Another Bald Eagle Sighting | Vol. 11
Vol. 11
Hey there,
One of the many reasons I decided to step away from working at a startup earlier this year was to create more space in my life for experiences. I was so busy trying to do "all of the things" that I was missing opportunities to experience life--and I was certainly missing the opportunity to just "be" in the moment.
Music has always been a passion of mine--not necessarily a passion that I will pursue, although you never know, but I can't imagine my life without the soundtrack I've created over the years. But, despite my love of music I have not gone to many concerts. I can't even remember the last rap concert I went to; it may have been something during my high school years, which is crazy given how much rap and certain artists have impacted my life and inspired me.
The second part of 2022 is when this all changes.
A Few Takeaways From A Trip To Atlanta
Earlier this week I combined a business trip with a Pusha T concert in Atlanta. As I reflected back on my trip I found multiple PRST-related moments I wanted to share...
Relationships really are an important part of our Pursuit. The initial reason for my trip to Atlanta was to visit my friend, and fellow financial advisor, for a day. We have regular calls to talk about our businesses, share best practices, push each other to continue pursuing out goals, and navigating life as husbands, fathers, and business owners. We both happen to be big Pusha T fans so when I saw the new tour dates come out and Atlanta was on it I told him that was when I was going to come visit. We could spend the day working on our businesses, hit up the concert in the evening, and I'd head home the next day. Getting to spend the day with my friend and his family was priceless--this is someone I consider a little brother, so finally getting to meet his wife and his son just made our relationship even closer. It's important to have people in your life that mean so much to you that you'd take a couple of days away from your own family to spend quality time with them.
A moment of bonding with my friend's little guy.
The Universe puts people in the same place at the same time for a reason--there are no coincidences. There were two specific instances of the Universe in action while I was in Atlanta.
The first came at a conference my friend spoke at in the afternoon and I attended with him. On the car ride to the hotel we were talking about other financial advisors we knew in Atlanta, one of which is a good friend of mine that he had not met yet. When we got to the conference I checked the agenda to see if my friend was speaking on any of the panels to be able to catch up with her and to connect the two--she was not on the agenda. I'm sure you have an idea where this story goes...just a few minutes before the panel was about to start she walks in. She was given a ticket to attend and happened to go for the day last minute--it would seem as if it were a coincidence that we were both there but there are no coincidences. I know there was a greater purpose for us both being at the conference Tuesday beyond catching up...it may just take some time to reveal itself.
The second came in my Uber on the way to the airport to come home. When I ordered my Uber I almost went the economical route and just ordered the basic ride but I saw an Uber Black was just one minute away. I hate being late and when traveling I don't want to cut it close with getting to the airport, so I ordered the Uber Black. The driver was an older gentleman with a young soul as we'd discuss amongst numerous other PRST-like topics on the ride to airport. It was obvious immediately that we were both cut from the same cloth and even if our encounter was only meant to enrich each other's life for that day, we were supposed to meet each other. The next time I'm in Atlanta he will be my driver anywhere I need to go and we've continued to text each other since I returned home...it was not a coincidence I was his passenger.
Your Pursuit will not always be smooth. How you handle adversity will determine how long your Pursuit is delayed and your happiness. Travel via airplane is brutal right now. There aren't enough pilots and crew to make all of the flights being scheduled and airlines are having to cancel flights daily. For the most part, I've avoided major inconveniences when traveling but Tuesday afternoon it became my turn to have my patience tested. Shortly after arriving at the airport I received a text that my first flight to Baltimore (then to Indy) had been cancelled. Slightly frustrated, but glad that it hadn't been cancelled earlier because I would have missed my epic Uber ride, I hopped on the Southwest app and booked a new flight later in the day--I'd still be flying through Baltimore but there was a quick stop in Louisville. That stop in Louisville would allow me to hop off the plane, rent a car, and be home after a short drive. The Universe was hooking me up! Until the next flight I had an extra six hours in the Atlanta airport--tons of time to get work done and there are not many better airports to be stuck in that Atlanta. It could have been worse. Fast forward to boarding the plane...while in line to board the plane we are informed the Louisville to Baltimore leg of the trip had been cancelled. Over half the plane was going to Baltimore but thankfully I wasn't relying on that part of the trip and I had my ticket adjusted so I could board the plane. After a smooth flight to Louisville I arrived at the car rental counter only to find a hand written note informing me they were not honoring any same day rentals--the car I thought I had lined up was not actually available and none of the other car rental companies had any cars and the locations outside the airport were all closed. My response...I just laughed. Thankfully, I have the world's most selfless dad who drove down to pick me up so Ang and the boys wouldn't have to make the trip to come get me. The ride from Louisville to the Indianapolis Airport to get my car provided my dad and me with a couple of bonus hours time together that we wouldn't have had without the chaos of the day. All things considered, after some minor inconveniences, my day wasn't really that bad and I believe that is because of how I was able to process and handle the cancellations and no rental car. Understandably, many travelers were upset and frustrated and took their anger out on the Southwest workers who had no control over the situation. Negative energy attracts negative energy and positive energy attracts positive. Yes, travel disruption is a huge annoyance but it's out of our control and if the Stoics have taught us anything it is to focus on what we can control and not to waste energy on the things we cannot control.
Don't miss opportunities to experience your passions. I had so much fun at the concert that I'm looking for more shows to attend this year...I already have a couple of other concerts lined up to continue experiencing this passion of mine.
I didn't expect my Atlanta trip to make up such a large part of this week's email but it was just too good to share...hopefully one of the lessons resonates with you OR it inspires you to create space for an experience you've been putting off for too long.
Let's get to The Weekly PRST...
Another Bald Eagle Sighting
I've shared in podcast interviews, on the PRST podcast, and in some of my writing how I've been seeing bald eagles regularly over the last year. For those new to PRST, that may not seem like anything special but I've lived in Indiana my entire life and for 39 of my 40 years I had never seen a bald eagle in the wild, despite there being a population here. As I began to tap more into nature and diving into my own Pursuit, I started seeing them--I think I'm up to 12 sightings over the last year or so.
Why is this so exciting?
"When an eagle appears, you are on notice to be courageous and stretch your limits. Do not accept the status quo, but rather reach higher and become more than you believe you are capable of. Look at things from a new, higher perspective. Be patient with the present; know that the future holds possibilities that you may not yet be able to see. You are about to take flight."
or
"Eagles represent bridging the spiritual and physical world to bring your spiritual aspirations into reality as a process of evolution. Spiritually they represent transformation, manifestation, power, and inner-strength.
An eagle may appear in your life when you are being called to expand your reality, align your actions with your spiritual values, and conquering obstacles that have held you back such as self-doubt or others standing in your way."
My latest bald eagle sighting came yesterday (Friday) on my way to a client's retirement party and I know exactly what it was telling me to do. I've been working on the first offering from PRST to take the podcast and newsletter's message and put it into action--it's ready to launch but I've been delaying. Imposter syndrome is probably the main reason I haven't announced it, which is silly and I know this. But thanks to my feathered friend who flew over me I'm ready to share that I'll be doing a beta group of my first Passion Led living cohort class.
For the beta I'm going to limit the cohort to 5 individuals who are looking pursue (or even find) a passion in their life in a greater way. The promise of the 6 week cohort is you will have identified the passion in your life that is lacking and created a plan to bring it to your life in a more meaningful way.
To give you a better idea of what we'll be covering here's a look at the roadmap--not shown is the weekly 45 minute one-on-one office hours to spend more time on your individual plan.
I'm shooting for a mid-August start to the cohort. If you're interested in learning more just hit reply to this email and we can set up a quick Zoom call to answer any questions you may have. If you know someone who would benefit from diving more into their passion please feel free to forward them this email or tell them about the opportunity.
The cost for the beta group will only be $499. The final price after a second beta will most likely be somewhere between $1,000-$1,500 due to the amount of time that I'll be spending with the group and each individual.
I'll share more specific details in coming Weekly PRSTs but I had to respect the message from the bald eagle and put this out today.
This Week's Top PRST
The most listened to episode this week was Thursday's episode of The Daily PRST "Are You A Passenger or Pilot?"
PassionRelationshipsSelfTime
Each week this section will consist of curated blog posts, articles, podcasts, videos, etc. that address Passion, Relationships, Self, and Time--the components of PRST.
Note: Due to the longer start to this week's email, I'll be keeping the summary of each section to a minimum 😀
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Although this podcast focuses on romantic relationships, the advice applies to regular relationships that will help you on your Pursuit. If you're happily in a relationship there are still great nuggets in this podcast episode--don't dismiss the greater message.
Becoming Superhuman Ep. 14: Luis Congdon on Building Healthy Relationships That Help You Grow
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As I sat in the Atlanta airport I had a moment of visual creativity hit me and I created this visualization to represent my growth. I used the colors from RLS Wealth and PRST (which is adopting the orange--more to come on that later). I'll provide an in depth explanation about the visual next week but for now I want you to see the visualization through your eyes and perspective, not mine.
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Click the image to listen to a PRST favorite "Time" by Jack Harlow and Statik Selektah
Click to listen
This Week Of PRST
The Daily PRST.
Monday: In honor of the Warriors winning the NBA Championship we look at Steph Curry's journey to becoming the greatest shooter in NBA history and a four-time champion.
Tuesday: Marcus Aurelius helps us learn to free ourselves.
Wednesday: Why you should be telling others about your Pursuit.
Thursday: Are you in control of your life (the pilot) or is someone else controlling your life (the passenger)?
Check out all of last week's episodes here.
The PRST. Revisiting Dr. Phil Pearlman On All About Your Benjamins Sometimes an episode from the past is relevant today and that is exactly why we are revisiting a conversation with Dr. Phil Pearlman on All About Your Benjamins. There is a lot of noise about the economy and stock market that while very real also become a distraction for us while we are on our Pursuit and Phil provides some great perspective after years of being an investor and experiencing all of the phases of the business cycle. In addition to the economic and market insight, and more importantly, Phil shares a ton of wisdom about life that will help you on your Pursuit.
PRST Shorts. I'm STILL close to having the next one ready. I finished getting enough film for the next short and need to record the conversation to provide the audio. We're probably a couple of weeks away from the next one. For now, get caught up on the first three Shorts.
The Blog. In the latest blog post I step out of my comfort zone to make a bold prediction: Somewhere Between Jay Shetty and Ramit Sethi.
On Our PRST. A new episode of On Our PRST will drop this Friday; I'm also recording another episode this Tuesday afternoon. The interviews are picking up and I can't wait to share more stories of individuals If you haven't heard all three episodes of On Our PRST you can get caught up by visiting the OOP page here.
