The Daily Meaning

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“Your daily blog posts have become a great part of my morning routine, waking up and reading your posts challenge me to reflect on something that matters in my life or view something from a different perspective.”
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Daily Meaning Reader

Travis Shelton 9/3/23 Travis Shelton 9/3/23

"Tacky Place, Tacky Owner"

We recently passed the 9-month mark since opening Northern Vessel's brick-and-mortar location. To say it's been a whirlwind would be a gross understatement. We're equally shocked and grateful for what's transpired in this short time.

Travis Shelton 8/26/23 Travis Shelton 8/26/23

"It Feels Like I'm Living My Dream"

Yesterday was the official launch of our new canned cold brew partnership with The We Will Collective, Iowa State University's NIL collective organization. We started by offering cans in our brick-and-mortar shop, followed by retail availability early next week and direct-to-consumer online sales a few weeks later. As I watched TJ pass out cans to eager Cyclone fans at our soft launch event yesterday morning, I couldn't help but smile. It felt like something big was happening, though none of us could adequately define what that truly means.

Travis Shelton 6/19/23 Travis Shelton 6/19/23

11. Be Aggressively Patient

Yesterday was TJ's (Northern Vessel business partner) 30th birthday. To commemorate the day, he wrote and published "30 Lessons for 30 Years," a reflection on his journey to date. It was a fun list, full of wisdom and insights. Included was a phrase he talks about often: "Be aggressively patient."

Travis Shelton 5/15/23 Travis Shelton 5/15/23

Letting Opportunity be Opportunity

We work, work, and work some more. All the while, we’re hoping that opportunity finally comes our way. We wait, wait, and wait some more. When will it finally happen?!?! So we work, wait, work, wait, and work some more. Finally, the opportunity of a lifetime slaps us right in the face. It finally happened!!!

Travis Shelton 4/8/23 Travis Shelton 4/8/23

The Many Shapes and Sizes of Sacrifice

On the heels of yesterday’s post, a handful of people reached out asking about the idea of sacrifice. The joy piece is simple and self-explanatory. The sacrifice piece, however, can be a bit trickier. Sacrifice looks different for everyone. For my youth group students, giving $20 may be a sacrifice. To a few of my clients, though, a $10,000 gift wouldn’t be a sacrifice at all.

Travis Shelton 3/5/23 Travis Shelton 3/5/23

What We're Really Buying

We think we’re buying a car, but we’re often buying status. We think we’re buying plane tickets, but we’re really buying memories. We think we’re buying a college degree, but we’re really buying credibility. We think we’re buying an app or software, but we’re really buying time and efficiency. We think we’re buying a babysitter when we go on a date night, but we’re really investing in our marriage.

Travis Shelton 1/16/23 Travis Shelton 1/16/23

We Can't Just Skip to the Good Part

A while back, I was talking to my Meaning Over Money business partner, Cole Netten. We were talking about the podcast and how much traction we’ve gained with it. In that chat, I made a comment about how, in some ways, I wish we would have just started our business with the podcast instead of some of the other less-successful endeavors. I quickly realized how naive this comment was. Truth is, the podcast couldn’t have existed had we not been through all the other things.

Travis Shelton 12/21/22 Travis Shelton 12/21/22

This Is Pointless

I recently became a partner in a start-up coffee company, Northern Vessel. Today marks the one-month anniversary of our brick-and-mortar opening. By any metric or measurement, the most appropriate way to describe the results of the last month is, well, meteoric. It’s been far greater than we could have ever imagined, and for that we’re grateful.

The Daily Meaning

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“Your daily blog posts have become a great part of my morning routine, waking up and reading your posts challenge me to reflect on something that matters in my life or view something from a different perspective.”

"Love starting my morning with a daily dose of positivity or perspective!"