Aerial View:

• Intro thoughts

• Mindful Minute: Optimal or Not, Show Up

• Conscious Consumer: Simple Steps Market

• Quote of the week

• 3 key questions to reflect on

Welcome back men. Been head down a bit the last few weeks building. Not as much reflection as I’d like, but the wind seems to have picked up nicely and is back at my sails again with minimal force. I feel a big season of flow coming.

Writing this on Sunday morning at one of my go-to coffee spots, after a wildly productive couple hours in the trenches of the underwear world. Exciting things to come there.

Today we’re looking at flow versus force, and contrary to my usual take, knowing when to use force to move forward. In we go men, this one is quick but powerful.

Mindful Minute: Optimal or Not, Show Up

There will be days when it all lines up perfectly- your sleep was dialed in the night before, you nailed your morning routine, grabbed your coffee and set out to dominate the day. Your energy level is at its best, and you feel the wind at your sails. You’re tapped into flow state here. Feeling optimal gives you leverage on days like this.

While we can strive to have days like these as often as possible, the truth is (at least for most of us) that we likely aren’t experiencing them every day- perhaps far less than we’d like.

Some days we get leverage. We can effortlessly ride the wave all the way in.

Other days- we have to choose violence. We have to fight with everything we have just to get to the wave, let alone ride it.

Both of these days happen, and they’re each great in their own ways. The optimal days are great for obvious reasons, but why are the violence days great?

On these days, we get to show ourselves what we are made of. We are given an opportunity to prove to ourselves that feeling optimal is not a requirement for going after our ambitions.

Days like these enable us to show just how much we truly exhibit extreme ownership of our lives, of our choices, of our purposes.

So next time you wake up later than you’d like, feeling sluggish, and guilt ridden, grab your sword and shield, look yourself in the mirror, grit your teeth, and consciously choose violence.

Remember, you don’t need to feel perfect every day to win. Confidence is built from having the courage to enter the arena when you just don’t feel like it. In doing so, you’ll show yourself that you show up and take action no matter what- and that comes from within. That’s all you.

Conscious Consumer

I recently CoFounded this new AWESOME project with a few friends of mine. I’m locked in on NADS growth- that has my day to day mindshare entirely (probably to an unhealthy degree.) But I saw an opportunity to align on an opportunity to bring another better-for-you problem solving brand to market with minimal overhead and the right partners/involvement. So we spun this bad boy up pretty quickly and it is officially live.

It is a better-for-baby, non-toxic products marketplace. For new parents or future parents, this platform is designed to bring the cleanest baby products in the industry to one easy to navigate location. Send this to the health-focused parents or expecting parents you know!

Out here trying to protect the babies while they are in the nads, and then after 😎

Quote of the week

I’m a big fan of John Maxwell’s work. A few of his books have really shifted my perspective and made me both a better leader and man. This quote hits home for me as I am someone who advocates for keeping momentum up. Some days, it’s a full day of forward movement. Other days, it’s just showing up and going through the motions. The key is to do at least ONE thing every damn day that get’s you closer to your goals. It can be microscopic (like just wiping the email inbox, or jotting down a few thoughts on paper) but these days are pivotal to keeping momentum alive. Take time to rest, of course, but those who stay on the field win. Those who leave the field don’t. It’s that simple. How long can you stay on the field?

Rise and Reflect - 3 Questions to Inspire Impactful Action and Critical Reflection

1. How does the structure of my days change based on my moods/energy levels?

2. Do I have at least bare minimum output on the less-than optimal days? Why not?

3. What do I think causes my less than optimal days? Can I identify 3 big triggers here and work towards avoiding/improving them?

My Ask of You

I am really trying to put the thrusters on this thing and build out this audience. So- if you found value in this newsletter, I ask that you please share it with others:

• Forward it: Send this email to friends, family, and/or others.

• Talk about it: Share your thoughts on social media and tag my socials and/or share the subscription page link

• Invite others: Encourage those around you to subscribe here and join our community.

As leaders, it's our duty to help others. If you found this newsletter helpful, share it with someone who it may help. Change starts here, together.

Thank you for being here.

Sails up, eyes open.

Until next time,
Dan Baird

Follow me on Instagram
Follow me on X