Manage Your Life

Stoic Quote of the Week

The art of living is more like wrestling than dancing, because an artful life requires being prepared to meet and withstand sudden and unexpected attacks.

-Marcus Aurelius

What I learned this week:

I have a lot of projects that I am working on. Some people would call them “open cycles.” Others see what I have going on and think I’m crazy to have that much going on “At this point in life.” I’ll admit, there are times when I ask myself, what am I doing? What am I thinking? And I say to myself, “Otis, you have a crazy number of things happening!” Yes, I do. But to me, it isn’t a crazy amount of things; it is just the right amount of things. If I was to drop 2 of the things I’m doing, which would they be? If I was to say, “No, I can’t hang out with the family this weekend because I need to get X, Y, or Z done for one of my businesses,” would that be right? Of course not. If I was to let my health drop off, my morning workouts, my eating habits, my meditation, would that be the best way to gain a couple of hours back? Of course not. If I were to let one thing that I said I would do fall away, that wouldn’t be right either. It is all about managing my time and my effort. Anyone that thinks we should have a good work-life balance is selling snake oil because life has never been about balance. Life is managed. Balance is two things on a teeter-totter sitting at an even height. Life isn’t that simple. There also isn’t such a thing as work Otis and life Otis. It’s all Otis! The way I manage my life, meaning all the businesses, projects, and most importantly, family, is just that, managed, not balanced. I don’t know about you, but I have way too many things that I love and am passionate about, to choose 2. I manage my life and all the things that make up my life by knowing what my priorities are. Life is too complicated to be balanced. Learn to manage your life by setting your priorities for your life. If you truly want to be happy, you have to be in control of your life. You have to live your life with intention, in pursuit of your purpose, to achieve your success.

Planning thought of the week:

Knowing what and who is most important in a plan are critical pieces to ensuring the plan is successfully executed. As an engineer, I learned the term, priority of work, priority of effort. Priority of work means doing this thing first. Ranger School, the priority of work was always security. Priority of effort means that these guys get to go first. 2d Platoon is the priority of effort. That means they get the beans and bullets resupply first. Designating these simple points in your plan will ensure that your team knows what actions are most important and what organizations should go first.

Business idea I heard about or thought of:

Who’d have thought that recording studios were still a thing in this day and age of technology? Heck, the thing that I am typing this newsletter on has more recording capability than an entire studio did 20 years ago. I discovered this week that the good old fashioned recording studio is still a thing. I needed to record a podcast on the road this week, and I’ve tried the hotspot thing at a rest stop and a coffee shop. Neither works for a lot of reasons. So, I took a leap and decided to go old school. I asked Mr. Google where to record a podcast in Sante Fe, NM, and of course, I got a list of old-school recording studios. {If you don’t know Sante Fe, NM, it is known as an art town.} I grabbed one and reserved a time, and it was just like one would imagine—an eclectic house on a hill overlooking the city. To add to the atmosphere, the owner and engineer look like they just stepped out of a time machine from 1968. It was perfect! I could spend another two pages describing the place because it was unique. So, if you need to record something and find yourself in Sante Fe, take a step back in time and give Frogville Studios a shout.

Veteran opportunity of the week:

Slowly but almost surely, the VA is moving into the technology age. You can now access your VA decision letter online and download a digital copy through VA.gov . Stop waiting for the letter to show up in the mail. You can access the letter online once the findings are finalized.

Someone I met this week:

Congrats to one of my friends, Isaac Peltier, who retired from the Army after 30+ years of service to our great nation. But that’s not really who I met this week. It was the people who were there. Once again. My former Regiment is the base of a group of people that I love to be around and hang out with. I caught up with several friends I hadn’t seen in a while and some I had seen but hadn’t talked with much. One of them, Eric, is now a rock & roll star. Just like when we were in uniform, he puts it off, nah, it anything special. I’ve seen his band, Last Patrol Band, and heard him sing. They are damn good, and their schedule shows it. They are booked for Friday & Saturday nights every weekend all summer long. I love seeing my brothers succeed, and it is even more fascinating to me when they pursue something that is completely outside the realm of our common past. If you are in the Colorado Springs area, you need to find the Last Patrol Band’s next performance and check them out. You won’t regret it.

Link to current The Cam & Otis Show podcast episode James Corbett - Project Refit | Cam & Otis Show Ep.? #262.

Subscribe to The Cam & Otis Show on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@thecamandotisshow .

You can watch all our podcast videos, full-length videos about our living with intention, and all the #whiskeywords ! subscribe

Please follow us on LinkedIn and Facebook, Tribe + Purpose .

Thank you for your support.

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