Life of Ken – Vol. 6

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Happenings from the Homefront

I started the month with one of my favorite things to do in the world, having a board meeting with Kai, my 8-year old son. As usual, Kai got to choose our adventure, and he chose an experience at Andretti Karting in Fort Worth. We were both duly UN-impressed with the junior karts required for guests under 54 inches tall. However, we loved playing laser tag together and then spent some fun time playing video games and winning tickets at a skee ball/corn hole combo game. We wrapped up the outing with a trip to Kai’s favorite, Chick-fil-a, for dinner.

This month included lots of practice and games at ULL kid-pitch baseball with The Orioles. It was my first experience with kid-pitch teams and I have loved it. And I can’t express enough my gratitude for the volunteer coaches that pour into these kids and help with skill development, knowledge of the game, positional awareness, and good sportsmanship. 

I usually find myself anxious before leaving and taking the time away from my family and from my business to attend events like Front Row Dad’s retreats. I am often feeling overwhelmed and feel as if I don’t have the time to invest at the event. Yet upon my return I know that it is EXACTLY where I was meant to be. This retreat filled my soul and sent me home with some very specific actionable takeaways. You can read my blog post about the event if you want to learn more about it.

And then there was Amber’s birthday dinner…yep, she saw something on Tik Tok and decided our Hibachi dinner should be a “themed dinner.” And the theme that had really caught her attention was “Dress as your spouse.” I’m really not sure how to take it when multiple people told me I look great as a woman!?! In any case, it made for some fun photos!

Work, work, work!

We continue implementing the EOS process into our business at Laundry Luv. We had our third on-site implementation meeting in Austin this month. It was our “Vision Building Day 2” meeting and it involved finishing our Vision-Traction Organizer, agreeing on our “Rocks” for next quarter, and updating our scorecard tracking. We came away from the day fully aligned as a leadership team and are now poised to roll out the EOS model to the entire company (and then to our franchisees as we grow the brand).

We are slowly making progress on the industrial/flex acquisition. We have agreed on a price, subject to getting certain financing conditions met. We have pitched what seems to be a win-win-win to the bank that holds the existing note. The CEO and President loved the deal. Now they are pitching it to the board to see if our suggested terms will work. Fingers crossed!

I was reminded this month of the vital importance of making calls and keeping in touch with the people in our database. I called an old broker acquaintance of mine to inquire about a property he had listed. I thought it could possibly be a fit for one of my clients. While talking he mentioned a buyer requirement he was working on. His buyer is a precious metals company and needs a building with a vault. I suggested former bank buildings, to which my friend replied he had already looked at the handful that were on the market and they were not a good fit. I then mentioned a building I had listed back in 2020. It never sold due to limited parking (TxDOT took half the building’s parking with road expansion). He thought it could possibly work. I called the bank to see if they still owned it. Turns out they had sold it a couple of years ago. I found the number of the new buyer and reached out to them. Their attorney called me back and we set up a tour. Not sure if things will work out, but they are headed in the right direction. And it all happened from a simple conversation. Make the call and do the work!

As I write this I am on a plane headed back to Texas from three days in Massachusetts. I was there with one of my old CRE coaching clients, Jeremey Casey. He was a damn good student and went on to build a very impressive commercial real estate business. Both of us get approached frequently from people wanting to learn the fundamentals of the commercial real estate brokerage business. So, we just spent several days recording a series of about 25 videos filled with knowledge from our decades of experience in the business (Jeremy was a former commercial lender as well). We are creating a course with the videos, workbooks, underwriting models, and key resources to get folks launched with foundational knowledge and a basic playbook. Look for more to come out about this soon!

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

I just wrapped up the book, When it All Goes to Hell by Jeff Banman. Banman is a former firefighter, Army Ranger, and CIA counter terrorism expert. His book aims to help us first regulate our state to remain calm and poised during what could be an incredibly chaotic event. Then he details multiple checklists to help us to be as prepared as possible during times of disaster or unrest. Banman was also a guest at the FRD Fall Retreat and spent some time teaching our group about emotional regulation during times of stress.

I listened on Audible to They Ask, You Answer by Marcus Sheridan. This book was one of the books referenced in Fans First (Savannah Bananas) as a key reference for Jesse Cole as he developed his customer centric mindset. My biggest takeaway from the book was, by openly addressing customer questions and concerns through transparent, valuable content, businesses can build trust, attract more leads, and drive a surprising number of sales.

I re-listened (Audible) to Good To Great by Jim Collins in preparation for our EOS meeting this month. It was a great reminder of some very timeless principles for building an enduring business. I was also reminded that, over the course of time, even great companies (like those featured in Good to Great) can fall victim to complacency, shifting market dynamics, leadership missteps, or an inability to adapt to new challenges, ultimately leading to a decline in their performance and competitive edge.

Falling Upward is quickly becoming one of my most-read books. I just finished it for the fourth time. Thank you Father Richard Rohr for taking the role as my spiritual father!

If you haven’t heard/watched the Joe Rogan podcast with Donald Trump, do yourself a favor and que it up. DJT goes three hours without missing a beat. I really enjoy the long form podcast interviews to get a better feeling of someone’s real personality. So much better than the curated sound bites that often only benefit the person that clipped them. For a bonus episode, check out the JD Vance interview with Theo Von. After watching the interview, I really want to invite both of those guys to my home for dinner!

Kaizen

I mentioned last month that Amber and I read Fast Like a Girl by Dr. Mindy Pelz. This month we implemented the 30-day advanced reset fasting plan with pretty great results. It included varying intermittent fasting times (depending on times of a woman’s cycle) and a couple of 24/36 hour fasts. It also included being disciplined and eating the right kind of foods. It is amazing how great you start to feel after a couple of weeks of eliminating processed foods and sugars.

I also completed the Soma Breathwork for Life course with Niraj Naik on MindValley. This course was mind blowing. It included educational sessions and practical application breathwork meditations that ranged from 12 minutes to just over an hour. One of the breathwork sessions was a Supreme Council mediation (homage to Napoleon Hill) that blew my mind. If you are interested in learning more about breathwork, I highly recommend you check out the course.

And in the same vein of heath and breathwork, I also have been layering in HeartMath Breathing into my morning routine. HeartMath breathing is a practice that combines deep, rhythmic breathing with a focus on positive emotions to create coherence between the heart and brain, reducing stress and promoting emotional resilience. And as a bonus, one of the main voices on the HeartMath app has one of the most pleasant Georgia accents I have heard. He reminds me of the voice of Dr. Gary Chapman. 

Random Musings

My favorite question from the FRD Retreat: “Where are each of you on your spiritual journey?” The photo below is a group of us sitting around the table breaking bread together and having a beautiful conversation around this question. This is my church.

Until next time.

Take action and be grateful!

-Ken

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