Like of Ken – Vol. 21

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Happenings from the Homefront

The month began with dinner alongside some of our closest friends, one of those evenings where time slows down just enough to allow for real conversation. We shared great food, meaningful dialogue, and the kind of connection that reminds you why certain friendships deepen rather than fade over the years.

Grace was there with us, along with two of our friends’ kids who feel more like a niece and nephew than anything else. One of the quiet joys of parenting is watching your children sit at tables where the conversations stretch them—where they get to grow simply by proximity to thoughtful people and meaningful exchanges. Those moments matter more than we often realize, and they tend to compound over time.

A group of our GoBundance friends gathered at my friend Ricky’s ranch for a long weekend of hunting, camaraderie, and fellowship. Managing 14,000 acres comes with real responsibility, including harvesting the appropriate number of doe each year to keep the land healthy—and we were more than willing to help with that mission.

Ricky set the bar high as a host. We had great guides, solid instruction, access to an incredible shooting range stretching from 50 to 800 yards, and land that was both beautiful and genuinely wild. Untamed in the best sense of the word.

The weather added its own layer to the experience. We started Thursday in the high 60s, and within 48 hours the temperatures had dropped into the 20s. Cold mornings, long days, shared meals, and plenty of time together created the kind of bonding that only comes from shared challenge. It was one of those weekends where the setting mattered—but the people mattered even more.

Knox moved into his first apartment since graduating from Auburn last May. He’s been working full-time and living with his mom while saving up, and it felt like a meaningful milestone when he finally made the move on his own. I got back from the hunting trip just in time to help him haul furniture and get everything set up.

The place is fantastic—an awesome apartment in a prime location. Sitting in Fort Worth’s Near Southside district, it’s surrounded by great retail, restaurants, bars, and entertainment, and it’s less than a mile from the central business district. And the pool… wow! One of the nicest resort-style pools I’ve seen at any apartment complex.

More than the location or the amenities, though, it’s the season that matters. I’m excited for him as he steps into this next chapter—learning, stretching, and building a life that’s fully his own.

It’s rodeo season in Fort Worth, and we’ve been doing our part to support it. By the time it’s all said and done, we’ll have attended around six different events this year—which feels about right for this season.

Amber and Kai went during MLK Day with a group of Tanglewood boys and their moms, and Amber and I have taken several different groups of clients, friends, and family to various events as well. It’s one of those experiences that never really gets old—part tradition, part spectacle, and part excuse to bring people together.

This is one of the things I love most about living in Fort Worth. It has a way of blending culture, community, and hospitality into moments that feel both special and familiar at the same time.

February is usually when we expect snow and ice in North Texas, but this year winter showed up early. A massive cold front rolled through in late January, glazing the roads with ice and then covering everything in snow. The result was a weekend of huddling by the fire, cooking comfort food, and eventually venturing out for sledding at Foster Park.

The park was full of energy—kids flying down the hills, parents laughing right alongside them, and that shared excitement you only get when nature disrupts the normal routine. I loved every bit of it. The smiles, the laughter, and the pure joy on display made the cold more than worth it.

The kids were especially thrilled when the storm led to three straight days of school closures. I can confidently say their enthusiasm was unmatched. The parents, on the other hand, were more than ready for life to return to normal.

Work, work, work!

We held our first annual off-site EOS meeting for Laundry Luv in early January, stepping out of our normal environment and heading to Schuyler’s ranch for the day. It turned out to be exactly the setting we needed—focused, grounded, and free from the usual noise.

We continued working with our EOS implementer, who has a real gift for keeping us on track while also pulling ideas out of our heads that we didn’t even realize were fully formed yet. By the end of the session, we walked away with an even more ambitious 10-year target, along with clearly defined one-year and quarterly rocks to move us steadily toward that BHAG.

Being part of a truly talented leadership team is something I don’t take lightly. It’s an honor, and it has me absolutely fired up about what’s ahead.

The caliber of people we’re attracting into our world right now is incredible. Our franchisee pipeline is filling with entrepreneurs, seasoned business owners, physicians, and high–net-worth individuals who are intentionally looking to make an impact in the next phase of their lives.

Early in this journey, we were given some simple but wise advice: Take it slowly at first and get into business with ten extremely talented people as your first franchisees. They will set the tone for everything that follows. That guidance continues to resonate more and more as we see who’s raising their hand.

We’re being patient. We’re being selective. And it feels like the foundation we’re laying now will compound for years to come. The future is looking awfully bright.

Brain Food (what I am reading, watching, and listening to)

I finished reading The Science of Scaling by Ben Hardy just in time for our Laundry Luv EOS off-site, and the timing couldn’t have been better. I was especially drawn to his idea of using time as a strategic tool—compressing your timeline dramatically forces you to rethink your entire approach to how business is done.

When you do that honestly, incremental thinking stops working. You’re pushed to consider what would need to change immediately to actually achieve the outcome you say you want. That framework stuck with me throughout the off-site and clearly influenced the revised 10-year BHAG we set as a team.

It’s one of those books that doesn’t just give you ideas, it reshapes how you think about the path forward.

I committed to re-reading two spiritual books this quarter, and it’s already been a meaningful decision. On the drive to Ricky’s ranch, I listened to The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran. Hearing it narrated was a gift in itself—the cadence, tone, and pacing of the narrator felt perfectly matched to the depth and timelessness of the message.

I’m also about two-thirds of the way through my fourth—maybe fifth—reading of Falling Upward by Father Richard Rohr. This is the book that kicked off my deeper spiritual exploration years ago, and it continues to meet me wherever I am in life. I’ve recommended it to more people than I can count, and it still delivers something new each time I return to it.

On a very different but equally engaging note, I also started Poor Charlie’s Almanack by Charlie Munger. I’m only a couple of chapters in, but I’m already loving it. Big thanks to Kendall Kirk for the recommendation—it’s shaping up to be one of those books that rewards slow, thoughtful reading.

On the nights when we wanted zero mental effort, Amber and I wrapped up season two of Landman. It was an easy escape, and being from Fort Worth made it even more fun—spotting familiar local spots woven into scenes throughout the series.

Beneath the drama, though, the family dynamic stood out to me. At times it was unsettling, and at others unexpectedly tender. That tension—messy, flawed, and still deeply human—gave the show more depth than I expected. A reminder that even light entertainment can occasionally sneak in something worth noticing.

Kaizen

January ended with my attendance at the winter conference for the GoBundance mastermind in Breckenridge, CO. Given the snow and ice conditions in DFW, I was grateful that my flight had only a slight delay to get me to the conference. As usual, this event was packed with value. 

Below are some of my top takeaways from a few of the key speakers at the event.

Matt King, CEO of GoBundance

• Abundance is not something you wait for, it is something you choose
• Abundance is just three things
  • Choice (can also be Action)
  • Awareness
  • More choice (more Action)

Clint Rogers, Author of Ancient Secrets of a Master Healer

• Three keys to life
  • Love
  • Give
  • Play

Michael Durant, Blackhawk Helicopter Pilot (survived 11 days of captivity)

• Always Critically Important: Have all the facts given to you exactly as they are, without spin on it, so you can make decision as best you can with the facts on the ground
• “The commander in the field is always right, and the rear echelon is always wrong unless proven otherwise.”

Dr. Kelly Flanagan, The couples whisperer, and author of Lovable

• You have a CHOICE to keep your heart open, or to close it (even though sometimes it feels like you have no choice)
• A reaction is a failure of self-regulation while a response is the fruit of self-regulation.
• This is STOIC WISDOM: You can’t control external sources (weather, other people, traffic, etc), but you CAN control your response and your emotions. 

Adam Witty – The Advantage Authority

• Position yourself as a thought leader with something to teach, rather than a business person with something to sell
• People buy PEOPLE; someone they believe and trust
• Ultimate business and life KPI: Number of lives positively impacted

Aaron West – Sex, Marriage, and the One Sheet

• Created 5-year vision of the relationship with my wife
• Crafted 10 trackable goals to show up for my wife

Robert Irving – Private Equity

• The person who eats last, eats MOST
• Everything hinges on DATA

GoBundance Foundation (501c3) has now launched and is already making an impact

• Camp Grace
• The Ride

Ricky Dauenhauer 7-2-8

• Never underestimate the importance of mentors who show up in our lives
• Looking back, we can see the incredible gift of those who believed in us long before we had the confidence to believe in ourselves
• Stay in your lane (zone of genius) to create massive wealth; yes, it sometimes looks boring, but this is when you start to develop others and truly find joy in your ripple effects in the world

Espen Wold Jensen – Quantum Man

• If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of Energy, Frequency, and Vibrations. – Nikola Tesla
• We have forgotten that we have GOD inside of us; we have all that we need
• Two primary issues with most people: 1) Not breathing properly, and 2) Interference we allow into our lives (physical, mental, emotional, spiritual)

Random Musings

After breathwork in Colorado, my friend Clint shared that he could clearly see his destiny to be an Ambassador of Joy. I resonated deeply with his vision.

The three founding Ambassadors of Joy!

Until next time.

Take action and be grateful!

-Ken

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