also, if you enjoy puns, there’s a doozy midway.

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6. What I’m Watching

‍Wendy and I worked our way through the second season of Killing Eve. It’s just as twisted and delightful as the first. Wendy has now found a site where she can look up every outfit Villanelle, the stylish assassin, wears. I snuck in the first season of Loki, the latest Marvel series from Disney. Tom Hiddleston reprises the role of the god of mischief with Owen Wilson as his handler at the Time Variance Authority. I wish Disney would just buy the rights to DC Comics.

Finally, check out the documentary, My Octopus Teacher, on Netflix. The film won the 2021 Oscar for best documentary. This mollusk will steal your heart.

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That’s it for this month! Please reply back and let me know what you’re up to!

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

‍Jay  

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*Yes, “bouquet” is the collective noun for pheasants!

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