Super excited about this week’s message, it really made me pause and reflect, and I hope it does the same for you. Quick updates first: • Big welcome to some of our newest members: @James Rhodes, @Kerry Souter, @Lidia Axe, @Leo Baldwin, @Cecilia Payne, @Graham Whiddett & @Jack Shiller (some of you have been active already, but making it official 😄) • I’m working on having a guest speaker for our Wednesday 7 pm call, focused on Freedom in life. I’ll confirm by tomorrow. • Leadership Launchpad Week 5 is live. If you want access, DM me or check it here. This week’s message comes down to playing the long game. Most people look for shortcuts or a big breakthrough moment, but real progress comes from quiet, repeated decisions over time. And playing the long game starts by asking yourself a few uncomfortable but powerful questions: Who am I, beyond titles and roles? Who am I becoming based on my habits and daily choices? Who will I be in the future? Winning the long game isn’t about perfection. It’s about intentional alignment, small disciplines, clear direction, and consistent action over time. Kudos to @Chris Wendt for a powerful post in @Georgiana D's community about personal growth, and that's exactly what it means to "become" a better version of yourself. So here’s the reflection I’ll leave you with this week: If your current habits stayed exactly the same, would you be proud of the person you’re becoming? PS: Sorry for the long video, that was done in one take 😅

Tomorrow/Today (02/04 - depends on when you see this post lol), we’re going to have the pleasure of welcoming a very special guest to our community call, Eric Martin. Eric has been my mentor for the past 8 years, has been running his own business for over 15 years, and is someone I deeply respect both professionally and personally. He has built his success the long way, through relationships, consistency, patience, and choosing growth over comfort, and that’s exactly why this call is going to be powerful. He's not only an incredible leader and mentor, but also a father of a daughter and a recent newborn son, and he truly understands how to manage life, business, and responsibilities at the same time. On the call, Eric will be touching on • Playing the long game in business and life • How relationships compound over time • Staying consistent when results are not immediate • Why freedom is built slowly, not suddenly • Keeping an open mind and remaining a great student as you grow Because this conversation will be so valuable, I’ll also invite other communities to join us. This is one of those calls you don’t want to miss. 🕖 02/04 (Wednesday) at 7 pm EST. 🔗 https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5614515373?omn=85017240292 I’ll add most of you to the calendar invite as an extra reminder, and I've also attached Eric’s background PDF to the chat so you can get to know him better ahead of time. 😎 Super excited for this one. Come open-minded and ready to think long-term.

I’ve listened to Jocko Willink on YouTube sporadically over the years (info about him here: Jocko Willink - Wikipedia) and I’ve always liked the following quote from him: “Discipline equals Freedom.” He even wrote a book with that title (which I have yet to read, along with so many other great books). To onlookers, discipline might appear like suffering / an overly-restrictive way of living. However, applying strict protocols to oneself, as Jocko argues, is actually liberating. Here are some examples: If I am disciplined about my diet and exercise, I will achieve freedom from chronic diseases, medication, being a complete wreck by the time I am in my 70s, etc. If I am disciplined about saving money, building my own business and investing, I will eventually achieve freedom from financial burden and reliance on employers to survive. If I am disciplined regarding my education, I will be free from having to work menial, entry-level jobs forever. Etc.… Of course, there are no guarantees in life, but you get the point. Putting in the work now creates freedom in the future. Inputs equal outputs, as I’ve read both in this Skool and elsewhere. What’s your opinion? Do you agree with Jocko regarding his claim that ‘discipline equals freedom’? How has discipline made you free? How do you see it freeing you in the future? How strict should one be, in your opinion? When should we break the rules and promises we set for ourselves and just ‘live a little’ (many people have told me to do that over the years, haha🤣)? On a related note, I often like to apply what I call the ‘zero policy,’ for lack of a better term. This reduces ambiguity regarding things, such as eating sugar or drinking alcohol. If I simply follow a ‘zero sugar lifestyle’, there is no ambiguity regarding how much I should eat, should the opportunity arise. ‘Moderation’ is ambiguous, and doesn’t work. For some people, it could be one sweet per week. For others, it could be two per day. Zero is zero – simple, clear and liberating.

Here's a bit of a fun one for the weekend: (Sunday Funday!! 😁😜) What do you think you'd be doing, not only career-wise, but in other areas of life as well, if you were born in different eras? Here's a few. Feel free to add to the list: 1) the pre-Internet era (not really so long ago) 2) the pre-digital era (a bit further back) 3) the pre-electrical era (now we're going back a ways...) 4) the pre-industrial era (ancient history! 🤣) Would life be as fulfilling as it is now? Why or why not? I'm going to have to think about my answer for a while, but I'm looking forward to reading yours first! Enjoy your weekend! 😊🎉🍻

Today I did my weekly long ride and was on the phone with a friend who was doing his at the same time. During that call, an idea hit me. Last year, I did my first two triathlons and my first marathon, and I have insanely good memories from those hard challenges. That got me thinking about what challenge I want to give myself this year. I can’t (and don’t want to) do a triathlon right now because I’m recovering from a running injury. So I thought: why not pick a pure cycling event? That’s when the “Ötztaler Radmarathon” came to mind – a 225 km cycling event with more than 5,500 vertical meters. I only thought of this about two hours ago, and I’m not even 100% sure I’ll get a spot yet (they do a draw for places), but I’m already super hyped to train for something that big and see how much I can grow from it. Now I’m curious: what’s a big challenge you’ve set for yourself this year? It doesn’t have to be sport-related – just something that feels big for you right now. And if you haven’t set a challenge yet, maybe this is your sign to pick one. Those are the moments where we grow the most and learn a lot about ourselves.