What A Day Of Skateboarding Taught Me | Vol. 8
Hey there,
Well, we've had the first "missed" week of The Weekly PRST and I'm ok with it.
Hopefully, you noticed that your inbox was one email light last week. I spent too much energy thinking through how I could get the email out and keep the string off weeks hitting send going. I eventually realized it was ok to not publish last week--especially for the reason why...my family.
If you've been tuning into the podcasts you know I took Leo with me last week to California for a business/father-son trip. I want to share a little of the trip because it aligns with my Pursuit and hope that it inspires and also shows that not everything in your Pursuit has to be career driven. In fact, it shouldn't be all about your career--yes, doing something that you love, brings meaning to your life, and provides for your family is an important part of your Pursuit, but making memories that will last forever should be as well.
Our Cali trip was great and one I think we will always remember--it may have also been a recruitment trip to get one more person on board with moving to better weather 😀. It wasn't long (Wed-Fri) but we packed in a lot. When we got into LA we Ubered over to my friend, and common contributor to my curated lists, Khe Hy's house. We spent the day with him and his family walking around Huntington Beach, talking about business, life, family, and surfing, grabbed some In and Out for lunch (Leo wasn't impressed--he said Five Guys and Shake Shack are Better, which I agree with), and some pizza for dinner. That evening on the way to our hotel in Venice I told Leo that he's too young to appreciate the conversations he was able to be a part of and listen to--Khe is a creative genius and tremendous business person--but that he got an Ivy League intro to business course that day.
Thursday was our "open" day. I had no specific plans other than meeting up with a friend and mentor of mine who lives in Venice in the afternoon. I had some ideas of what we could do but I wanted to let Leo steer the direction of the day and just be present in the moment with him. We woke up and walked to the beach to check out the surfers catching waves early in the morning. It was packed with tons of action and Leo even spotted a few dolphins off in the distance.
We left the beach and walked over to the legendary Venice skatepark and that changed the trajectory of our day in a heartbeat. We watched as everyone took turns going around the bowl and working on their skills--it was a lot of fun and so impressive to watch these athletes do their thing. I could see Leo was hooked and I asked him if he wanted to try and find a skate shop so we could buy our own boards--we wouldn't be hitting the inside of the skatepark but we could practice skating in other areas. The look on his face when I asked was priceless and I knew we'd be getting new skateboards no matter the cost (thankfully they are reasonable priced for a good beginner board). After breakfast we walked down the the Venice Skateboarding Stuff shop on the boardwalk and the shop owner helped us each land on new boards to get started. Just look at Leo's face...
Being the natural athlete that he is, Leo picked up the kick and push of the skateboard immediately and the remainder of our day consisted of skateboarding. We even skated up the boardwalk to Santa Monica to get sushi for dinner.
I had not idea that morning when we woke up Leo would pick up a new interest and we'd do nothing but skateboard. I thought maybe we'd go see The Hundreds store and grab a T-shirt, stop at the 2Pac exhibit, and check out the opening of an art exhibit by an artist our family loves.
Nope. We just shredded 🤙.
And I'm glad I went with the moment and wasn't stuck on these things I thought Leo might enjoy. I was just present, listened to him, skated with him, and snapped pictures to see what we could capture. On the flight home we talked about making an annual Venice trip to skate and eventually make our own trip around the bowl at the Venice skatepark. I'm looking forward to making this a reality.
We got back Friday afternoon, stopped at the house to grab the family, and went to a soccer match for Roman. After Roman's match we took off for South Bend, Indiana for a soccer tournament for Leo. Long story short...Leo's team made the finals (playing up an age group and 9 vs. 9) and lost in penalty kicks. I thought I'd have time between to finish last week's email, which I had started on the plane but then I realized I had another opportunity to just be present with my family. And since my family sits at the top of priorities for my Pursuit, I accepted it was ok to miss an email--I shared some more thoughts on this on Tuesday's episode of The Daily PRST.
I have no doubt somewhere along your Pursuit you'll experience a similar situation as I did--the desire to finish something that's important but not as important was what's going on in that moment. Let that other thing sit and go with the flow of the moment.
You won't regret it.
Let's get to The Weekly PRST...
This Week's Top PRST
The most listened to episode last week was Tuesday's Wake Up Call on The Daily PRST. Unfortunately, this title had a double meaning on the day I released it. I recorded and published it before the horrible school shooting--had that happened before putting the episode out, I would have skipped publishing for the day. Despite the events of that day, the message in the episode is an important one and one to remember along your Pursuit.
The most listened to episode this week was Friday's Overcoming Sunk Cost Fallacy on The PRST. Your Pursuit is going to allow you to explore and experiment as you allow your passion(s) to be your guide. Not every exploration or experiment is going to be "right" and the sunk cost fallacy could keep your pursuing longer than you should.
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.
P
There is a connection between passion and purpose and Mark Manson make some important points in this video. I'd like to highlight the section he talks about how your purpose will evolve over time, how you can find purpose in different things, and that it is an ongoing process. I'm a fan of Mark's writing and I don't necessarily agree with everything in this video, I think it's my role to help you figure out how you define your Pursuit and the opinions and beliefs of others might resonate with you and move you forward--which is what I care about the most.
R
S
If my trip to Venice reminded me of anything, it's the importance of taking care of my Self. Now that we have a goal of an annual trip to Venice to skate, I want to make sure that I'm able to skate with Leo and not just watch him. And not only do I want to skate with him, I want to be able to drop in and take a trip around the bowl too.
After a year of not taking care of myself, I've gotten back into a pretty good routine which has led to me dropping 18 lbs. I'm hitting the hot yoga studio by my office 3-4 times a week. I don't even pick what class I take, I just show up at the class time I have available and do whatever class it is at that time. There are a couple of different yoga classes, a pilates class, and a sculpt class. They're all challenging. They're all hot. They all leave me looking like I dove into a pool with my clothes on, which I love. I love to sweat.
In addition to the yoga, I aim to lift weights 3-4 afternoons a week, with 2 of those being at the CrossFit gym a friend of mine coaches. I don't see myself going back to my crazy CrossFit days but I still enjoy the movements and the structure of the class--a couple of days a week is just enough.
I don't have any content to share for Self this week but wanted to share that it took me a while to find the right routine for me but now that I have found it I feel better, have more energy, and am close to getting my six-pack back (my goal for my 40th year) and the new routine is now a part of my daily life so missing a workout is less likely.
Just like many things on your Pursuit, experiment with what your fitness regiment will look like. I never imagined I'd become a yogi but now I can't imagine not going to class.
T
In 2019 (or maybe 2020) Jim Sheils, the author of The Family Board Meeting, spoke to The AGC™ (for those new, that's the financial advisor community I co-founded) about his book. It was an inspiring conversation that prompted a number of members to start practicing what the book is about.
In The Family Board Meeting, Jim reminds us that we have a limited amount of time with our children before they leave us and are out on their own--18 summers give or take. My favorite takeaway from the book is Jim's suggestion that parents start planning individual trips with each child, where the child determines what is done on that day. My day skating with Leo is a great example and was not a planned event because of the book.
If I'm being honest, I'm mad at myself for not implementing the Family Board Meeting with my family sooner. We are a close knit family but after experiencing Leo and my day in Venice I full understand the memories that can be created with the one-on-one dates--not every board meeting will be as elaborate as the trip to Venice, so don't think that's the expectation set by Jim.
Later this month, I'm taking Roman to NYC for a similar trip and I'm excited to see how our trip goes.
If you have children, I highly recommend the book and creating your own version of the Board Meetings.
This Week Of PRST
The Daily PRST. In this week's episodes you'll:
Be introduced to everyone's favorite YouTube yogi, Adriene Mishler.
Receive a wake up call.
Hear a quote from Eckhart Tolle about our state of consciousness.
Check out all of last week's episodes here.
Hear about why your priorities will sometimes be more important than "perfection".
Be reminded how important the words we chose are.
Also be reminded that words are nothing without the actions to support them
Check out all of this week's episode's here.
The PRST. Overcoming Sunk Cost Fallacy (brief description in the Most Listened to section)
PRST Shorts. I'm 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. Why content will be the way PRST grows.
On Our PRST. I have three guests lined up for over the next couple of weeks--I'm excited to share more stories of people following their passions. If you haven't heard all three episodes of On Our PRST you can get caught up by visiting the OOP page here.
