Good morning Reader, Welcome to the 38th issue of The FAM. There was a time in my life when I was balancing fatherhood, marriage, a growing career, working alongside my dad, and climbing the traditional path of success. I was carrying more responsibility than I knew how to name. And somewhere in the middle of all of it, I felt called to do an Ironman triathlon. Not casually. Not recreationally. All in. When I shared the idea, my boss, my mentor — my dad — said something that made perfect...
9 days ago • 6 min read
Good morning Reader, Welcome to the 37th issue of The FAM. The alarms are still there on my iPhone: 11:55 AM: Dad’s Morphine 1:55 PM: Dad’s Morphine 3:55 PM: Dad’s Morphine 5:55 PM: Dad’s Morphine 7:55 PM: Dad’s Morphine The day before, I pulled out my father’s living will and reviewed it sentence by sentence with my mother. He clearly asked for no artificial or life-sustaining support at the end. With that clarity, I made the decision to remove the oxygen that was keeping Dad’s body here....
16 days ago • 6 min read
Good morning Reader, Welcome to the 36th issue of The FAM. I was dead tired on Friday night. Not the “I need a nap” tired. The kind of tired you feel after you’ve poured your whole self into a room full of people. The day before, I facilitated a high-energy, collaborative strategic planning meeting with 100 members of the American Supply Association. As I opened and set the tone for the day, I spoke from my heart, referencing a quote from Henry David Thoreau’s Walden: “I went to the woods...
23 days ago • 8 min read
Good morning Reader, Welcome to the 34th issue of The FAM. Agency From the Latin agere - “to do,” “to act,” “to set in motion.” Later agentia - the power to make things happen. I used to hate the word “agency.” I remember sitting in a mastermind program in Franklin, TN and the coach threw it around as if it were the answer to everything, and I honestly had no idea what he meant. It felt distant, guru-speak, irrelevant to a guy running a business, raising kids, and just trying to keep all the...
about 1 month ago • 6 min read
Good morning Reader, Welcome to the 33rd issue of The FAM. The decision to quit drinking came to me on a quiet Saturday morning of September 7, 2024. I woke up early before the sun and watched the day come to life over the lake in our backyard. I then saw a post from Apple Fitness+ trainer Jamie-Ray - his tatted-up body on full display as his wife, and friends partied late into the night in Ibiza. Then he shared: “I'm excited to share with you why I decided to stop drinking & what helped me...
about 1 month ago • 8 min read
Good morning Reader, Welcome to the 32nd issue of The FAM. There are moments in life when nothing is technically wrong — and yet something inside you won’t settle. You’re taking care of family. You’re working. You’re handling responsibility and checking off life’s demands. You’re functioning. You’re doing what needs to be done. And still, there’s a quiet sense that you’re being asked to look more closely at how you’re living. I remember one of those moments clearly. I was sitting alone with...
about 2 months ago • 5 min read
Good morning Reader, Welcome to the 31st issue of The FAM. Here we are. We’ve made it through the holidays. The calendar has turned. And tomorrow morning, the first Monday of 2026 arrives, ready or not. For a brief window, we’re still in that in-between space. The pause after celebration. The quiet before the pace accelerates again. Before inboxes refill. Before schedules tighten. Before the world begins asking things of us again. And it doesn’t take long, does it? The headlines return as...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
Good morning Reader— And welcome to the 30th issue of The FAM. In 1983, Howard Schultz traveled to Milan, Italy, to attend an international housewares trade show. While exploring the city, he visited numerous espresso bars and became captivated by Italian coffee culture. The experience profoundly shaped Schultz's vision, inspiring him to reimagine Starbucks not just as a retailer, but as a "third place"—a welcoming social environment distinct from home (the first place) and work (the second),...
2 months ago • 6 min read
Good morning Reader— And welcome to the 28th issue of The FAM. What is it about a new year that compels us to reinvent ourselves? It's tangible in an intangible way—the flipping of the calendar. You can see the year pass or arrive. The past fades; the future beckons. We witness this in nature all the time: the snake shedding its skin, the butterfly emerging from its cocoon, the shift from spring to summer, night to day. This transition, this becoming, is everywhere. It's natural. It's real....
3 months ago • 7 min read