Vol. 21: Adaptability is a Superpower Justin, Glen, and I This week we’re going to pivot between cross-functional and multi-dimensional personal and professional modalities to leverage synergies and capitalize on low-hanging fruit. I’m kidding. Please don’t unsubscribe. Last weekend I went to San Diego to facilitate the servant leadership curriculum at Sigma Chi’s San Diego State chapter. My original plans before leaving that Friday morning were to go on a long run, shower, grab my bags (that...
8 days ago • 2 min read
Vol. 20: These Trying Times I'm not going to lie y'all. It's been harder to just go about life recently with everything going on. It's hard to be happy in your personal life when you see so much pain in the world. When you smile when you look up at your own life, but frown when you see others. I guess that's empathy, right? I don't have all the answers. I won't, and no one person will. In fact, this newsletter is my active way of thinking through my thoughts on how we move forward. In trying...
15 days ago • 2 min read
Vol. 19: The Price of Love Whiskers (table), Oliver (chair), & Buttons (rug) This week has been a sobering reminder about love and it's painful yet worthwhile price. This is not a pity piece, but it will be darker, longer, and more vulnerable than usual, and I hope you can find solace in it. My Mom texted me on Tuesday to stop by the house when I could. She had a feeling our cat Buttons wasn't going to live much longer. This wasn't the first time I got this text from her - the same happened...
22 days ago • 3 min read
Vol. 19: What is a True Leader? I'm blessed to hold various leadership positions where I have the opportunity to guide, empower, and inspire others. So obviously, I think a lot about leadership. It matters a lot to me. It matters a lot to the world. True leaders drive humanity forward. They make progress. They empower others to achieve unthinkable things. We owe the progress of humanity to great leaders throughout history who took it upon themselves to guide and empower others. But false...
29 days ago • 1 min read
Vol. 17: The One Thing You Can Always Control As we embark on our goals this year, I'd love to help focus our energy on things that drive us forward. Namely, things we can control, and not things we can't. In this chaotic world, there's a lot of things we can't control, both good and bad. Unexplained tragedies, unexpected opportunities, and everything in between. It's important that we recognize what is in our control and what isn't so that we can best allocate our time and energy to create...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Vol. 16: Incremental Becomes Monumental I saw a great Garmin commercial recently that ended with the quote “incremental becomes monumental,” and it's such a succinct way of wording a philosophy I deeply identify with. If you ever see my running posts, you’ll see me say "1%" a lot. That’s not referencing being in the top 1% - it means getting 1% better, every day. It’s a concept from James Clears’ Atomic Habits: 1% better each day is 37.78x better each year. Not 100% better. 3,678% better...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Vol. 15: You Are Blessed I had another newsletter written for today, but this one feels more timely. This past weekend, I went on vacation to Breckenridge, CO with Ashley and her family, and it was our first time skiing! We had a blast, but there was one moment that was truly sobering. One night we were heading to dinner and struggling to choose where we wanted to eat. When we got to the elevator, we ended up next to a resort worker from Jamaica. Ashley asked how her family was faring from...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Vol. 14: You Can't Scale Culture Our rockstar 705 crew We recently had our Board Retreat for the705 (the young professionals organization I'm blessed to now be President of), and it's been my first true opportunity to build a good culture as a leader. I've been very intentional about it, because I care about the people on our Board, and we have so many great opportunities ahead of us to capitalize on. Starting this experience has made me think a lot about building culture and how to do it...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Vol. 13: The Search for Meaning This newsletter is a longer one, but for it to be shorter would do the lesson's truth a disservice. I've been re-reading Fahrenheit 451 (it was one of the few summer reading books in high school I actually enjoyed), and a new moral stuck out to me this time. If you're unfamiliar, Ray Bradbury's 1953 novel Fahrenheit 451 is based in a dystopian world where all books are banned and firemen start fires instead of stopping them - they burn books, not save them....
2 months ago • 3 min read