Life of Ken – Vol. 7

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Happenings from the Homefront

November was an incredibly busy travel month. We started the month with a GoBundance (actually, GoldBundance – focused on those over 50) couples trip to St. Thomas. My friend Patrick Cullinane orchestrated the trip and did an incredible job with all the planning details. There were 11 couples on the trip and we all stayed on one property with a pool, private beach, and chef. We had a catamaran day, went scuba diving, and had a day visiting St. John. It was a much needed getaway for Amber and I to unplug and recharge. One of my favorite parts of the trip was having dinner together each evening and sharing our perspective and insights on the curated questions that were asked over dessert. 

Then we were home for a week before we took a quick trip up to Chicago to see our dear friend’s son graduate from the Second City comedy school. The performance was great but the opportunity to spend time with great friends was second to none. Being able to celebrate life events with great friends is what brings me great joy. The extra time to have dinner and breakfast with our friends was a true gift. 

This month was also the end of an era. We travelled to Auburn to celebrate our final football weekend as parents of Auburn students. We have spent the past four years attending 4-5 games per year and making some incredible friendships at the University Station RV Resort. That place truly is magical. If you have a chance to visit it and attend an Auburn football game, I highly recommend it! Grace will be graduating in a couple of weeks and Knox will be graduating in May. So this is both a joyful and sad moment for Amber and I.

We wrapped up the month by spending some time out at the ranch for Thanksgiving. This is one of the things that absolutely replenishes my soul and connects me to source. I took multiple hikes on the property, hunted, ate great food, watched lots of great football games, and spent treasured time with great friends. 

Work, work, work!

We are moving to escrow on a 60,000+/- SF flex warehouse project that we have been negotiating on for the past few months. We were able to receive very favorable terms from the existing lender that helped to make the deal work. More to come on this one soon.

We are also in final negotiations for a new home for KW Synergy in Abilene. The company has outgrown its current space and has been looking for a new place to support its future growth.

Almost 100% of our real estate brokerage business comes from repeat clients and referrals from our sphere. I had lunch last week with a gentleman I had not seen in almost 10 years. He remembered that I had built quite a big net-leased investments business and wanted to introduce me to a long-time friend of his that is now doing STNL development for a rapidly expanding chicken concept. The lunch went great and we will soon be helping the developer monetize his work by finding investors for the projects he is building. 

We are currently raising capital to support the growth and expansion of the Laundry Luv brand. We will begin franchising the company in 2025 and also plan for corporate store expansion. Our vision is to grow to over 100 units by 2030. God willing, we will exceed that goal!

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

It was a huge month for the future of our great nation. Leading up to the election I spent quite a bit of time watching several long-form podcasts to get a better understanding of the candidates. I mentioned these two podcasts last month, but they are worth repeating. The Donald Trump session with Joe Rogan gave me a new appreciation for the former (and future) President. After watching the Theo Von interview of JD Vance, I came away wanting to invite both of them over for dinner and to hang out for the evening. They both just seem like such relatable people.

On our way to Auburn (12-hour drive) I listened to the rather intense interview with Joe Rogan and Evan Hafer (founder of Black Rifle Coffee). They dove into many different subjects, but I was particularly fascinated with his military history and what he learned during his time abroad.

The team over at the All In Podcast (Episode 205)  had a great roadmap of what we might expect with the new DOGE – Department of Governmental Efficiency. I am particularly interested in rightsizing the government and diving DEEP into the fraud, waste, and abuse that is happening every single day and driving our nation into a death spiral of debt. Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are even going to host a “Dogecast” podcast to share their findings and actions they are taking. 

I read (listened) to several books this month. Long road trips definitely help my book intake. I finished The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho for the third time. There are so many great lessons in this simple little book. It has also become one of my daughter’s favorite books.

At the recommendation of my friend Pat Cullinane, Amber and I dove into the book Us by Terrance Real. We both enjoyed the book, and we have also heard many of the concepts shared in the book in our other relationship studies we have embarked on over the past years.

I have been spending a decent amount of time on the X platform. I am not a big social media fan, so I generally don’t spend much time on any of the platforms. But it seems to me that the results of this election happened because free speech was allowed in our country. It sounds like a basic right, yet that right was quickly disappearing. Elon’s purchase of Twitter changed the direction of our country. I am grateful for that restoration of free speech. It is up to each of us to determine what is real, what is hyperbole, and what is an outright lie. Having the hand of government censor speech is a dystopian future I never want to see again. 

Kaizen

A small group of us from the local GoBundance chapter have launched a 30-day fitness challenge. We have each committed to exercising for 30 minutes or more each day from December 1 – 30, then reporting our workouts for accountability in a Telegram thread. If we miss a day, we face a $200 daily penalty. At the end of the challenge, we will take all the money in the pot from days missed, go to breakfast together, and donate the money as a very generous tip to our server (another great way to have accountability and DO GOOD at the same time).

We have set the date for the 2025 23-Hour Challenge. It will be Friday, April 11, 2025. We will walk for 24-hours straight and will do push-ups at the top of each hour. If you are looking for your Misogi for the year, I invite you to join us in April!

Random Musings

Amber harvested her first hog over the Thanksgiving break. I know some people may be anti-hunting, but for us it is a part of life. Feral hogs are invasive species that breed rapidly and cause significant environmental destruction. They root in the soil, destroy vegetation, and disrupt ecosystems, leading to soil erosion and water contamination. 

And lastly, our Big A## Calendar has arrived! We are currently populating the calendar with our travels, conferences, events and adventures for 2025. Thank you Jesse Itzler for the great idea! And, yes, our soon-to-be 9 year old, Kai, LOVES describing our calendar!

Until next time.

Take action and be grateful!

-Ken

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