The Moment I Knew

One of my commercial clients is comprised of three young, talented, hungry owners. They are brilliant at their craft, but not accomplished business owners.....yet. In the midst of trying to grow their newish business, they lost a key client. Many of their aspirations for near-term growth skidded to a halt, replaced by a sudden need to piece together a few deals to stay afloat.

One of them recently reached out with a question. I immediately called them back and happened to catch them while they were driving across the state for a work project. One of the owners said something to me that quickly caught my attention. They recently purchased a mobile Starlink unit so they have high-speed internet in their vehicle on road trips. Why? "While we're on the road, the two people who aren't driving spend time contacting and pitching everyone. Old clients, warm prospects, cold prospects.....everyone."

That's the moment I knew they were going to be just fine. Being brilliant at our craft isn't enough. Often, it takes a mastery of our craft combined with a relentlessness and humility to just go for it. What makes these three individuals unique is that they are impervious to failure. They could have 1,000 doors violently slam in their face, only to knock on the 1,001st door with full confidence that it will be a "yes."

I wish I had that same relentlessness gear they do. I've been thinking a lot about that conversation, and it's forced me to look in the mirror with my own attitude and approach. For as successful as I feel like I've been, I can't help but wonder what things would look like if I developed a gear like these three have. It's an interesting thought experiment, and it pushes me out of my comfort zone. Maybe you need a similar nudge today. A nudge to develop a relentlessness and motor to keep going, regardless of how many shut doors you encounter. Something to think about as you go about your day. Have an awesome one!

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Competition, On Steroids

One of my favorite aspects of NYC is how much competition pushes businesses to get better and be better. It's competition, on steroids. If you, as a business, don't find some form of excellence, there are a half dozen businesses that do the exact same thing within a 3-minute walk. It's the ultimate equalizer, forcing everyone to pursue excellence, or else.

Combine that with the fact that rent and overhead expenses are so high, business owners must set the bar very, very high. In all my years of visiting NYC, it's a dynamic I've watched play out in long-form time-lapse. If I go into a business that clearly doesn't practice excellence, I know they will be gone the next time I visit. On the flip side, when I see businesses demonstrate excellence, there's a chance they will be around during subsequent visits. I took my kids to businesses that I first checked out nearly 20 years ago. In one of the most competitive environments in the world, that's quite the achievement! Excellence always wins!

At Northern Vessel, we've long talked about the need for excellent coffee shops to open in our city. We NEED other businesses to be excellent, as it will force us to maintain our focus on the pursuit of excellence. In just the past few weeks, three separate shops have opened in our city, each presenting itself as competition. We don't view them as enemies; we view them as the bar. Will these shops practice excellence? Will they put their foot on the gas and pull business away from us? Only time will tell. Regardless, it will require us to lean harder and harder on excellence, making us better every step of the way. We view that as a win, not a loss.

Competition isn't bad; it makes us better......if we're up for the challenge. I think customers and businesses would be better served if we had an environment that more closely resembled NYC: forced excellence. Get awesome, or get dying. Competition is a beautiful thing, so long as we're up for the challenge. As customers, we should cheer for this sort of environment, mandating that businesses serve us better and better. As business owners, we should embrace the opportunity to serve people better. Everyone wins when competition heats up.

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Culture, One Bite at a Time

I received an interesting text after yesterday's post. "What's the point?" Very mysterious! I couldn't resist. "What's the point of what?" I responded to an old friend. "What's the point of spending money on travel and, more importantly, spending money on food while traveling? It seems wasteful."

Oh, now we're talking! What's the point? I think each person will have a different answer to this question, but my answer is simple: Culture. I'm obsessed with learning about and experiencing other people's cultures. Whether it's cultures here in America or in some of the most distant places on this planet, cultures fascinate me so much.

Why? It's hard for me to put my finger on it, but when I experience other cultures and learn who they are, it helps me better understand who I am. That may sound counterintuitive, but it makes sense in my head. I have my own culture, cultivated from my background, experience, and surrounding forces. It doesn't feel like culture because it's just called life. But to an outsider, it's culture. Therefore, when I experience other cultures, it helps put context around the world I'm not living in, and in turn, the world I do live in. Understanding cultures also helps us live with more empathy, compassion, and connection.

Food is a central part of culture. What we eat and how we eat it is deeply embedded in our respective cultures. One of the best and simplest ways to learn about culture is to eat what they eat. Their flavors. Their traditions. Their styles. Their habits. The same principles apply when I'm eating a cannoli in Little Italy as when I'm served fermented horse milk in Mongolia. Culture. History. Context. I love it! And through that process, it helps me learn about their story, my story, and our collective story. There's value in that.

I encourage everyone to travel and eat. Immerse yourself in someone else's culture, whether it's the state next door or somewhere on the other side of the globe. But travel, eat, grow. Embrace every opportunity you have to experience someone else's culture, and never take those moments for granted. One experience, one bite at a time.

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Anti-Protection

Pax and a friend started their car-washing business yesterday on a blistering 108-degree heat-index day. I'm not sure how much actual work they got done, but they seemed content with how the day played out and were excited to get started. When I picked him up from his buddy's house, he said, with his little red face, "I'm so thirsty!"

"I have an idea," I exclaimed. I told him I needed to stop to get gas, and when I did, he could go in by himself and buy whatever drink he wanted.

"I don't want to spend the money I just made," he said. "On me. I'm buying, bud. Whatever you want."

"That's okay, I don't need anything."

This wasn't about wanting or not wanting a drink. He was nervous about the idea of going into the story by himself, picking something out, then engaging one-on-one with the cashier. I knew this; he knew this. I wasn't going to let him dodge it, though.

"You got this, man. You don't even have a choice. You go get yourself a fun drink. Set your drink on the counter, hand him the cash after they give you a price, receive your change, and thank them before leaving. Easy!"

"My legs hurt. I don't think I can go in."

"I'm not letting you chicken out on this. You'll be so glad you did this. Here's the cash, go take care of business!"

He slowly and anxiously walked from the gas pumps to the front door and reluctantly let himself in. Three minutes later, though, he came out looking like a new man. He had a huge smile on his face, along with an ice-cold Gatorade.

It reminded me of a recent conversation I had with a buddy. During this chat, my friend explained that his job as a dad is to protect his kids from getting into uncomfortable situations. As a father, he wants to make sure he absorbs the discomfort for them.....as a sign and product of his love.

I don't think that's loving; I think it's crippling and enabling. As parents, we need to be anti-protection. We need to meter out the discomfort. We need to put our kids in situations that make them nervous. Not set them up to get hurt or create lifelong trauma, but to face little fears when the stakes are lower, allowing them to grow and collect wins.

That was a big moment for Pax yesterday. He reluctantly faced a fear, and I have a feeling he'll be much more confident next time he's in a similar situation. Be the anti-protection your kids need. They don't need to live in a manufactured, make-believe bubble. They need to be tested with real-life situations. Seize those fun little opportunities and watch them grow.

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Outgrowing Your Structure

I recently met with a couple who are becoming progressively more frustrated with their finances. This seems counterintuitive, though, as they are making far more money than they ever have before. Why, then, are they getting frustrated? It's pretty simple: The current complexity of their life has outgrown their financial structure.

Translation: The way they used to handle finances worked well then, but not so much anymore. It was easy to wing it and be more casual when there was less income and fewer obligations. However, life is getting more complicated, and the old way of doing things seems inadequate at best, destructive at worst.

It reminds me of a similar situation we're having at Northern Vessel. Nearly four years in, it's safe to say our business looks a little different than it once did. During a recent team dinner (celebrating one of our team members who left to pursue a new dream), it was time to pay the bill. TJ couldn't be there, so it was on me to pay. Unfortunately, I forgot to ask TJ for the debit card. At the last second, Jack swooped in to pay the bill, somehow having TJ's card in his wallet.

That's right, we literally have only one debit card. The entire company has been operating with one debit card and one checkbook. We have tens of thousands of dollars in monthly expenses, yet the entire operation rests on one debit card and one checkbook. We've outgrown our structure, and we're experiencing the consequences.

Whether it's the family I mentioned above or a company like Northern Vessel, we must iterate on the structure as we grow. What once worked might not be adequate in the new season of being. Taking the "this is the way we've always done it" approach is a surefire way to end up in a bad place. Therefore, we need to give ourselves permission to evolve, adjust, and continue to find better ways to handle ourselves.

Some of you are handling your family's finances the same way you did when you were young, single, broke, and fresh out of college. Except now, you have a spouse, kids, a house, and multiple incomes. It might be time to update the structure! For some of you, simply upgrading the way you do things might be the ticket to significantly better outcomes. It doesn't matter if you've done it the same way for 20 years.....it might be time to adjust.

Never be scared to make changes. As life becomes more complicated, find ways to simplify and find order amidst the chaos. You'll thank yourself later!

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There Are No Secrets

After a recent public speaking engagement, during the customary Q&A session, someone asked an interesting question: "I heard you've written and published your writing more than twelve hundred days in a row. First, is that true? If so, what are your secrets?"

Every day since November 14th, 2022. Pushing nearly 1,400 days now. It hurts my head to think about that. It doesn't feel real; it doesn't feel possible.

The secret is there are no secrets. As I've learned about writing, and the same goes for almost any discipline, the only way to write is to write. The only way to publish is to publish. What is required of me is to sit down in front of a screen and create.

Follow-up question: "Do you write a bunch at once and batch it for the next several days?"

No batching. One piece of writing per day, every day, no exceptions. There's something wild that happens inside us when we eliminate the excuses and just commit to the craft. It strips away any and all shortcuts and shortcircuits that could potentially sabotage the habits we're trying to create. I write because I write because I write. At some point, these habits become as normalized and as common as brushing our teeth or tying our shoes. It's just what we do.

Here's another way to think about it, back to my comment above about how it doesn't feel real or possible to write nearly 1,400 days in a row. The good news is I didn't have to write 1,400 pieces. I just had to write one. Then another one. Then another. I'm writing one today. Then tomorrow, I'll write one, too. The only one that matters is the next one. There's a freedom in that! Whatever we're trying to accomplish, just worry about the next one. After that one is done, we can worry about what lies on the other side of that one.

So many people have so many dreams. But those dreams seem daunting, maybe even impossible. You don't need to accomplish all those dreams in one fell swoop. You only need to accomplish the next thing that's sitting in front of you. Then, move on to the next.

I recently had a buddy run a marathon. Running 26.2 miles boggles my mind, so I asked him how he approaches it. "It usually takes me about 40,000 steps to complete it. It's too overwhelming to think about 40,000 steps, so I just try to focus on the next step. If I can stay focused and use good technique for the next step, eventually, the next step will be the 40,000th step. It just kinda happens."

The next step. The next step is all that matters. That's the secret. There are no secrets. Just one foot in front of the other, whether literally or figuratively. Have a great day!

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Pax: Make Good Choices

It's the middle of the night. We had a marathon night with the kids (and our nieces). An awesome night, full of fresh memories and new experiences. I'm dead tired; the brain is shutting down. Pax is lying next to me. "Dad, you still need to write your blog, don't you?"

"Yeah, bud, I do. Any ideas?"

"I've never written a blog before, so I don't know what to write about."

"Well, I want to help people and encourage them."

"Tell them to have a good day and make good choices. You always tell me to make good choices, so maybe you can tell them that."

Make good choices. Such a simple, yet difficult idea. None of us ventures into our days planning to make poor choices. We don't wake up in the morning looking to sabotage our lives or impair our futures. Yet, we regularly find ourselves doing just that. Why? I think much of this stems from our human desire for instant gratification. We willfully do things to get what we want now, at the expense of what we want most.

I'm sure you can relate. You have a list of things that are important to you, yet through the course of life, you make little decisions in the present that push those important things further into the future.

Make good choices. I love that it was the first idea that came to his little mind when he thought about the blog. Ironic, though, as he frequently makes bad choices. I guess that makes him just like you and just like me. Despite wanting to make good choices, he can't help himself at times. None of us is ever going to get it fully right, but perhaps we can endeavor to make more good choices than poor ones today. Here's my rule of thumb for good choices: Would 10 years from now me approve of this choice? If so, it's probably a good choice. If not, well, perhaps I should reconsider.

Have a good day and make good choices, as Pax would say.

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Pursue Failure?!?!

In yesterday’s post, I talked about the concept of “pursuing failure.” I think about this idea so much that I forget how weird and controversial this topic is. First, let me clarify. I don’t advocate pursuing intentional, known failure. That would run afoul of another frequently discussed concept on this blog: the relentless pursuit of excellence.

We should strive to be excellent at everything we do. We should strive to achieve every dream, goal, and objective we aspire to. Here’s where the failure part comes into play. If we’re willing to shoot higher, dream bigger, and get uncomfortable, failure is inevitable. Anyone can avoid failure. The only prerequisite for avoiding failure is to refrain from doing difficult things. Therefore, if we never fail at anything, it’s likely a sign that we’re not pushing ourselves hard or far enough.

I’m leaning into things that are so ridiculous and audacious that failure is almost inevitable. Even if I’m as excellent as I can possibly be, there’s almost no way to fully avoid failure. Sometimes, soul-crushing, publicly embarrassing failure. It’s a tremendously uncomfortable concept to wrestle with, but once we come to terms with that reality, it presents us a critical fork in the road: play it safe or go for it. After years of basking in the play-it-safe camp, I took a hard turn and realized life is better lived in the go-for-it camp. Does it always go well? No, not at all. Sometimes, it feels like a big ball of flames. Other times, however, it’s glorious.

The bigger question we have to ask ourselves is what regrets our future selves will or will not have. When I look back on some of my biggest failures over the past decade, I definitely wish I could get some do-overs or second chances. However, I don’t think I’ll look back with regret. Conversely, I have some deep regrets for the things I was too scared, too safe, too timid to pursue. I’ll never get those opportunities back, but I don’t have to make those same lame decisions in the future.

Therefore, when I talk about pursuing failure, that’s exactly what I’m talking about. Pursue big things with a posture of excellence, and let the cards fall how they may. Sometimes we will achieve glorious wins, and sometimes we’ll suffer humiliating failures. We can’t have one without the other.

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Humiliation Ritual

Two nights ago, many of us witnessed a humiliation ritual known as the World Cup. Team USA was publicly and brutally embarrassed by Belgium on the world's grandest stage. For the rest of their lives, those players will forever be associated with the frustrating and unforgettable events that unfolded that night.

They aren't alone, though. For the past few weeks, hundreds of players representing their countries have subjected themselves to a similar humiliation ritual on equally grand stages. The World Cup isn't for the weak of heart. It brings the greatest joys and the darkest lows.

Why would players put themselves in those positions? The "greatest joys" part! The only way to attain the grandest of achievements is by risking failure. As I love to say, failure is the admission price to success. Almost nobody who wins the trophy has done so without first being subjected to soul-crushing humiliation. It comes with the gig.

Despite that, most of us non-footballers will spend our entire lives trying to avoid failure at all costs. Why? Because failure sucks. It's easier to live a life without risking failure than to put ourselves out there and ultimately be subjected to that twisted ritual.

If failure and embarrassment are terrible things and we ought to avoid them at all costs, why do soccer players spend their entire lives trying to make a team that will likely cause much pain and suffering? Because the pursuit of meaning MUST involve the risk of failure. It's a prerequisite.

Last time I checked, none of us will get out alive. Therefore, let's live. Be uncomfortable. Pursue failure. Stretch in ways that will most certainly result in some form of pain or embarrassment. It never feels good in the moment, but one day, we'll be talking about how it was all worth it.

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The Fork After the Fork After the Fork

While having coffee with a buddy last week, he brought up an interesting idea. He was talking about one of his college student sons. This particular son is still trying to determine where/how he will start his career. My friend mentioned that he's at a fork in the road. Several options are on the table. None of those will likely be THE option, but once he decides on this fork, another fork will open.

I thought that was such a beautiful metaphor for life. If we think about it, every aspect of life offers us forks in the road. Then, after we make a decision, we're presented with another series of forks to choose from. Where we are now at x area of life (whether it be career, school, relationships, parenting, etc.) is the product of each fork we chose. Some forks produce positive results, some neutral results, and some disastrous results.

Whether it's my financial situation or current career setup, I can trace my path backward through each decision at each fork. For the most part, I'm pleased with the decisions I made. However, there are most certainly forks I chose that were harmful to my life. Purchases I made. Debts I accepted. Investments I made out of pride. Clients I said "no" to. Clients I said "yes" to.

When I look back at my forks and watch others work through their forks, I don't think the goal is to completely avoid missteps. Rather, when we misstep, we have the level-headedness and wherewithal to make a wise choice at the next fork. It's so easy to compound mistakes. The compounding can happen for a number of reasons, whether it's that we're in a heightened state of stress, chasing to get on the other side of the ledger, or denying we made a poor choice to begin with. Needless to say, it's imperative that we approach each fork for whatever it offers. Reality on reality's terms.

In a way, I think viewing life through the lens of forks makes it easier, more approachable. Instead of having a million options before us, we can narrow it down to a handful of key options. Then, after confidently making a decision, we can move on to the next. Approaching our decisions this way allows us to act with intentionality and under control.

I'm currently at a fork in the road on many fronts, and perhaps you are, too. If so, I hope you embrace each opportunity for whatever it is. Then, once you do, you approach the next fork in the same way. Let's get back to basics and simplify the tasks before us.

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Leaning Into Your Failures

I had lunch with a hungry young college guy yesterday. He's a finance major, exploring what he wants to do with this degree. I met with him at the recommendation of his high school business teacher, who is a buddy of mine. It was fun spending time with him, and I wish him a ton of success and meaning in the season ahead.

He asked me one specific question that I thought was gold. In reference to trying to bolster his resume and find more internship opportunities, what things should he specifically be trying to highlight? That's when he gave me a little gold nugget. He and a buddy used to have a t-shirt company in high school.

By the phrase "used to," I gathered it ultimately failed.....he confirmed that notion. Perfect! Talk about that! Use that! I've interviewed hundreds of college business students over the years, and I frankly couldn't care less about grades, clubs, or awards. I wanted to know about real-life experience. It's fun and easy to talk about things we've succeeded in. However, it's an entirely different story when it comes to the times we've crashed and burned. I want to hear about those!

My advice to this young man was simple. Share what you did. Explain why you believed you failed. Communicate what you learned from it and took away from that experience. That's the gold. That's the real beauty of the journey. We often learn and grow far more from the failures than we do from the wins.

I'd rather hire or work with someone who has failed two dozen times than someone who has never put themselves in a position to fail in the first place. Failure builds character; it derives humility. Allow that character and humility to shine. Own it. Embrace it. USE IT!

Please don't ignore or hide your failures. Understand how they made you better and grew you into the person you are today. Then, use them to be better than ever. Advice for a college kid, advice for you, advice for me.

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And the World Shall Be Better

I received a fun little surprise yesterday when I opened my e-mail account. I was met with a piece of writing by one of my best friends, Dan. In his message, he shared that he's long been contemplating sending a monthly e-mail to a large group of people.....with yesterday's e-mail being the first. He vulnerably shared what prevented him from doing it until now:

"But if I'm honest, fear held me back.

• What if it's not good enough?

• What if nobody reads it?

• What if people think less of me?

The more I thought about it, the more I realized those aren't the right questions. The answers to those questions will always be changing. They're dependent on opinions, circumstances, and things we can't control."

Dan is a tremendously impactful and influential man. His experience, wisdom, and gifts have changed countless lives (mine included!!!). However, now that I think about it, outside of random texts, I've never seen his influence in written form. I liked it!!! Strike that, I loved it!

Dan is one of those people I envision never being scared, never backing down, never faltering. He's stronger than me. He's wiser than me, too. So when I see his vulnerable words about fear, it struck a chord in me. It's a topic I write about often, and Dan is evidence that even the strongest of us are sometimes afflicted by it.

But the fact that Dan is facing this challenge and opportunity of writing head-on tells me that his influence in the world is about to multiply. Thousands of people who haven't had the privilege of being impacted by Dan now have the opportunity to learn, grow, and be encouraged by Dan's gifts and insights.

Dan decided to step through the fear.......and the world shall be better.

Dan is a special dude, for sure! But everyone reading this has something to offer, too. In many cases, our impact and influence are just on the other side of stepping out of our comfort zone. It's on the other side of our fears. It's on the other side of doing the hard thing. Like Dan, many of you probably have things you've been considering for a long time. Today, please allow Dan's action to inspire your action. Step into what you're called to do.....and the world shall be better.

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Consistent Mediocrity

I have a friend who owns a restaurant. Their food is absolutely amazing.....sometimes. The service is lightning fast.....sometimes. The hospitality is on point.....sometimes. My friend is constantly frustrated with people, exclaiming things like, "I don't understand why people don't support small businesses better!"

I'm going to let you in on a little secret today. People don't love chain restaurants. They aren't tripping over themselves to dine there. They don't tell everyone and their dog how these are the best restaurants on planet earth. Yet, every step of the way, people choose these chain restaurants over local joints. Why? People would rather have consistent mediocrity than inconsistent excellence.

Think about it. Do you really go to Starbucks because they are amazing? Probably not. Instead, you likely go to Starbucks because you can walk into any shop in the world and get YOUR drink. It might not be a great drink, but it's YOUR drink. Consistency matters.

This is a principle we all need to heed. Consistency, even with a mediocre product, influences people's behavior. This is one of the key reasons why small businesses regularly lose to big businesses. As business owners, as employees, as people of character, it's imperative that we pursue consistency in whatever we do. We owe it to the people around us to be consistent in our actions, offerings, and results. I'm as guilty as anyone for violating this principle. I need to be more consistent. People deserve that from me, and they deserve it from you.

At Northern Vessel, we have pioneered innovations on how to establish world-class consistency. We looked at the normal coffee shop model, turned it on its head, and reconstructed an entirely different way to serve people. Through that process, we've been able to pursue a dual-track path toward excellence and consistency. We're obsessed with it, and it fuels us every day of our lives. Offering our guests consistency is one of our core principles. We have people coming in from all over the country, so it's imperative that when they step foot into our shop, we serve them well. Yes, that applies to our hospitality, but it must also include their drink. They deserve it!

The same applies to you and whatever you offer. Be consistent. Lock in and find ways to stay there. Once there, iterate your offering until it's at a world-class level. Nobody else is doing this, so why not you? Make your mark. Change the game. Move the needle.

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Self-Inflicted Wounds

There's a gross narrative in our culture that drives me bonkers. It's the narrative that small businesses are helpless victims, set up to fail. There's a widely accepted story being told - over and over and over - that the survival of small businesses rests solely on the "support" from people around them. To me, that sounds like a combination of a pity party and a guilt trip. It speaks to some twisted perception that businesses aren't good enough to survive without external intervention.

I've worked with dozens of businesses. Some large, some small. Some thriving, some struggling. I'll cue you in on a little secret nobody wants to acknowledge: most of the struggles small businesses face are the product of self-inflicted wounds. We business owners make bonehead decision after bonehead decision, then quickly find someone to blame.

I could give you a hundred different examples, but I'll give you a tangible and embarrassing one from my world. Last May, we adjusted our Northern Vessel menu prices. We recalibrated our recipes, upgraded some of our ingredients, and wanted to adjust for supply-and-demand dynamics. We made our adjustments and moved on with life.

Fast forward to early this week. One of our team members noticed that the price for one of our drinks differed between the menu and our register system. That's interesting. In short, our second-highest-selling item on the menu was priced 50 cents less in the system than on the menu. Therefore, every time we sold this drink for the past 13 months, we've undercharged by 50 cents. 50 cents.....that's not a big deal, right?!? It's just 50 cents! Well, we've sold 17,000 of them since we changed the menu. At 50 cents per cup, we've lost out on $8,500 of revenue. After factoring in transaction fees, that means we literally threw away $8,200 in pure profit due to a self-inflicted wound of being too dumb to change the system correctly. Ouch!

Self-inflicted wounds! How many self-inflicted wounds are we carrying around with us every day? In my own business, I can probably count a half-dozen, at least. If I'm being honest with myself, I have nobody to blame but the guy in the mirror. If I don't want to be honest with myself, I can just whine and tell myself stories about how people don't "support" me as much as I'd like. Truth is truth, and sometimes the truth is that we're carrying around self-inflicted wounds.

Sure, I could tell everyone to just stop making dumb and hurtful decisions....but we're human, and we're always going to screw up. It happens to all of us. The key here isn't to stop making mistakes. The key is to recognize our mistakes, take ownership of our mistakes, and create processes to prevent them from happening next time. The best small businesses I know aren't the ones who are mistake-free. Rather, they are the ones who quickly recognize their own failures, take quick action to remedy them, and grow through the experience.

That applies to business, but it also applies to life.....all areas of life! Most of us are walking self-inflicted wounds. Let's recognize it, remedy it, and grow. That's what makes this journey called life so interesting.

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A New Gear

It was just another Zoom chat, or so I thought. I recently spent some time with a couple of buddies on a Zoom chat. Sure, I'd prefer spending time in person, but Zoom is the best we can do when thousands of miles separate us. Right in the middle of our time together, these two men challenged me in a way that I wasn't expecting. It surprised me, but at the same time, it also pushed my limits in ways I never thought possible. Before that call, I thought one thing about myself and my capacities. Then, by the time we wrapped up, I had a different perspective.

In the hours after that call, I realized I had way more in me than my little mind perceived. That single call catapulted me into a new dimension, with new possibilities, and even more potential impact.

I debated what this post should be about. Should it be about the power of relationships and surrounding ourselves with people who will push us? Should it be about the idea that we have way more in us than we often know? Should it be about the need for each of us to step into a higher calling? Should it be about the importance of just continuing to move forward, regardless of how far we've already come? Well, I think it's about all of those.

I have friends who push me harder than often seems reasonable. I thank them for that!

I thought I had given as much as humanly possible in a certain area of my life. I was wrong; there's more.

I know what I'm called to do, but at the same time, I'm realizing that my mind is thinking too small. The caller is higher and bigger than I originally believed.

I sometimes pat myself on the back, celebrating just how far I've come. While that's true (and good!), it doesn't negate the need for me to keep going. The work isn't finished, and good enough is never good enough. The standards need to keep rising.

This post feels a little abstract for my taste, but as I reread my words, I feel like this is what I'm meant to post today. For some reason I cannot explain, this just feels right. I hope the right people see it and it makes a difference. That will be a win! Have an awesome day, and I'll see you again tomorrow!

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A Different Person

I ran into a close friend yesterday who had been following the blog over the last week while I was in Colombia. He asked a very interesting question: "How do trips like that impact you?"

In short, I sincerely believe I return from those types of trips as a different person. When we leave our personal bubbles and allow ourselves to be uncomfortable, it stretches us in ways that are hard to fully communicate.

Those types of experiences challenge everything we know to be true, everything we take for granted, and every bias we use to engage the world around us. Those types of experiences also call into question who we are as people, what our place in the world is, and how we can best serve the greater good. So yeah, I don't think it's hyperbole to say that we return as different people after trips like that.

My first trip out of the country was at age 26; to England and Ireland. Despite both of those countries being Westernized and English-speaking, that trip profoundly changed me. My small little mind couldn't believe how big the world was, yet at the same time, how small it was. That trip showed me that no matter what I thought I knew, I actually knew nothing. Fast forward twenty years, and I think I've been to upwards of 40 countries. Each trip, each location, and each experience changed me in a different way.

How did this trip change me? My takeaways are pretty clear:

• Even the biggest, most audacious dreams are possible. We don't get to decide what's possible. Only God can decide.

• Time is but a number. No matter how long or short something will theoretically take, reality doesn't care about projections. It will happen when it's supposed to happen.

• People don't have to be world-changers to change the world. Some of the largest impacts come from the smallest, most humble beginnings.

• Life is so, so fragile. We can't take our days for granted. Any day could be THE day.

• There are a lot of dark forces in the world, darker than we often see with the naked eye or while stuck in our bubbles.

• Relationships are the key to everything. I've known this, but this trip was another reminder of the sheer power and beauty of relationships.

• Everyone has a role. Each person on our team brought specific, non-replicable roles to the table. None of us could have filled the others' roles. Regardless of your role, it matters. Don't judge. Don't compare. Don't minimize yourself.

It's going to take me a few weeks to fully process everything that happened on this trip. However, it's safe to say that I'll never be the same after it. I'm a different person. God willing, a better person.

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¿Por Qué?

One of our Palmful of Coffee team members is named Alejandra, from Colombia. Early 20s, ministry background, trained and formally educated coffee expert, with a deep passion for all things coffee. She is a true scholar of the art and science of coffee production, from the plant to the cup. Her role in Palmful of Coffee is to create, uphold, and maintain standards for the quality, treatment, and execution of the coffee collection process. In other words, she's the primary driver of operational excellence. She and I have spent a lot of time together over the past few days and engaged in many (interpreter-assisted) conversations. Eventually, I noticed a trend. After I would talk, she would respond, "¿Por qué?"

Translated into English: "Why?" I'd share a few more thoughts. "¿Por qué?" again.

I joked with her that I knew "¿Por qué?" was coming. She apologized. I told her that I absolutely love it. Before I could share my perspective on her curiosity, she said that she has a deep desire to understand what's really going on, where people's hearts truly are, and why things are the way they are. I couldn't have said it better myself!

Her "¿Por qué?" question took us from the truth to the truth behind the truth. The why behind the why. The real truth. The reason behind the reason. That one question takes conversations and understandings from surface-level to something much, much deeper. I'm so glad she asked, as she prompted me to share much deeper meaning behind some of my actions. Without her curiosity, I suspect I would have let it remain at a surface level. I gave her the reason, but she wanted the reason behind the reason.

"¿Por qué?" "Why?" Regardless of the language we're speaking, this simple but powerful question has the power to force us to a deeper level. Obviously, this applies to relationships, but it also applies to ourselves. When was the last time we stopped to ask ourselves "Why?" or "¿Por qué?"

What's the reason behind the reason? Why are we REALLY making this decision? Why do we REALLY care about this? What hidden motivations are REALLY at play? If we can go one or two levels deeper with ourselves, as Alejandra did with me, we'd be so much better off. We would quit playing games with ourselves, telling the person in the mirror one thing while actually being guided by something (or someone) different. We'd stop making decisions based on others' opinions and judgments and start making them based on what's truly best for our own callings and families. The reason behind the reason is always the reason. We need to listen to that.

I wish I had half as much wisdom in my early 20s as Alejandra does. Good thing it's never too late! I need to keep asking "¿Por qué?" more often, and I encourage you to do the same. Have a great day!

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No Clue

A few days ago, one of my business partners asked me for my guidance on an important topic. "No clue," I responded. I wasn't trying to be dismissive, but I literally had no clue. "I have no value to add to this conversation." I wasn't trying to play stupid.....I was stupid. However, I think this is the way we all should handle more things in life.

We aren't - can't - be experts in all things. If we're experts in all things, then we're likely experts in nothing. The reason I'm able to speak with such conviction in xyz areas of life, finances, or business is that I'm equally as willing to admit shortcomings in others. I know what I know, and I don't know what I don't know. The key is being willing and able to recognize what we don't know. And on the topic at hand with my business partners, I had no true value to add.

If we're being pure with this concept, it should apply to all areas of life: business, work, friendships, and even marriage. My wife asks me dozens of questions per day. Either I have a convicted answer for her.....or I don't. "I don't know" is a perfectly acceptable answer, and Sarah has grown accustomed to me shooting her straight, one way or another. Sometimes, she's surprised by the things I say "I don't know" to, and vice versa. But as a husband, I owe it to her to be honest not only with her, but with myself. If she and I collectively don't know the answer to a question, it's our responsibility to seek outside counsel.

Following this process, regardless of the topic, allows us to grow and succeed. The alternative approach can lead to some pretty harsh realities. I can't even fairly convey how many people I meet who live with sincere conviction on all sorts of topics they have no business being convicted about. When that happens, poor, questionable, and dangerous decisions get made. Decisions that have far-reaching and long-lasting implications.

It's a pretty simple takeaway today. Be willing to say "no clue." Have the humility to admit you don't know something, then the added humility to seek out the answer from someone who does. The most successful people I know don't know all the answers; they have the humility and wherewithal to know when they don't.

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Threading the B-Dubs Needle

One of the recent developments of my physical health journey is the introduction of macro tracking into my diet. I've written multiple pieces about the importance of staging and stacking habits, and tracking macros is the most recent step in my own journey. I recently had an experience at Buffalo Wild Wings that shed light on a crazy dynamic in nutrition.

Picture this. We're on the back end of a long traveling lacrosse day. We haven't eaten much, and the boys are getting hangry. Someone suggests we hit a BWW establishment on the way home. I open my food-tracking app to see what good options might be for me. Ultimately, I chose a great option that isn't exactly what I would have normally ordered, but it would be tasty. Meanwhile, the family orders the bottomless apps special. Chips and queso, onion rings, mozzarella sticks....it keeps on coming.

I did a good job! By the time I walked out of there, I had limited myself to about 1,200 calories with good protein. Here's what struck me as interesting. Had I eaten what I normally would have, that would have easily exceeded 3,000 calories. More than my daily calorie needs, in one meal, without even trying!!! Wow, that's amazing!

Over the past few days, my eating has been so clean that it's actually been difficult to eat enough food to meet my targets. I eat, eat, and eat more, but since the food is so clean, it's hard to even eat enough.

What a weird dynamic. When we just eat whatever we want, we easily blow past what we should consume, and if we're eating well, it's hard to eat enough. That's a hard needle to thread!

I think much of life operates this way. Without even knowing it, our casual actions are sabotaging our journey right under our nose. One decision here, another decision there. They aren't big deals, we tell ourselves. Yet, these decisions are silently crippling us day by day. And similar to my little macro tracking experiment, tracking our behavior is a great way to catch these little hidden nuances.

When we give ourselves clarity, we collect information. When we collect information, we make better choices. When we make better choices, we unlock better outcomes. It's the circle of life. My best encouragement for you today is to give yourself some much-needed clarity. Get the information you can use. Make choices that push yourself forward. Unlock the outcomes you deserve.

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Parable of the Oat Milk

We have an oat milk problem at Northern Vessel. For the past four years, we've continually experienced these sharp little moments when we've simply run out of it (or nearly ran out). Considering this ingredient is the base of our most famous and best-selling drink (oat milk cold brew latte), running out of oat milk is a disastrous scenario. As recently as a month ago, TJ and I spent one Saturday afternoon driving to every single Target in the metro, hoping to scoop up as many oat milk cartons as possible. With a lot of time and a little luck, we barely scraped together enough to finish our batch of cold brew lattes.

As I continue to grow into my new role inventory management and vendor relationships, I realize that what we've done in the past is some version of white-knuckling. We see we're running low on product, factor in all the supply-and-demand variables we can think of, mathematically calculate how much end product we'll need, mathematically calculate how much oat milk that necessitates, place an order, and hope the delivery timing is in our favor. There are about 10 factors that go into these calculations, each allowing for the possibility of error, and many of which are contextual guesses. That doesn't even include the delivery timing implications.

In comes me. I have a different idea. A simpler idea. After all, simpler is better......always! Here's the new math:

1. How many cases of oat milk can we store at any given time? 56 (about 168 gallons worth). This is approximately three days' worth of need for us.

2. How many cases of oat milk do we have left today? At the end of each business day, someone counts how manycases we have remaining and reports it to our inventory management Slack channel. Let's say the answer is 20. We have 20 cases left.

3. How many cases are needed to restock us fully? 56 cases - 20 cases = 36 cases. 36 cases would fully stock us again.

4. By 9PM, we place our order for next-day delivery of 36 cases of oat milk. If we are perfect in our execution and our supplier is also perfect, there's 0% chance we ever run out again. If we forget to order or our supplier has an issue, this process still makes it very likely we never run out. No messy math, no brain damage, no forgotten factors.

Simple always wins! It's funny, as I received some pushback on these types of processes internally. Some say it's too simple, lacking the context of all the craziness happening around us. My response to these types of critiques: "Even more reason to keep it simple! We can't afford to let all the changing variables jeopardize our supply chain!"

This really isn't about oat milk. This is a parable for everything in our lives. Our gut instinct is to always make things more complicated, more complex, and more sophisticated. This is ironic, as simpler almost always beats complex. Simple allows us to keep our heads on straight, removes brain damage from all the mental math, and allows for repetition. It's one thing to get something right once, and an entirely other thing to need to repeat it over and over. Find a way to make your life simpler. Then, after executing, find another! Such a great way to approach this crazy life of ours.

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