Reflections

The solo weekend was joyous because you only had to maintain your own system for 48 hours — name the weight to understand the relief

The "I'll be enough when I retire" story is a psychological problem wearing a financial costume — your aunt sees you winning the family scoreboard right now

The same imagination that generates gratitude (life without Kian) generates pain (alternate timelines with more success) — the skill is noticing which direction you're pointing it

In the Honesty-Connection double-bind, lead with her underlying need first — the truth doesn't expire, but the moment of connection does

Perception gaps matter: conviction can read as rigidity to people who don't know you. Same message, softer frame—especially in high-stakes moments.

Unnamed sadness often has a name -- grief for personal needs that feel illegitimate to voice when your partner has it harder

When criteria change after commitment, treat it as a systems failure rather than rewriting history to self-blame.

When feedback is vague, push for specifics and a fair process first; it protects trust and keeps your brain from filling gaps with doom stories

Buy growth security by funding capacity: hire an L3 and an AM, accept lower margin, and regain bandwidth for strategy.

When a scary diagnosis lands, verify fast with the right specialist; clear evidence beats spirals.

Use time-boxed support with explicit exit criteria; kindness without boundaries turns into a recurring tax.

Trust financial reality over narratives; pausing or walking away early is stewardship, not failure.

When the team is overwhelmed, treat it as a staffing and systems problem to redesign, not a personal failure to work harder

When I feel like there is no win win, it is usually a thinking trap; with more time, curiosity, and different approaches I can often uncover a shared win behind fear.

In big discussions, pause before agreeing; take time to think, align with partners, and say yes from conviction instead of anxiety.

When both partners are maxed out, buying back time with outside help beats trying to squeeze more effort into already exhausted evenings.

Reunite with family using a boundary script: one contained event, fixed time, host rules, no drop-ins or favors

Don't do the deal if you're just looking for a messiah to save you.

When facing uncertain health news, grounding in values and a clear plan restores calm and control

Aligning on EOS builds trust and makes partnership challenges feel surmountable

When progress stalls because of others, clarify roles and next steps rather than bottling frustration.

Sleep is a capacity lever; set a 10:30p lights-out and 10p no-gaming curfew to protect patience and connection at home

Lead by principle: uphold a 40-hour norm; meet ultimatums with clear boundaries, not extra hours.

Big deals require data; don’t confuse uncertainty with risk, gather facts before deciding.

Pre-schedule a weekly solo recharge block and negotiate swaps so care feels planned, not taken.

Comparative suffering is a recurring trap: *“Every day I work for money is a wasted day.”* This belief fuels shame and disappointment.

You only need 1x day a week of ME time to feel good

You can adjust travel at any time!

You have left yourself way too exposed

Don’t be litigious

My stress is felt by my family

Exempt v. Nonexempt really came back to bite me

Breastfeed as fast as you can

Moonlight is amazing

We’re fortunate

Find more play, TODAY

Planning ahead works and it’s worth the extra effort!

Think about what would make you excited to work at WSP

Don’t agree to have any technicians shadow you moving forward

Maybe the caffeine in my pre-workout is messing me up

You need to plan projects better

Do not coordinate meetings farther than they need to be

Maybe stop taking THC?

Duel Commander is the best MTG format today

I miss Kathy and really enjoy spending time with her

Keep focusing on BBQ and making veggies

Solitary Silent Retreats are for those that need to decompress or those that have not done very much reflection

You can buy and sell a car in a few hours!

Take SMALL vacations often

Watch when you’re creating toxicity in your company

Make notes for Jess

Play more MTG

Allow your friends to help you (Gary with solar)

You can block out a day for a private event to have a day to just get things done

Showing the team recognition was highly effective

I need to work on gratitude

Set expectations with Jess about work meetings

Tending the garden is really complicated and challenging

Anything can happen in the blink of an eye!!

Calendar 20m of rocking time with my baby (when applicable)

Honor your commitments, even to OfferUp folks

Castle Park is different from Sherman Oaks Castle

You have an eating issue called “opportunistic eating”

Maybe I can sell at anytime?

RUN to the nearest flight from the same provider going to the same place to see if you can get on an earlier flight!

Get support when you need it

I’m done with Pantages

Plan the rocks better with clearer milestones

We’re both fertile!

Be more prepared for things early

I had to be more aggressive in my relationship upkeep

Perform Zero-Based Budgeting for yourself and WSP each year!

Focus on the business

Sacred weekends are really nice and recharging!

I’m ready for some kind of mental work

I have to figure out how to keep Jess from feeling bad

You need to workout and workout harder

It’s dangerous to say you’re not good at sales

Prioritize fun over work

We need to have more sex!

Make more money.. and faster!

Help Jessy more

I need to focus more on my sales calls and hit more notes

Don’t try to do something yourself if you have a 50/50 chance of not succeeding (see last week!)

HIRE PROFESSIONALS!

I like being at home

I 100% need to see my sisters more

I am too stressed.

Don’t let things escalate with Jess, ever

I love getting deep with people and figuring out issues

Don’t let things escalate with clients.

I don’t know what I could have done differently with Mike

Don’t go up into the attic for anything major again

Don’t drive convertible in the rain!

Stop working with firms when there’s a RED FLAG!

I need to keep doing my hobbies or I will just not be as happy as I can be

I should have gone back after I noticed it was a longer trail

I am doing way too much for WSP, which means I’m not doing anything well

I was able to afford almost $30K extra for the wedding over the past few months and still survive.

I don’t think I learned

Provisors is probably a waste of time

The Impact Filter is a great way to delegate something!

I need to control my eating

Need to focus on lessons more

Be more aggressive about your relationships

Don’t negotiate with Jess’s family when you’re doing something that Jess wants.

Motivating People

You have to focus an hour a workday on sales. end of story.

Have FULL days dedicated to fun stuff

Check the photo list for Provisors before driving

You can be cold.. and that’s OK

I can do my hobbies anytime

Delegate and video record everything!

Loom and delegate!

Check-in with people more about what they want!

Nickel & Dime

Never deplete your buffer again

Learn something in-game first

I’m clear that the killing of civilians by anyone is flat-out wrong

Don’t run cheap cables

I should have planned more time for the CKA exam.

Failing is OK when it’s original, but failing is not OK when it’s not original

Start a negotiation by agreeing on the shared outcome

I don’t even know

VR with friends is a blast

Set up Immutable Laws in WSP

You can always single-user mode in and reset the password

Learn more about stress and anxiety

I need to spend more time on hobbies!

HomeLab gets to be the new game for a while

Don’t start any more games for a while

Why am I not choosing great days?

Nothing?

Time is FLYING!! How is it August?

Visualize to improve processes

No matter how much fun you have, the stress is keeping you from feeling happy

I need to focus on lessons

If you think to yourself, “Why don’t they just do X, a simple solution”, you might be standing on Mount Stupid

You need to spar with more people in order to learn your own beliefs

It takes doing something ten (10) times to create a habit

You need to improve your email migration game!

Pain v. Suffering

You need accountability in your relationship

Need to get better at preparing for meetings and things that are coming up

Jess is severely depressed and needs support

I have to be more thoughtful about how I give clients advice

You have time to meditate and get stronger

I need to figure out a way to be able to sleep on a flight.

Our Home Projects Dates can be any kind of project that needs doing.

You don’t need to go to church to hang out with that crew. You could have just come to brunch.

I messed up hard by not paying my 1040-ES taxes

Creating a safe space requires asking questions and not making judgments

I need to keep a running Lifeline to keep track of the interesting spikes in my life up and down

Plan better!

I need to stretch!

Give more support to your team on weekends

Bring Jess love at all times

Plan better

Get a second opinion when considering anything major like surgery!

Personal Identity Audit was interesting

Check my calendar every night to ensure that I honor my commitments

Cut an employee loose earlier

Never miss a flu shot again

I can do audits

I have to keep a bigger buffer no matter what

I need to hire someone to help me with my cluster

The team needs more of a roadmap to success

I have so much more work to do to get this thing scaled up

Be more clear about initiating with Jess

Break up information for people

Do not build cabinets again

You don’t have enough time to say YES to everything

I’m in more control than it seems

I really like coding

It’s all moving forward, just slowly

I need more certifications

Send summary emails after having strategy meetings with clients

You can swim!

I need a stronger sales pitch

You can count on your sister

Stick to word of mouth!

You sometimes have to be on top of everyone all the time.. sometimes

Manage cash better

Nationals may, in fact, have my back

Moving slowly is sometimes required / get over it

Be more mindful about Reply All and who is included in what!

People want to hear about and ask about cybersecurity

I have to manage my money better to survive this house situation

I have to slow down / I can take my time

Jess and I need to work on communication. We need a common language so we don’t have misunderstandings.

Homeownership is expensive!

No matter what, moving takes so much more time and effort than you can calculate

Spring cleaning is FUN

I haven't been this challenged in a long time. Working on culture is a very hard look in the mirror and I'm not loving what I'm seeing.

Culture cultivation is WAY harder than I thought

I need to always be recruiting in case someone leaves

People really listen and care about you

You can apply the 4x Pillars to WSP

Money can prevent unhappiness

I can watch documentaries in pieces each morning

Multifamily real estate is still going to be a big part of your future

I still haven’t figured out why WSP resource efficiency is so low