5:08 a.m., No Meat, Just Veggies, A Smoky Sunrise, Contentment, Eric Carr

“If you look for perfection, you’ll never be content.”
— Leo Tolstoy

Good morning my friends, brothers, mothers, lovers, and yes, others.  I see you, and I hope you see me as well.  I feel you, and I hope, well wait, I don’t want you all feeling me! So jokes on this Friday morning, hopefully, I didn’t trigger you.  It’s 5:08 a.m. I’ll watch the sunrise as I make some word soup. It’s a little hazy here; I think it’s part of the wildfires; we have three going on now.  None close, but the smoke will eventually find its way here. But, it does make for some unbelievable sunrises.

I do believe that morning is the best time of the day.  It’s quiet; I can do my writing, thinking, meditation without bothering others or being bothered. So my advice to anyone that wants to achieve success is to get up at 5:00 a.m. every day. I did this for 25 years; these days, I’m a 2 or 3 day a week 5:00 a.m.er  but have no issue jumping out of bed if I have work or appointments to tackle.  On top of a mountain, it’s a great time to see some wildlife, speaking of we saw a fox yesterday; we named him Eric Carr.

Oh boy, yesterday was a day; I started my day with soup, email clean up, some meditation, and then headed to Golden, CO, for a relationship-building group made up of 18 people; we had 15 show up.  Imagine a meeting, in person, with no masks, with a group of people hugging, some kissing, engaging each other to help grow our respective businesses. 

I left there and met with two young men, Kris and Jason; we had a great chat learning more about each other.  I learned the Denver Real Estate Commercial Market is thin; 2000 to 3000 square feet is hard to find if you are trying to get something geographically close to your home.

I then ran a call with a man in Ukraine, a referral from one of our U.S.-based clients, a large company; I’ll be doing some homework to see how to serve my overseas friend best. Finally, although I must acknowledge I have a horrible international ear, I had our excellent teammate K.C. on the call to help me take notes and interpret for clarity.

My wife and I then ran a virtual meeting with a new resource we have found.  It was a 20-minute overview of their services; I think we found something that will help us become a better firm.  I left there and drove 30 minutes to our Co-working space, and ran another virtual meeting. Again, the space was busy; I met two new office mates, a financial planner and a claims adjuster.  I like our tiny office! 

My wife drove down the hill; we met and headed to meet our new friend Brett.  Brett is a commercial banker, but more importantly, an entrepreneur.  He’s owned a few businesses and takes his life lessons into every situation.  He’s a banker that will work with someone and, after an hour, advise he can’t do it if he does not see the data he needs. Although most bankers are yes, people, Brett and our firm are aligned on values. I look forward to spending more time with him and his wife, a great young man.

We left there, and I headed back for my 2:00 p.m. virtual review; I made it home just in time and then had a 2:45 review with a good friend and client preparing for an upcoming renewal.  At 3:30, I met with a young man from Lexington, KY, about a new business.   At 4:15, we loaded up the pup and drove to go for a 2-mile hike; we have learned that our dog needs daily exercise or she is a pistol at night. So wearing out PVHT has become a simple way for us to get some exercise.

We came home, relaxed, cooked together, sipped some wine, watched some silly television, and hit the bed at 9:00.  I’m up a little early, 2nd day of a 5:00 a.m. wake-up, but I must say I’m enjoying getting back to a sense of normalcy.  I’ve got my men’s group today, 14 men and one woman working to become our best selves.  If you do not know about the Spiral Method, Google it, the work is life-changing.  Leslie Jones and now Greg Greenwood is helping change the world, one leader at a time.

PVHT got up with me, she usually sleeps in, but this morning got up and headed outside to explore.  She’s back in sitting on bean 3 chewing some toy; she’s content, happy, and has turned into a magical dog.  She’s a great hiker; she sits at the pub and is kind to other dogs. So, folks, we got a winner!

It’s Friday, you made it, another week of work, and now, one more day before I suspect you get to relax and play.  We’ve got a hike planned for ten tomorrow, a new hike with an old friend. So we’ll take our pup, do our hike and then end up at BPT for some live music.  I think my friend Ian is playing tomorrow; I’m sure we will see some other friends there as well.  I’ve noticed that Grammarly has gotten a little folksy with its suggestions; maybe you have caught the slight change in my prose, don’t blame me; blame Grammarly.

That will do this batch of morning soup. I hope your life is what you dreamed it to be and if not, begin making changes that will allow you to live your dream life.  I’m living my dream life and encourage you to do the same.  I’m blessed, fortunate, maybe lucky, but hard work pays off, and I’m not close to stopping work; I enjoy my vocation, and that is one key to my happiness. Cheers, I’ll see you tomorrow, depending on SBTM.

“If you look for perfection, you’ll never be content.”
— Leo Tolstoy