The month started with a cancelled flight. I was in Denver, across the world from my family, at the NSA #Influence19 conference. The trip went great, I made a lot of top-notch connections, and stayed over an extra day after the conference ended to catch up on client work.

When it was time for me to depart, the first leg of my 3-flight was cancelled, so I thought I had an extra day to catch up on client work.

But I didn’t. What I found so interesting about this trip was: it really highlighted the amount of energy that travel takes.

When I was younger (and had fewer miles to travel, too) I really enjoyed working in airports. One of the rare treats of being a digital nomad is that I can open my laptop anywhere that I have WiFi and caffeine, and I can work.

Over the last few years (as my journeys have gotten longer, too) I’ve found it difficult and unsatisfying to work while in transit.

That extra day, I expected I could devote entirely to client work.

But walking through an airport, searching for destinations, disrobing at security, and finding places to plug in and caffeinate, these all take energy and focus – the very things I need for my work.

As I age, I find that I cannot be so improvisational with my working environment. I cannot do my best work while in transit, and that was the biggest lesson of this trip.

To the lighthouse!

Shortly after returning to New Zealand, the family took a getaway trip to the Wairarapa Valley. My wife and I had a wedding anniversary to celebrate, and after picking up and leaving my family for 10 days so quickly, we needed some time together to reconnect.

We rented a bach (pronounced ‘batch’ – the NZ equivalent of a rental cabin with basic amenities) and explored a new region of our new country. We drove to Cape Palliser to see the Pacific Ocean

Cape Palliser Lighthouse is one of the most isolated places I’ve ever been. This marks the point on the North Island of New Zealand where the Pacific Ocean meets the Cook Strait.

To get there, you cross the Rimutaka mountains, go the length of Lake Wairarapa, and drive along the coast for 30 kilometers. It’s the end of the road – this is a far-off corner of the world, looking out into the vast expanse beyond.

Quotes that mattered to me this month

  • “A ruffled mind makes a restless pillow.” – Charlotte Brontë
  • “Jumping from failure to failure with undiminished enthusiasm is the big secret to success.” —Savas Dimopoulos
  • “Age appears best in four things: old wood to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read.” – Francis Bacon
  • “You should know – most funnels don’t work when you launch them. Even if you’re a pro, it may take two, three, four, or ten tries until you get it right.” – Julie Stoian
  • “If you haven’t started, then taking action is more important than finding the best strategy. If you’re already taking action, then ensuring you’re working on the right thing is more important than working harder. Your effort sets your floor. Your strategy sets your ceiling.” – James Clear
  • “Dream big dreams. Small dreams have no magic.” – Dottie Boreyko
  • “If you ask me what I came into this life to do, I will tell you: I came to live out loud.” – Emile Zola

Published This Month

Last month I hardly published anything; this month I really caught up.

Posts and Pages

Videos

Metrics That Matter

August was the least profitable month I have had in 5 years. I needed to invest time and energy and resources into the unexpected NSA trip last month, and I had 2 retainer clients step down at the same time.

I’ve already closed new clients from this conference, but the nature of the revenue cycle is that I have to go through a desert before I get to the oasis.

The last time I had a month like this was…May of 2014. Right after that period, I entered into a significant expansion of my professional growth, and levelled up my business in a serious way. I am confident that the same thing is happening this month.

  • Net Profit last month: $ – 5572
  • Money saved last month: $ 200
  • Average weekly hours worked last month: 38.55
  • Days journaling: 9
  • Hikes: 4

Goals for Last Month

  • Launch new 12-week program – success! The 90-Day Profit Accelerator is now open for registration.
  • Follow up on all new #influence19 relationships – success! I’ve connected with many people online and off.
  • Close 1 new retainer client – fail. I’ve got 2 irons in the fire, and started work with 1, but did not get full monthly retainer commitment yet.
  • Introduce my daughter to Euclid – success! We’ve been going to cafes once a week to study together.
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Geometry lessons have begun. When I told my 13-year-old daughter that there was a mathematics for artists, and that philosopher Bertrand Russell declared Euclid to be one of the greatest loves of his life, she agreed to an introductory lesson. We went to a cafe with a full text of Euclid’s Elements, the same edition I used in my own studies, found on a shelf in @pegasusbooksnz last month. She read through the Definitions, the Postulates, and the Common Notions, while I journaled patiently and answered her questions as they arose. We had many short discussions on the nature of space, and its specific divisions. Her most common reaction was: “That makes SO MUCH SENSE!” Defining the line and the plane, a figure and its angles, in clear and elegant language worked well with her writer’s brain. Then, we worked through Proposition 1, where Euclid proves he can make an equilateral triangle on any given straight line. She read through all the steps. And then repeated them, proving to herself that all of this makes SO MUCH SENSE! I have been waiting for this for years. For my children to grow old enough to journey through the classical studies that formed the foundation of my own thinking. To accompany them on their own journey of knowledge discovery, so I can point out the familiar signposts I remember along the way. I’m excited to reveal the mechanics of our language hidden in Ancient Greek, and the history of our common legends in Thucydides and Herodotus. #homeschooling has always been fun, but now that my kids are old enough for the scholarly studies that were my specialty for many years, I am overjoyed that I can share the discovery of these classics with my descendants. #euclid #geometry #euclidselements #huntresskids #studying #classicalstudies

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Goals for This Month

  • Enroll at least 10 people in the 90-Day Profit Accelerator
  • 5 minutes on the Vision Board every day
  • Meditate 20 times (try for 4/week)
  • Produce a speaker kit

It’s time for me to get back on the stage.