What I'm Up To
​Volume 111

Hey friends,
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Here’s what I’ve been up to since Vol. 110.
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​1. September Happenings​
We started the month on a high note. Wendy won Volunteer of the Year at the Austin Chamber of Commerce’s “Austin Gives” annual banquet. She really didn’t think she’d win. It was one of those “it’s just nice to be here” moments. When they called her to the stage, we erupted like a pack of Swifties at the opening of an Eras concert. I could not be prouder of my best friend.

We also marked the one-year anniversary of Rookie Real Estate Agent. The compact career guide sold 24,620 copies in the first 12 months. I hope it continues to find its way to entrepreneurs launching their careers in real estate. Please check it out if you haven’t.
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We celebrated that weekend at the ranch with David and Megan by cutting a cord of firewood and sipping an excellent bottle of Calumet “Citation” 16-year-old Kentucky bourbon.
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This season has been all about transitions. Stepping away from my executive role at KW. Moving into a new office, figuring out my new schedule, and adapting to this new reality. I got a nice injection of stability when my chief of staff, Carly, returned from parental leave. We’ve navigated a lot of changes together over the past 6 ½ years. Happy to have her back for this next chapter.

I had two speaking engagements in New York City. Wendy joined me, and we spent the weekend doing our annual goal-setting retreat. We started setting goals together in 2003. In 2006, the retreat tradition was born. We took walks, explored midtown, and aligned on our 5-year and 2027 goals. We’re pretty dialed in now.
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If you’re interested in our process, I created a 40-page guide for our final ONE Thing Summit, November 13–14. It’s a virtual event and a closing chapter of the training and coaching business. You can get tickets and our goal-setting guide here.

Other highlights of our NYC visit. I met my friends William, Nancy, and Raf for dinner in Koreatown. Afterward, we stopped by Grace Street for my first “shaved snow.” 😋Definitely worth a side-quest if you're nearby. We also met Tiffany, Joshua, Erin, and Matt for drinks at Dutch Fred’s (an SNL cast hangout) and dinner at Marseille. The steak au poivre was parfait! We returned home happy and watched the final moments of UT beating Ohio State. 🤘Go horns!

At the end of the month, we traveled to Vail, CO, for the Rocky Mountain Summit. We had an amazing sushi dinner with friends at Matsuhisa – the black cod lettuce cups! Wendy and I got to teach a class with my pal and former coach, Jordan Freed. Our friend Peter Chabris drove in from Utah, and we spent the day exploring, trading book and show recommendations, and generally catching up. We wrapped up our trip with a half-day on the river fly fishing with our hosts, Kelli and Anthony. That makes four fishing adventures this year. And I have two more to go!
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Finally, I’m happy to report that our puppy Kiki is cast-, donut-, and cone-free! She’s back to her rampaging self.
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​2. What I’m Reading​
My friend Andrea gifted me The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah last year. I finally promoted it to my read-now stack and thoroughly enjoyed the tale of two sisters and the French Resistance. It reminded me of The Alice Network by Kate Quinn. I feel like Hannah writes with a movie adaptation in mind. Quinn’s books go deeper into the character and the historical setting. If you’ve read neither, read The Nightingale before The Alice Network. Don’t start with a West Coast IPA and follow it with a German lager – you’ll ruin your palate.

I also enjoyed What’s the Point? by Tom Rath, a practical guide to tapping into your purpose. And Superteams by Ron Friedman. Friedman’s book rides years of research into the small changes that make a good team a super team. I interviewed both on The ONE Thing podcast, if you’d like to learn more before buying them from your favorite bookstore.
​What I’m Watching​
Wendy and I guffawed through Jury Duty: Company Retreat (Amazon). One of my readers’ moms cuts the showrunner's hair. A new season is in the works! We also love Silo (Apple TV), season 3. They’ve done an amazing job adapting the book trilogy. Season 4 should wrap things up.
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Over the past months, I’ve been watching the occasional show on my own when Wendy was away. I finished season 2 of both Lioness (Paramount+) with Zoe Saldaña and The Agency (Paramount+) starring Michael Fassbender. I feel like everyone I know is watching Lioness. It’s easy to enjoy with full-throttle plots and Taylor Sheridan’s trademark dialogue and characters. The Agency is more of a true spy thriller, where you’ll need to track shifting allegiances and watch for clues. Both enjoyable but very different.

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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