There Is Always More to Learn

Stoic Quote of the Week

Just as what is considered rational or irrational differs for each person, in the same way what is good or evil and useful or useless differs for each person. This is why we need education, so that we might learn how to adjust our preconceived notions . . ."?

-Epictetus

What I learned this week:

I spent the weekend with a group of friends who are also part of a business group I'm a member of. While the social aspect of the gathering was great and always is, we were all there to learn. Of course, the breaks, meals, and evenings were filled with social discussions, but the conversations always reverted to the real reason we were there, to learn and improve ourselves. That was the number one reason I attended. I have always had an attitude of learning more and looking for ways to improve the actions that enable me to fulfill my purpose. Books are one way. Conferences and seminars are another. But when you gather with like-minded individuals you know and trust to learn from each other, it is powerful enough to drive change in those who were there. One of the things that we talked about was how to create generational wealth and what changes in our current patterns and actions we must do to achieve that. The timing of things in our lives can be fortuitous if we look for them. I just started reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad a few weeks ago, and the alignment of Robert Kiyosaki's message with some of the lessons from the weekend couldn't have been established any better. I've heard these things before, of course, but the culmination of the book and the weekend has created a new interest in how to move my life forward. A few small lessons from both: 1) Know the difference between your assets and liabilities and always have more assets than liabilities on your balance sheet. 2) As long as the majority of your income comes from active hours effort, you will always be in the "rat race." 3) In order to make an impact in the world and fulfill your purpose, follow these steps: Education; Leverage; Gain Influence; Monetize; Impact (ELGIMI). If you want to dive into any of these areas or the other things I'm adding to my plan, schedule a time to chat on my calendar. There is so much to share and so many people to make an impact.

Planning thought of the week:

The great thing about having a great plan is to improve the plan. In the military, I wrote OPLANs that sat on a shelf, and every few years, we'd dust them off and re-work the plan. I hope you don't have an OPLAN for your business. I hope the plan that you have is the one that you use for your operations to achieve our vision. But you should still take the time, at least annually, to review that plan and update it with new information and even assumptions as needed. Think of it like, pausing the direction you are heading to do an azimuth check and verify that you are still heading in the direction you want.

Business idea I heard about or thought of:

Do you take time to leap ahead each week? I'm not talking about skipping steps, but if you do this right, you will skip some steps or at least accelerate some steps (See ELGIMI above). I think of it this and refer to it as Big Action Time. It is synonymous with swinging for the fences for a couple of hours each week. One friend of mine taught me to create a list called the Dream 100. The list of people and/or businesses that, if they partnered with you or even just talked to you, would mean a huge leap forward in your actions. The exciting thing is that if you never ask or contact those people, the chance that they will call you or knock on your door is 0! Carve out some time this week to swing for the fences in your life. What's the worst that could happen? Really, what's the best that could happen?

Veteran opportunity of the week:

Retirees and disabled vets will be getting a high cost of living allowance pay increase in 2023 if all continues as predicted. This increase will be nearly 10% for retired and disability pay. Read the article here.

Someone I met this week:

Do you have one of those friends who, when you hang out with him, you think, dang, I wish I was that open and giving? I mean, I feel like I am until I hang out with my friend Matt which I did last weekend. Matt is an amazing businessman and one of the most giving and generous people I know. He showed up with 45 cigars for the weekend, just in case someone wanted to smoke one. On one of the nights, as a group of us were heading outside for some #whiskeywords, he invited a table of gentlemen to join us who weren't part of our group. It turns out they were former NFL players from the '70s and '80s. Man, what a great conversation we had that night, and I laughed so hard at some of the stories that my sides hurt. All because Matt thought to offer them to join us for a cigar. Simply amazing how a small gesture can lead to such a great time. If you would like to connect with Matt, let me know or connect with him on LinkedIn.

Please follow us on LinkedIn and Facebook, Tribe + Purpose. You can also subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Link to current The Cam & Otis Show podcast episode, EP-187 How Do Humans Make a Decision with Greg-Silverman - Monigle.

Thank you for your support.

PS: If you enjoy this email, please share it with others.