Category: Uncategorized

BRAIN EATERS Part 1: Introduction

“The brain is wider than the sky.” –  Emily Dickinson

Going to the left. Going to the right.
Do this, do that. No, not that.
The voices, the voices, won’t you stop?
Fill my head with constant thought.
he chatter, the banter.
How many of you are inside?

What eats your brain? Hopefully not the creatures that attack the mind, turning you into zombies like the classic film of 1958. But does something? Please say yes as I don’t want to be alone. Of course, I’m never alone with all the voices in my head, but I want more. It’s just not the same.

In this series I am not writing a science fiction horror bit. I am going to let you inside my brain a bit and share what eats at my brain. Take you inside the world of an overactive, entrepreneurial mind. Not too far, though; I don’t want you to get trapped my Land of the Lost in Space.

For me, there is always something eating my brain; good, bad, indifferent it’s always something. Maybe it’s a Pisces thing, maybe an introvert thing, but it definitely a me thing. I have always been quiet on the outside and louder than life on the inside. I am usually the quietest one the room making the most noise; all in my head. I am always thinking, processing, creating, evaluating, writing, playing…Humming riffs, creating riffs, writing songs, writing poems, thinking up headlines and ad copy…Creating strategies, marketing material, benefit bullets, ad infinitum.

The activity just accelerates during a time like the present. As I write this sentence we are ten days into August of 2020 which will definitely become a standout year in the history books, or wherever history is documented in the future. This has been quite a year to date, but the biggest event has been the coronavirus pandemic by far.

We have had mandates, legislative orders, and martial law. We have been quarantined, forced to wear masks, and left toilet paper-less. This is a year for the books indeed. How about we make it an election as well. That really throws fire on the flame. The point is, with so much extraordinary external events in the world today, my brain is ripe to eat me alive.

It does make for some great content. However, if I can just capture it and find a good way to package and deliver it. So much of this activity happens while driving, riding, running, or walking, and most has vanished by the time I get somewhere to write anything down. Maybe I am just forgetful but I believe that these brain eaters have cannibalistic tendencies. Thanks to voice memo apps I can stop and record my thoughts and ideas anywhere. The problem is, most of the time I am so consumed with the brain eaters that I forget to do that. But, successful entrepreneurs are not focused on problems, they are interested in solutions

Don’t leave the table just yet; the next tasty course is on its way…
You don’t want to miss this tasty little treat.

Talk Soon,
Kevin W. @Leap272
Owner-operator

You have to leap if you want to live.

What Do You Need To Be Happy?

“All I want in life is to be happy” – Jonathan Davis, Korn

I originally started writing this last summer and filed it without finishing it. I do that often. I have some thoughts I don’t want to forget that I think are important to write about and share so I just start writing my thoughts down so I can come back later and organize them into something, hopefully, meaningful. I realized that I haven’t posted for some time and thought I should get something up on the blog. The reality is, I should really be posting much more during a time like this. The harsher reality is, business is tough right now so I have been focusing the majority of my energy on the basic tasks to keep my businesses alive. Even though I think content production is important, I have scaled it down to a couple platforms that directly impact my current businesses.

That said, I have felt the need to check in. This blog was created to document my current journey as an entrepreneur and share the inside scoop and the ins-and-outs and ups-and-downs of the daily roller coaster rides of owning and running a business, or two or three. Not to mention share stories and lessons from the past couple decades that brought me to this point.  In my experience, the greatest lessons have come during, or looking back after, hard times like we are experiencing now. With that, I will carve some time to post and document for frequently.

These are unprecedented time and it really makes me stop and think and assess what is really going on, both inside and outside of my little world. What I have been thinking a lot about when my head isn’t being assaulted by all the news of the current affairs is what really matters most. There is so much craziness around the world right now that it really makes me think and ask “where should I focus my time and energy?” It is easy to get sucked into the black hole of fear and anger but what purpose does that serve? How does that add value to this world?

The good news about the main question, what matters most, is that you get to decide that for yourself. For me it’s happiness. I will stick to the context of business because that is what I focus on most on this blog and the original thoughts I wrote were about that. So, here we are admits a major pandemic. Countries, states, cities, and businesses have shut down. How things will turn out is anyone’s guess. What I do know is that running a business, let alone multiple businesses, is extremely challenging right now. So much so, that it conjures thoughts of whether or not to continue.

This, of course, can be done in a very pragmatic fashion by simply looking at the financial statements and making a logical decision based on the numbers. That would be an easy decision for one of our longest running businesses. This business is travel dependent so I am sure you can imagine what the numbers look like right now. The other way to look at it is to pose the real questions about why I am in business in the first place. Why did I choose to be an entrepreneur? What is it in me that drove me down this path? What really matters most? Again, for me it’s happiness.

At this point I will jump back to the original content I started last year. Reading through this and editing it is helping me dig deep and really decide how to move forward with each business, so enjoy and stay tuned to see where I land after digging and putting each business to these litmus test and asking the hard questions…

What do you need to be happy? This is a very important question that aspiring entrepreneurs and business owners should ask. Is it money, property, prestige? Are you simply seeking to make money and acquire stuff? I sure hope not but anyone is free to seek whatever they wish.

My experience is simply that money and stuff doesn’t make people happy. It might help some people but it is not the root of happiness. Some of the happiest people I have met have no money to speak of and some of the most miserable have more than they know what to do with. I think it is important for people to figure this out so they can seek happiness. What it is going to take? A specific job, a specific salary. A business that makes millions?

What if you could make whatever you needed to live and provide for your family doing whatever is you love? Would that make you happy?

For me, happiness is being able to do what I want, when I want, with the people I want. I am not quite sure what the dollar figure is on that but I do know if I ran a 100 million dollar company, my time and services would probably be in pretty high demand. I think that might carve a bit too much in to my happy me time. This leads me to believe, I do not think that is the caliber business I seek to run. I have never ran a 100 million dollar business so I can’t say that for sure, but my guess is that it is not what I am looking for.

What I do know is that you need to know what your happy is. Know your number and figure out if your what can get you there and that is where you will find true happiness. If it can’t, keep looking or tweak your what to make it happen. I believe that if it is your true what, that what that you are called to do, it will happen. It takes time, but if you continue down the path and invest in your development, it will happen.

In my experience, happiness is found in being able to do what you love because you love it, and pay the bills…

Back to present day.

 Now that I read this again and apply this to my current situation I get to ask myself if any of these businesses contribute to my happiness. Do any of my businesses align with what I feel I am called to do? I am still digging and asking so stick around, and in the meantime, keep digging and share any stores you have about the topic.

Talk Soon,
Kevin W. @Leap272
Owner-operator

You have to leap if you want to live.

COME TO REALIZE Part 6: I Don’t Know

Once again I thought this series was complete but another one of my realizations popped up when I sat down to write. And, that is that after years of schooling, training, reading, life experiences, and a plethora of others things, I have come to realize one very important thing; I don’t know…

I don’t know everything.
I don’t know the answers.
I don’t know the questions.
I don’t know the next great idea.
I don’t know how things will turn out.
I don’t know if this will work.
I don’t know if I’m right.
I don’t know if you are wrong.
I don’t know if tomorrow will even come.
I don’t know what anyone, anywhere, anytime is going through.
I simply don’t know.

That realization can be a hard pill to swallow. It can be even harder to admit. What I have come to realize, however, is that with the admission comes a great freedom. The beauty is I do not need to know everything, nor do I want to know anything. Can you imagine the burden of truly being omniscient? No thank you.

So why do I so often fall back into the Mr. Knowitall trap? Because the ego wants to be right every time. Pride once again steps in and grabs the reigns.

One of these days I will come to realize how to let those reigns go for good.

Bonus realization: remain teachable. The more I can remember that I don’t know the more my mind remains open to learn. Once I believe I know it all I have closed my mind to all learning. Then there would be no reason to pick up a good book, have a deep conversation, dig deeper to discover more, and so many other things I love.  That sounds horrible; I will focus on keeping my mind open for more knowledge.

Talk Soon,

Kevin W @LEAP272
Owner-Operator

You have to leap if you want to live

Doubter & Shouters

“I really get motivated when I have doubters.” – Shaquille O’Neal

Have you ever hung up the phone and have the overwhelming urge to scream at it? Walked out of a meeting and all you can think of doing next is banging your head against the wall? Finished a presentation and said to yourself “they just don’t get it.” Left anywhere and said to yourself “I’ll show them!”

That last one is the right attitude.  Not necessarily in a spiteful way, but in a self confident, I believe in what I’m doing kind of way.

No matter what you do or aspire to do in life there will always be doubters. And, the doubters always seem to be the loudest shouters. I have come to the realization that they must be put in our life to test us and make us stronger. They appear in our life at pivotal moments to provoke us and to question ourselves; our motives, beliefs, and convictions which clarify and strengthen our “why.”If, and only if, we do not succumb to the doubts they shout about.

I have also come to believe that we are our own greatest doubters. We have the loudest voice in our head, we have the final say, and we control the volume dial. Self doubt is normal and natural, what is not normal and natural is actually believing what we say and allowing it to drive us. Or paralyze us. Once we begin to believe the lies we tell ourselves, we are doomed.

We cannot and must not take action based on doubt, in my experience, those decisions only lead to regret and unhappiness. Doubt is just a form of fear that we must acknowledge and push trough. It is important to remember that this kind of fear does not exist in the present moment. Fear is something our minds manufacture about something that might happen sometime in the future. Does that sound like solid information that we should base major decisions on?

The best thing we can do is act like Shaq and use the doubters, ourselves included, to motivate us to try harder. The best way to deal with the doubters is to prove them wrong. Put the ear plugs in and just keep moving forward.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what anybody else says or thinks. Can you put your head on the pillow knowing you were true to you and did your best?

If so you past the test…Get up and do it again.

Talk Soon,
Kevin W @LEAP272
Owner-Operator

You have to leap if you want to live

COME TO REALIZE Part 5: Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff

Great advice. To an extent, that is. Another similar saying is “don’t cry over spilt milk.” It’s just milk, right? Yes, it is important to keep your head up and focus. Don’t let the little things hold you up, hold you back, or get you down. That is important for progress and growth. And, sanity!

I, personally, can drive myself and those around me, crazy tripping on the little things; draining all my time and energy on things that seemingly do not matter in the grand scheme of things. This takes my focus away from the goal and I lose sight of the big picture and the road map becomes blurry and illegible. Then I look back and ask myself “how did I end up here?”…

Again! The truth is, sometimes it is good to sweat the small stuff. It’s really all about context. If I stand in that same spot trying to read the roadmap and reflect on how I got to where I am, I realize that is the small the stuff, not the big things we do that make us who we are or set us apart. It is the little things that we do that make the biggest difference and raise us higher.

The super power is in differentiating the little things. What are the things that matter most and what are the things that just trip us up? What will matter six months from now? What am I spending 80% of my time and energy on that yields no return aside from frustration? Ask yourself questions to find out what little things make the biggest difference.

Life is too short to sweat the little stuff that doesn’t matter in the end or add value to you or anyone one else. I am still honing this super power and I am sure I will be doing so rest of life and career as a business owner. As long as I continue to improve and make progress, I don’t sweat it and keep of going.

Talk Soon,
Kevin W @LEAP272
Owner-Operator

You have to leap if you want to live

COME TO REALIZE Part 4: Don’t Put All Your Eggs In One Basket

“I believe in diversification of income, because you never know what will happen. I’m a slightly paranoid person who thinks things could be ruined at any time.” – Eugene Mirman

Yes, you never know…What will happen, when it will happen, where it will happen, how it will happen, or why it will happen. But mark my word, something will happen. Chances are you might not even see it coming because you are so focused on that one basket. Even worse, you might only focus on one of the eggs in that basket.

I’ve heard the saying in the title many times as well as several variations of it. It simply boils down to what you are willing to risk. It seems pretty obvious that if you only have one basket all your risk is residing in that one basket. I am sure you can figure out what will happen if all the eggs spoil in that single basket. You lose it all.

Now, what about the case of one basket with a single egg? That sounds pretty risky. That is quite a bit of pressure on one egg to perform, even if it is a golden egg. Even precious metal can tarnish. I have learned that the hard way, more than once.

We had the golden egg. One golden egg sitting pretty all by itself in its cozy, comfy nest. It was unsettling and we knew to sustain a business we had to continue to innovate and produce more products to put in the basket as well as other baskets. We needed to create a wider offering to carve out a larger part of our market just in case that golden egg started to tarnish.

So we embarked on a mission to innovate and create and grow our business by adding more products. And we did, but another old adage rung true; timing is everything. We had the vision, we had the mission, but we also had success from our golden egg. Another lesson I have come to realize; success breeds complacency. Let me rephrase that, success can breed complacency. It did in our case. We became comfortable and complacent. We lost the urgency that drove us in the beginning to deliver our first successful product to market.

It didn’t last long but it lasted just long enough for competitors to produce their own versions of our golden egg causing ours to lose some luster. And, unfortunately, some market share. We did survive, however, and learned our lesson. We continued with our vision and mission with urgency once again and brought new products to market to fill different baskets.

As silly and cheesy some sayings might sound at first, they are often true and demand some thought. Many might seem like common sense, but it is often the simple things we overlook that cause the largest falls.

Talk Soon,
Kevin W @LEAP272
Owner-Operator

You have to leap if you want to live

COME TO REALIZE Part 3: Hope For The Best, Plan For The Worst

“I love it when a plan comes together.” – John “Hannibal” Smith, The A-Team

I share that sentiment. It feels great when a plan works and I can place another check mark in the success column. I love to plan for the best, who doesn’t? Isn’t that what we are all shooting for? I expect to hit my mark, every time. That is the expectation when I give it my all. Otherwise, aren’t I just copping out and selling myself short? Why wouldn’t I expect the best outcome when I put forth my best effort?

Because a business doesn’t operate in a vacuum and I am not perfect. Things do not always turn out as planned for a variety of reasons despite my best effort. There are so many variables at play that can impact the results no matter how good I am or how well I plan. I can compose the perfect plan and orchestrate the strategy of the century. I know it’s good so I host visions of grandeur in my overactive, Pisces brain. I plan for the future and what will come next because I know the best is coming. Until it doesn’t and I find myself racking that same hopeful brain trying to eek my way out of another worst case scenario I left out of the plan.

The reality is simple; we do not plan for the best, we hope for it. We aim for it but we do not plan for it. We plan for the worst, that is why there are contracts, contingency plans, and exit strategies. Besides setting the basic terms of an agreement, the meat of any contract is basically what happens in the event of disagreements or worst the case scenarios. It seldom matters what type of contract it is, 80% or more of the heady legalese that should be considered a second language, deals only with what will happen in the event of…fill in the blank with anything negative.

Hope is a wonderful thing but it becomes dangerous when it is commingled with expectation. We should always hope for the best. If we didn’t we would become pessimists and that is no way to live. The danger lies in the attachment to any desired outcome.  Once we place an attachment on to the outcome we hope for, we are set the dial to failure, or at the very least, disappointment. The attachment narrows our vision in a negative manner that restricts and eliminates the possibly in our mind for any deviation of what we expect as the final result.  We must free our mind from that bondage of attachment and be open to alternate outcomes.

The lessons that I have come to realize in this context from my personal experience in business and life in general are two-fold; one, as I eluded to before, it is rare that things turn out exactly as planned, and two, when they do, revel in it. Take the victory, enjoy it, and then move on without expectation of what will come next.

A bonus lesson; be flexible and enjoy the success whenever a plan comes together. The means and the end might be different than how you envisioned or planned it but if the end result is what you wanted then there’s nothing to complain about. Don’t let the things that don’t matter prevent you from appreciating what does matter. If the plan comes together in one way or another it is a victory.

The road is very narrow in a “my way or the highway” mindset, so do some road work and widen the road.

Talk Soon,
Kevin W @LEAP272
Owner-Operator

You have to leap if you want to live

COME TO REALIZE Part 2: Expect The Unexpected

“And you may ask yourself, well
How did I get here?” – David Byrne

How did I get here? I often ponder that question; sometimes in wonderment, sometimes in shock, sometimes in frustration, sometimes in regret, and sometimes in utter satisfaction and contentment. The latter is the most rare yet most fulfilling. Nearly five decades, nine businesses, well ten if you count the one I literally registered yesterday with my son because he is not an adult yet. There have been so many events that have transpired that triggers that question during times of reflection.

There have been so many great lessons from these various reflections. Although the times of frustration, disappointment, and regret are my least favorite they tend to yield some of the most powerful lessons for me. When I can weather the storm and make it through the darkness to the other side the rewards are great. It seems to be a universal principle that the times of greatest pain and difficulty produce the greatest pay off if one can endure and make it through.

I have certainly had my share of such difficult times. Some I have weathered well, others I have not. Some I have learned a valuable lesson the first time, most however, I have had to endure and repeat several times to really grasp anything positive that I could carry forward.

So, how did I get here and what did I come to realize? Just as in part one, I am not going for the deep dive here just looking back for a general lesson that can be applied to a variety of contexts. For me that is to expect the unexpected. I have shared in many of my articles that I am a Pisces and have the imagination and daydreaming tendencies of one. I can plan, prepare, and envision how everything is going to end up in my head yet it seldom does. Sometimes the end result is so far off I have no choice but to stop and ask myself “how did I get here?”

Well, here I am; business number two, which is travel related, is on life support as a result of the corona virus pandemic. Business number nine which was purchased by business number three last August is alive and surviving the best it can consider the circumstances. The other handful of active business are alive, they are more investment businesses that require minimal day to day effort so have suffered very little.

As far as number ten goes, time will tell as it is not even 24 hours old yet. I can only hope that I can impart some of the wisdom I have learned from own mistakes onto Nolan as he follows the path of Kerry and I into the world of entrepreneurship. The best I can do for him is to not project any of my past or any of my stubborn opinions and control onto him and simply expect the unexpected from him. Let him do his thing and offer support and guidance upon request. There are more ways than my way to do things and standing in the back and watching is not always my strong suit. I guess I need to expect the unexpected from myself as well.

To close, the lesson for me is that I can only put in my best effort today. I have no control over how things will unfold tomorrow. As long as I can let go the expectations I have of the outcome and put forth my personal best, then I am in a good position to succeed no matter what end result is. I can plan and prepare all day long until the sun don’t shine, but things are going to happen the way they happen despite my best efforts. Sometimes you just have to hope for the best and plan for the worst.  That way excess disappointment is removed from the equation.

Hmm, another lesson I have come to realize?

Stick around to find out.

Talk Soon,
Kevin W @LEAP272
Owner-Operator

You have to leap if you want to live

COME TO REALIZE: 1 Self Awareness

“Enjoy your midnight snack at 10.” – Me

I simply do not function well after midnight. I don’t exactly turn into a pumpkin but my brain turns to mush much like the inside of one. This is just one important thing I have come to realize about myself while navigating the labyrinth of life.

I have had many “aha” moments in my life; countless epiphanies, hard lessons, realizations, growth lessons, whatever you want to call them. If I had to pick the most important I don’t think I could. But if it was a gun to my head decision it would be a two part answer; One, that if I do not implement anything learned from those “lessons” then they mean nothing and, two, if I don’t share the lessons with others they mean even less. They simply become another forgotten thought, cast away to the deep, dark, dusty crevices of my brain.

Back to the opening quote. What does it really mean and what is the true essence of the lesson? It means I am not a night owl so I shouldn’t stay up that late and more importantly, schedule important late night meetings or events. The reality is I am not sure how many people actually do that. In the businesses I participate in, it is not very common, although there are some events that can run into the wee hours. I might not have to use my brain but I do have to participate in these situations and hold important conversations.

In my experience, the later I travel into the night the worse my social skills become and my patience and tolerance begins to wear thin. That is the important realization here; when I become tired I become anti-social, impatient, intolerant, and irritable. That is not the winning combination for anything good that I know of. As a result, I become much more reactive to my environment and the things people do and say. The best course of action for me is to avoid these situations to the best of my ability.

Peeling another layer and boiling it down even more, it really comes down to self awareness; knowing myself well enough to avoid situations in which I will not act as my normal professional or social self. Okay, truth be, told I am not that social as it is, but you get what I’m saying. Of course, this applies well beyond late night social or business situations.

What is self awareness? Is it a personality trait? A skill? A behavior? Oh, and aren’t there different types or levels? I don’t want to do a deep dive here and get all scientific and psychological so let’s just stick with it being a skill for our purposes here.

Self awareness is such an important skill to help us navigate life and the various decisions we make and the situations and circumstances we find ourselves in. Perhaps its most important function is to really help us discover and follow our calling. It is so easy to get swept up in the race to become the master of anything that will propel you to the top of whatever ladder you are climbing; rewarding you with endless riches, book deals and master classes that will expedite your journey to retirement. Until all the smoke clears and you are left looking at your confused, unhappy reflection in the mirror. This isn’t what I signed up for!

Follow your instincts and learn to know yourself. Get quiet and discover who you truly are. Self awareness will lead you to your what and why.   

Talk Soon,
Kevin W @LEAP272
Owner-Operator

You have to leap if you want to live

THE THREE KINGS #19: OPEN – PRESENT – PATIENT

May 5, 2020

The Three Kings are simply three things, assets, skills, characteristics, principles, and so forth that I find important on some level. The series or feature is meant to be a short read of easily digestible information that hopefully provides some value and actionable concepts that you can apply to some aspect of your life or business.

The content is inspired and influenced by my own personal experience in life and my career as a business owner. They are three things that have helped or hindered me through my life and career. I have written many of these but I am posting this one first, out of order because of the unprecedented times we are in right now. These pieces are not necessarily meant to be sequential by any means anyway. How coincidental is it that this is number 19? Interesting.

Without further ado, here is the first, non-sequential installment of The Three Kings.

Here are the three things that keep coming up for me during this time of the Covid-19 crisis.

OPEN-MINDED:
When this crisis first hit and Idaho was advised to stay at home I was immediately consumed by fear. Optimism, trust, faith, and other things needed to make it through tough times cannot co-exist with fear. When fear takes over the others are absent. I have experienced this over and over in my life and thought that I had learned my lesson, but apparently I have more to learn. I’ll give myself a break as this is an unprecedented situation

Regardless, I have found that I have to be open to new ideas and different ways to run my business. If I choose to stay in fear and let it dictate my thoughts and actions I will be very unproductive and negative. There is no room for a solution without an open mind. For example, at the pie shop, we had to be open to a new way of doing business because the old way was no longer an option. We lost all of our dine-in lunch service which is a significant part of our revenue. We quickly began offering takeout and delivery of course, but we also began focusing on dinner by creating meal packages centering on our savory pies. That has saved us.

PRESENT:
Problems only exist in the present and solutions only work in the present. Of course problems can last for a long time and solutions can and should be created and implemented to address the future, but that is always unknown. Solutions can only be created and implemented today so that is where I must focus the majority of my efforts. Future tripping only perpetuates a state of fear so I try to practice being present as much as possible.

PATIENT:
If you know me or have read any of my content I am sure you know I am a naturally impatient person. I love instant gratification. Fortunately, I have learned that instant gratification is often short-lived. Real progress and sustainable growth takes time as does working through a crisis. The strategy to navigate through the current crisis does not instantly cure all the negative effects, it takes time.

Our dinner strategy we created for the pie shop took time to create and execute and it took time to start yielding results. It is currently keeping our doors open and for that I am grateful, but I do not know what the future holds. I am sure that a crisis like this will have some long term effects so we will have to practice all three of today’s kings today in the present to prepare for the unknown that lies ahead.

Talk Soon,
Kevin W @LEAP272
Owner-Operator

You have to leap if you want to live