Life of Ken – Vol. 3

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Happenings from the Homefront

It has been a whirlwind very busy summer with travel over the past 6 weeks. We started the summer with Kai taking a cooking class. For his final class, there was an on-site tour to two different barbeque restaurants for some lessons from the Pit Masters. As a bonus, the parents were invited to tag along for this day. So Kai and I got lessons from Panther City BBQ and Brix BBQ. The food smelled divine and tempted us beyond measure…so much so that we ended up having lunch at Panther City after the tour! Brix is on the short-list for a visit soon.

My brother Blake got married in June. It was a small, intimate, and beautiful ceremony. It was also a chance to see family members I had not seen in quite some time. The happy couple then jetted off to the Bahamas for a well deserved honeymoon.

We spent time at the ranch for 4th of July for what has now been an annual event for the past 5 or 6 years. It involved a bit of ranch work (always rewarding), the Valley Mills Parade, lots of time in the pool, and fireworks after sunset. The ranch is truly my happy place, so this was awesome once again.

Amber and I went to the 7th annual Boots on the Beach event hosted by Casey Donahew in Cabo. It was so much fun! We had amazing food, great time with friends, LOTS of live music, bonfires, dancing, contests, white trash karaoke, and one heck of a boat day on a catamaran. There were some GREAT artists at the event, including Casey Donahew, Koe Wetzel, Chris Cagle, Josh Abbott, Mike Ryan, Corey Kent, Dylan Wheeler and Kat Hasty. Fun fact, Kat Hasty now lives in San Angelo (maybe she can write a song about Laundry Luv!).

While Amber and I were in Cabo, Kai was at camp in East Texas at Sky Ranch. He spent a week totally unplugged from electronics, playing outdoors, meeting new friends, swimming, having theme days/nights, studying the bible, and having fun being a kid. We are grateful he is able to have such experiences and that he does so well being away from home.

After Cabo and Sky Ranch we loaded up as a family and had a vacation at Lake of the Ozarks. We rented a house on the lake with a dock on the water. All the kids were with us, plus Hannah (bonus daughter and one of Grace’s best friends) and Cash (our 13 year old nephew). We hiked Ha Ha Tonka State Park, had a full day on a boat, and toured the Stark Caverns. Plus we did some fishing off the dock and ate some great food. Spending time together as a family during travels and adventures truly warms my heart. We all agreed that we would definitely like to return to Lake of the Ozarks in the future.

We found out a few months ago that our dishwasher had been leaking (for maybe 2-3 years!). Our floors were starting to buckle and the granite countertops were starting to separate at the seams. So for the past two months we have been working with insurance and interviewing contractors. Now we have kicked off the work to rip out cabinets and flooring, find and repair the damage caused by the water leak, then replace cabinets, countertops, and flooring. The next 30-45 days are going to be a mess in the house. For someone who thrives on organization and things being in their proper place, this is for sure going to be a stressful time.

Grace and Knox are wrapping up the last of their summer break. They are both headed back to Auburn this weekend. Grace is in her last semester and will be working an internship this fall, then she graduates in December. Knox is in his final year and will be graduating in May. Crazy to think that next summer we will have two college graduates!

Work, work, work!

We are continuing to work on our franchise offering for Laundry Luv. We are two months into a four month process. We have already mapped out a business plan and had our first review of the FDD. Next we will start detailing out the operational plan and marketing program. So far we have been really impressed with the team at 

Our team is now gearing up for the next cohort of the Mastering the Art of Success class. If you know anyone looking to seriously elevate their personal development journey, I invite you to introduce us! We are only running one cohort at a time. The course lasts for 6-months with live instruction 1-hour per week (with an optional hour for mentorship/coaching/advice).

Amber and I continue to help and serve others via real estate whenever possible. We are helping several folks with industrial/warehouse needs at the moment, helping source land for our developer friends, and helping with residential needs for homeowners and investors.

Our VA team is getting better and better. We have had our current team structure for about four months now and everyone is starting to get into the groove. I am grateful for tools like Slack, Loom, and Asana to help us to have a really effective remote (global) workforce. We have even allocated some VA time over to Laundry Luv.

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

It has been an active month for brain food. I continue to read The Daily Stoic each morning. I am now “reading” Falling Upward by Richard Rohr for the first time. I have listened to it twice on Audible (and it absolutely blew my mind), so now I am reading it during my morning reading sessions.  I also just finished (Audible) “The Go Giver” by Bob Burg and John David Mann. It is such a great book that emphasizes that success is achieved by shifting the focus from getting to giving. It introduces the Five Laws of Stratospheric Success, which highlight how generosity and putting others’ interests first can lead to extraordinary outcomes.

I tried to read “No More Mister Nice Guy” by Dr. Robert Glover. However, I couldn’t even finish the first chapter. The book was recommended to me by someone (I can’t remember who), so I am sure it was good for him. But for me I just did not resonate with the type of person he wrote the book to help. Another book I put down and decided not to finish was “The Perfect 10” by Dave Liniger. The author came across as rather pompous to me, so I decided to drop it and allocated the time to something that actually speaks to me. I see this as real growth in my life. I used to finish a book no matter what. I’m glad I have evolved. 

Huge thanks to Matt King, CEO of GoBundance, for sending me a copy of “Fans First” by Jesse Cole. This book was exactly what I wanted to read. It is the story of the Savannah Bananas and how Jesse and his wife launched a minor league baseball team in a failing stadium and took them from obscurity to selling out major league parks and creating a consistent waitlist for tickets. Their philosophy resonated deeply with me and I can see MANY parallels in what we want to pursue at Laundry Luv. It also reminded me of another book I recently finished, “Unreasonable Hospitality” by WIll Guidara. These two books combined are what I aspire to achieve in our business. 

I also read “Smart, Not Spoiled” (Audible) by Chad Willardson. Great book that provides parents with practical strategies to teach their children financial literacy, emphasizing the importance of money management, entrepreneurship, and delayed gratification.

Amber and I rarely miss an episode of the All In Podcast. They released a new format and hosted an excellent interview with Jonathan Haidt recently. It was an OUTSTANDING interview with deep discussion on the suggestions he lays out in his book, “The Anxious Generation”. 

Another great podcast episode I recommend is an interview with Matt Drinkhahn and Michael Chu on the Front Row Dad’s Podcast (Episode 446). If you have any curiosity around somatic therapy or somatic coaching, it is a great resource. 

Kaizen

We had a GoBundance Tribal Council meeting last week in Chicago. I am incredibly grateful to be on the leadership team that helps guide such a powerful organization. To be in the room with such incredibly talented men who are thoughtful, diligent, and decisive is truly inspiring. Their dedication and leadership set a high standard, and I am honored to collaborate with individuals who continually push boundaries and strive for excellence.

I continue to exercise daily and seek to eat 200 grams of protein each day. I worked hard to build up some muscle mass over the past 6 months. Now I would like to maintain it and remain as fit as possible. 

My morning routine continues to be a keystone of my life. It gets a bit disrupted when traveling, though I still try to incorporate portions of it each day. Breath work, meditation/prayer, journaling, visualization, reading, and exercise. All followed by purposefully planning what I am going to accomplish for the day.

Random Musings

I am thinking about switching to T-Mobile from AT&T. I have been a loyal AT&T customer for over 25 years, yet I feel like I am getting ripped off by them. I was told recently that T-Mobile has a veteran’s program that is 40% or 50% off their regular rates with very similar coverage and service to AT&T. Anyone have an experience here?

Until next time.

Take action and be grateful!

-Ken

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