What I'm Up To - Vol. 59

1. San Antonio Bound

‍Registration just opened for our 6th annual Couples Goal Setting Retreat. Wendy and I have made this an integral part of our business and personal planning for going on 16 years, and I’m thrilled that she will co-host our retreat in November. It will be held at the stunning La Cantera Resort & Spa in San Antonio. Join us in person or virtually!

Use promo code JAYP for 20% off VIP tickets for individuals and couples through June 20th!

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2. Say No to Average!

‍I’ve been working on a top-secret project for the past year. Later this month, I’ll be launching another newsletter, The Twenty Percenter. I get to work with some amazing people, including Gary Keller himself. I have a chest filled with notebooks under my desk, and those journals house two decades of stories and insights that may never make it into one of our books. The Twenty Percenter will be an outlet to share these bite-sized insights. Check it out.

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3. Gratitude and Golf

Thanks to everyone who sent cards, flowers, donations, notes, and prayers after the death of my father. It’s truly been overwhelming. The visitation and memorial were perfect. Dad’s trainer, Shaun, sang several of his favorite hymns. Family friends, Bill Beavers and Drake Bassett, both gave wonderful remarks.

One funny story emerged from the visitation. When he was President of Memphis Light, Gas & Water, my dad was playing golf with one of his employees, Ted, and Ted’s boss, Vice President Bill Crawford. Both Ted and Bill teed off, one shot hit well, the other not so well. Before Ted could say anything, Bill walked up to Ted’s ball and hit it for his second shot.

Ted turned to my dad and asked, “What do you say when your boss hits your ball?”

Dad, amused, replied: you say, “THAT was a great shot.”

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4. Masterminds

‍We hosted our KW spring masterminds. It still feels incredibly novel to be hosting live training events again. Here are a few of my "ahas":

• The opportunity of a shifted market is on the flip side. Don’t get greedy. Be patient and careful. And lay a foundation for when the market returns. “Don’t let this year set you back. Let this year set you up…There’s a difference between the profit you make today and the profit you set yourself up for tomorrow.”
• If you aren’t authentic, you won’t attract or keep authentic people. Figure out who you are. Be you. And surround yourself with people who love working for/with people like you.

Unfortunately, I picked up COVID at my dad’s memorial. I’m fine now, but I have a few extra books and shows to share this month that I watched in quarantine.

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5. What I’m Reading

‍I revisited Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl after talking about it with photographer KT Merry. If you’ve never read it, move it to the top of your list. No matter how dark our circumstances, how powerless we may feel, we still have a choice. We get to choose our attitude. I also loved the reminder that the title is a bit misleading. Meaning isn’t something we find. We bring it to whatever we choose. Thanks, KT. It was the right book at the right time for me.

My other nonfiction reads were The Gap and the Gain by Benjamin P. Hardy, The Innovation Stack by Jim McKelvey, and The Film Club by David Gilmour. The Gap and the Gain has one note (like many business books) but it’s a good one. Rather than judging ourselves by where we wish to be (the gap), focus on how far we’ve come (the gain). We don’t give ourselves enough credit. I know for a fact that we tackle problems nonchalantly that would have been a full-blown crisis just a few years ago.

The Innovation Stack tells the story of Square and highlights how most innovations are just a byproduct of everyday problem-solving. The author has a great sense of humor and is a great storyteller. I highly recommend it.

Finally, The Film Club is a memoir of a film critic whose son drops out of high school. Their compromise is that the son must watch three films a week with his dad. This “film club” becomes a vehicle for talking about life and preparing his son for the next chapter. As a film nut, I loved a lot of the insights on my favorite movies. As a parent, I was alternately horrified by Gilmore’s choices and admiring of his folky wisdom. It was a mixed bag for me.

My only fiction read was The Maid by Nita Prose. It’s been getting a lot of attention in the press for its original main character, Molly. She is socially awkward, naive, and probably on the autism spectrum. Molly gets pulled into a series of crimes in the high-end hotel where she works as a maid. She becomes the prime suspect after discovering a murder. Somehow, she must figure out who she can trust and find the bad guys. And the reader has to figure out if Molly can be trusted as well. Worth taking to the beach (or into quarantine).

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6. What I’m Watching‍

Wendy and I finished Killing Eve. I found the final season a bit disappointing. Still, I’ve got no regrets. The show has some of the best characters ever. We also watched the final episodes of Ozark. I’m forever indebted to the Byrde family for making Wendy and me feel like 5-star parents.

Gus and I completed Halo, based on the video game. I would equate it to an early summer B-movie. Moon Knight is another entry in the Marvel Universe from Disney. Oscar Isaac plays the title role as the multiple-personality, Egyptian-themed anti-hero. It’s good fun, and original.

I watched 1883 in quarantine from start to finish. Taylor Sheridan is one of my favorite screenwriters. I enjoyed it much more than Yellowstone.

Segueing to movies but sticking to Westerns, I loved Old Henry. Trouble visits a widower and his son in the form of outlaws chasing down someone who stole their loot. It’s an old-school, simple script done perfectly. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is another Marvel tale and far more family-friendly. Winning. Finally, I watched The Girl in the Spider’s Web on the plane home from my dad’s memorial. I was thankful for the distraction when I couldn’t read and didn’t want to be alone with my thoughts. Unless you’re in a similar fix with limited choices, I would avoid it. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo did not need the James Bond treatment.

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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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