You Always Get to Choose

Stoic Quote of the Week

You are not your body and hairstyle, but your capacity for choosing well. If your choices are beautiful, so too will you be.

-Epictetus

What I learned this week:

A friend of mine told me a phrase that I remind myself of all the time, “I have an abundance of opportunity.” What a great way to look at a busy co-jumbled day where you have tons to do in the business and even more to do around the house and with family. I tell myself that it is all about abundance because it is always better to have more than to have none. What if, I didn’t have 4 coaching calls, a podcast, and two introductory calls today? What would my day be like? Well today, I would be helping to make gumbo or cookies, but that is this time of year. Any other time of year I would find something else to fill the space and then, if I am not careful, I will complain about not having enough time to do “what I want to do.” What if we look at our busy hectic day as a wonderful day? Our ability to choose can never be taken away. Viktor Frankl said in Man’s Search for Meaning, “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” When you feel overwhelmed this week because of the end of year pressure in business and that pull to spend extra time with family, flip it around and be thankful for the abundance in your life.

Planning thought of the week:

A favorite tool of mine that I not only teach to my clients but use myself is the course of action (COA) comparison matrix. The COA comparison matrix is a table used to quantifiable compare solutions to a problem whether it is where to eat lunch or how to approach a new line of business. In the left column is the decision criteria, the things you use to make a decision. The next 3-5 columns are where you put the score or ranking of each COA to the others. Total at the bottom and there you have the answer to which COA is the best. If you are interested in learning more about this tool, go to https://findyourpurpose.coach/opt-in and download the Decision Guide.

Business idea I heard about or thought of:

A friend of mine told me about this opportunity I hadn’t heard of before, whiskey barrel investing. I’ve heard of buying a barrel and keeping it for yourself. I like that idea too, ??. This one is different. When you buy into the barrel, you are investing in the whiskey as a commodity with the assumption that it will go up in value over time, using the theory that a 15-year-old whiskey is more valuable than a 5-year-old whiskey. There is a lot of win-win going on in this model. The distiller gets a cash influx, the buyer gets to play master distiller because they get to decide when to bottle. I don’t see a lot of high rates of return on the investment, but you never know. It could turn out to be a homerun like Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve Bourbon, 15-year-old, selling for $5400! (If you are looking for a late Christmas gift for me, ??.)

Veteran opportunity of the week:

I’ve found two websites that consolidate veteran discounts offered by outdoor gear companies. GovX and Guidefitter. Both require registration and a check on your DD214. But they are well worth looking into for great discounts. I bought my Camp Chef pellet stove on Guidefitter for $350 under retail!

Someone I met this week:

I was introduced to Travis through a business network I’m apart of and wow what a fun conversation. You talk about a story to tell! I don’t want to give too much away since Travis will be on The Cam & Otis Show early next year. But as a little bit of a teaser: He was a merchant marine captain, commercial pilot, unicorn business founder, bankrupt and all-around good guy looking for the next big thing. I can’t wait to hear more of his story on the show and share it with our audience.

Link to current The Cam & Otis Show podcasts Ep 130 Bottom Up P&L with Brian Will CEO of WRIG, LLC: https://thecamandotisshow.buzzsprout.com/506248/9727663-ep-130-bottom-up-p-l-with-brian-will-ceo-of-wrig-llc ?

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