What I'm Up To
​Volume 88

Hey friends,
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Here’s what I’ve been up to since Vol. 87…
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1. October Happenings​
The last couple of months have me thinking about the famous Lenin quote: “There are decades where nothing happens, and there are weeks where decades happen.” From a writing standpoint, I feel like I’ve been living the latter half of that quote. 🧑‍💻 We had roughly 8 weeks to complete our third revision of an upcoming book. We made big changes. So I’ve been editing, reviewing, and occasionally rewriting about 5 pages a day for the past two months.
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I’m very sure this would not have been possible without the disciplines and habits built writing The TwentyPercenter for the past 127 weeks. 💪 When you have to write a new essay every 7 days, you find a way. Writer’s block? That’s for amateurs. Never doubt the power of the small things you do consistently. They might just be preparing you for something much bigger.
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My sister, Jan, has been fairly obsessed with seeing the Northern Lights for a couple of years now. Her enthusiasm has been infectious. So when my brother-in-law called to see if we wanted to drop everything and fly to Bismark, ND the next day to possibly see them, we said yes. When we told her, Wendy’s friend Tiffany remarked: “How to say you’re an empty nester without saying you're an empty nester.” True.
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We took the day off and flew up to meet them. The night was clear and the odds were good. We drove straight from the airport to park outside the city to watch the skies. It was beautiful, but no luck. We spent a great day touring the city. The historical center was amazing with more full-sized dinosaurs than I’ve ever seen. We had lunch at a local brewery. Finally, we packed food and beer and drove north for sundown. Sadly, some weather came in and we spent a good part of the evening being buffeted by 70-75 gusts of wind. No aurora borealis. But the trip wasn’t a bust. Love making memories with family.
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A few days later, against the odds, the Northern Lights were visible in our hometown of Memphis. 🥳
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​I made a quick trip to Atlanta to attend the MashUp Mastermind hosted by Mo Bunnell and Shawn Blanc. They assembled about 40 creators, authors, and founders to brainstorm best practices for podcasting, audience building, leveraging AI, and other topics. I always leave these events inspired and invigorated. I recorded a podcast with Nathan Barry, founder of Kit, while there. You can check it out here.
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In other podcast news, after almost 8 years, I’ve decided to step into the host role for The ONE Thing podcast. The first episode lands 11/11. (No, it’s not accidental that date has so many ones….) We’ve spent the past few months redesigning the show from the ground up. There will be fewer interviews. And when we do have guests, the conversation will focus on how to live the simple but not always easy principles of The ONE Thing. I’m also recording some solo episodes with deep dives around productivity and purpose. Please check it out and let me know what you think.
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One of the first episodes is with Captain Daryle Cardone, former commander of the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan. He’s a huge fan of the book with a unique leadership message that dovetails perfectly with our book. Wendy and I had the pleasure of hanging out with him and his wife in Austin.
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Here are some quick hits: I’m about to be a great uncle again! My niece shared the news that Mia has a sibling on the way. We’ll find out if it’s a boy or a girl in November. The gang got back together to see the US Women’s National Soccer Team in Austin for the post-gold medal tour. Sadly, Carly and Adam couldn’t make it this year. The home team won big against Iceland. There is nothing quite like the sound of thousands of girls cheering for their heroes.
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Despite all my writing deadlines, we also squeezed in Formula 1 in Austin and our 19th annual Goal-Setting Retreat in Sonoma. My friend Ben Kinney was in town for F1 and we got to hang out between qualifying races. Wendy and I had such a good time, we are looking at attending a race somewhere around the globe next year.
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​We loved Sonoma. We stayed in the Madrona, a historic home-turned-hotel in Healdsburg. We worked on our goals in the mornings. Then we’d hit a winery, have lunch, take a nap, and finish the day at another winery. We also visited Russian River Brewing Company, maker of one of my favorite IPAs, Pliny the Elder. Before flying home, we connected with Scott Blumin for a hike by the Bay. Scott was one of my roommates when I was living in Paris after college. I introduced him to my then-girlfriend’s best friend, Christelle. I told her he could read palms, which may or may not have been completely accurate. Now, married, they live outside San Francisco with their three kids. It takes 30 years to build a 30-year friendship!
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Finally, I’ll share I had my first-ever therapy appointment on Halloween. It’s been a little more than two months since the tragic death of our young teammate. I’m doing ok but I’m also not alright. With some encouragement from friends, I gave myself permission to not have to figure this all out by myself.

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​2. What I’m Reading​
Had a better reading month. I wrapped up A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas and will take a break from the series. I get why people love the series but her books are slower than a DMV line on a lunch break. Can we just skip to the last 50 pages every time? I loved The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz. It’s a thriller set in a Vermont writer’s workshop. Within a few dozen pages, I could see where the plot of The Plot was headed and knew I had to find out. Maas should take a page from Korelitz!
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Also loved The Art Thief by Michael Finkel. Finkel tells the true story of Stéphane Bréitwieser. Bréitwieser has “Stendhal Syndrome,” which is like an obsessive version of love at first sight for artworks. He goes on to become the most successful and prolific art thief in history.
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​3. What I’m Watching​
Wendy and I almost abandoned House of Dragon, season 2 (Max) this summer. It started like a Maas novel and we couldn’t really keep track of all the characters. The final half of the season was electric. We also tore through season two of The Old Man (FX). Many an evening, I would use these shows as a reward for finishing a chapter of our manuscript.
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Wendy doesn't like going straight to bed after most shows. She’s too wound up. We continued our tradition of taking on an episode of something funny before hitting the hay. We wrapped up season five of Parks and Recreation (Peacock).
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Finally, I saved the final two episodes of the final season of Peaky Blinders (Netflix) for the plane ride to San Francisco. What a show! Small Heath has a special place in my cinematic heart now! I’m glad to hear there is a movie in pre-production.
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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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