Entry 26: Coming Together Nicely

Date: June 25th, 2021

What I did this week: Back to the regularly scheduled structure! What a week. With our household goods delivered on Tuesday, we’ve been slowly putting the house back together. I’m down to just a few rooms left, but I hope to finish the bulk today so I can enjoy the weekend.

In between throwing around boxes and arranging drawers, I had the chance to sit down and have coffee with Dan. His deep connections in Frisco and openness to bringing me and my wife into the fold was so amazing. I’m extremely excited to see more of the area, and he shared so many amazing opportunities to help benefit the local area through volunteering and other cool opportunities. I also had the chance to talk to Pete, who opened himself to be part of my support network for my transition. My buddy Brian pointed Pete my way, and I had an awesome time getting to know him and hope we can help each other down the road!  

I was fortunate enough to get to meet and ask questions of some of the amazing people who work at Leadership Worth Following. Learning more about them, their organization, and their passions was a blast. They are a top tier group of people with an outstanding mission. I was able to pitch a class on how character is taught at West Point, and in true fashion my slides decided to die on me. Oh well! I learned a ton about how they view character and leadership development, which was super enjoyable.

What I’m reading and learned: I’m nearly done with Driven Not Drained, which is an excellent book. Even if you don’t take the DRiV assessment prior to reading, you can still learn a tremendous amount about yourself and members of your team with the anecdotes, testimonies, and tips. I also have been going through Thinking Fast and Slow while I unpack stuff, which has been nice to revisit.   

Self-reflection(s) of the week: Time to cut the excuses, quit drinking, and eat healthy. Period. I must be better.

Did I succeed in my previous goal(s)?: I didn’t really have any, but I’ve gotten quite a few rooms fully complete and organized, so I’m happy with my personal progress!   

Goals for next week: Zero alcohol. 1500 cal net a day. Finish the move. Reconnect and set up discussions with the list of ~20 people I have on my notes sheet (discussions not required by next week).

Inspiration, passion, or excitement of the week: Both kids love their new daycare! We were very nervous, but of course kids are super resilient and will always inspire you. A bonus to the place we selected is that they send us photos throughout the day of Maddie, so we get little snap shots into what she’s up to!

Gratitude: Thanks to Dan McCall for your time and opening your heart to us. I look forward to staying tied in with you to support the veteran community here in Frisco. Thanks to Peter Kohler for his willingness to help me during the transition. Thanks to the team at Leadership Worth Following. In particular, Dale Thompson, thank you for taking additional time to chat with me and give me feedback!

Back to organizing!

Zach