Aerial View:

• Intro thoughts

• Mindful Minute: Redefining What It Means to Win

• Conscious Consumer:

• Quote of the week

• 3 key questions to reflect on

Welcome back men. Happy Memorial Day. Expressing a moment of gratitude here for all those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to uphold the freedom we experience here in this country.

As we push further into the year, one thing I am paying keen attention to is improving the use of my shield. The last few years, I’ve worked at becoming skilled with sword- going on the offensive for me is now effortless and thus quite effective. In further developing my abilities and overall self, I’ve realized it is my defense that I need improvement on.

I have a tendency to default into what I call ‘White Knight’ mode, where I try to be the hero and savior to those around me. I subconsciously take the weight of others problems and emotions on, many times even when it is not being asked of me.

Honorable? Sure. Sustainable? No, because if left unchecked, I’ll do so at the cost of myself. Pouring from an empty cup benefits no one.

So my current focus in this particular season? Learning when to use shield over sword. Sometimes attack is the right choice, other times the best offense is defense. It is those situations in which I am looking to cultivate discernment and build strength to hold my shield steadfast in the face of external pressures that typically enable the White Knight to step in. I know it may upset some initially as I set firmer boundaries here, but my responsibility to myself (and others) is to be my best self. In order to do so, I must become a master with the shield.

Sharing this to shine light on reframing something I often struggle(d) with, in the event this hits home for you. Alright, into the meat of the meal, we’re talking about subjective versus objective wins.

Mindful Minute: Redefining What It Means to Win

Are you focusing on the wrong metrics? Be it business, health, relationships, or just life- it’s all too easy to assign value to that which is actually meaningless to us beneath the surface. We see others around us highlighting these “accomplishments” or “results” and through a highlight/exposure/reinforcement feedback loop, others (most likely ourselves) pursue the same path using misguided barometers of success. That feedback loop looks a bit like this:

This happens now on a global scale because of our ease of access to each other, via social media and the internet.

The impetus for this thought this week came after a business call I had with a service provider for one of the brands.

I was on the call with the founder of a large e-comm tech platform. Frankly, I was surprised he was taking the call and not passing off to a relationship manager. Turns out they were experiencing some growing pains that required him to tap in as needed. I have immense respect for this. I wanted to learn more about him, so a quick Google search led me to his Forbes 30 Under 30 mention a few years back.

The article preview highlighted his academic prowess, a little personal background, and the main focal point: he had successfully raised $25 million for the startup (at the time.) Nothing about the business other than a one line description and the fundraising amount.

That was the premiere real estate information conveyed as to why he was featured on the list.

This didn’t sit well with me and I realized that it’s painfully apparent that most are focusing on the wrong things. We’re looking at the superficial- the vanity metrics. Here we have the leading publication in the business world promoting this- accentuating the feedback loop previously mentioned.

Look, this guy is great, super talented, and he built an incredible business. He has real results in the present day. Not knocking that in the slightest. What I think is whacky is that Forbes was using fundraising as the glory metric here. Not business growth or results, but fundraising.

Do I have a personal bias here as a founder of a bootstrapped brand? Sure, but even for a venture funded business, I think results should be what are given praise in these contexts, as to put emphasis on the right areas over the wrong ones. Countless brands raise tons of capital only to fail, yet publications glorify these “wins” before real wins even occur. I just think it’s quite misaligned.

He should absolutely be featured in that publication, but I think it should have happened now, years down the line when the business gained real traction and started crushing it, as opposed to before they even really got started.

This is just one specific example that is a microcosm for the larger issue at hand. We’ve largely assigned value to the wrong things, causing us to undervalue the real, meaningful ones. This can easily cause an internal imbalance with one’s true purpose if we aren’t hyper vigilant to the traps out there.

What are the right measures of success? Entirely up to you. Here’s a few of mine:

-Health, vitality, and energy in my day to day life
-Working on projects aligned with my purpose (making a worldly impact)
-Feeling that I get to work instead of having to
-Freedom of time to choose how I structure my day
-Eating like a king daily (high quality, nourishing, delicious foods)
-On the path to my personal financial goals (financial security then financial freedom)
-Surrounded by real, ride or die friends and teammates
-Ability to pursue growth across all areas of my life DAILY
-Living and leading with genuine honesty and integrity
-Enjoyment of the journey here with awareness that it happens fast

We must define success for ourselves. It is NOT objective.

Contrary to what the mass influence indicates, we can play by our own rules. Our scoreboard can be determined by whatever we want it to be. 

Conscious Consumer

Big fan of the Heavy Metal Detox supplement by my friends over at Mensana. Awesome brand driven by a purist ingredient mission to help humans live more optimally. You don’t see many detox AND replenishment supplements in one product, so this blend packs a really valuable punch to cleanse and refuel the right way. Highly recommend this one over a standard organ blend so you can tap into dual benefits.

Quote of the week

“But what if I don’t know what I like?”
The answer to this is pretty simple. First, slow down, pay more attention to yourself and your emotions. Next, try more things. Then, see what your instinct is telling you. Finally, and most importantly, take action on those things and only those. Sometimes process of elimination is the only way to arrive at certain realizations.

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

1. Do I think I am chasing the wrong measures of success? Who’s definition am I really listening to?

2. What would short term success look like to ME? What about long term?

3. Do I even really want the things I am after? If I had them, would I feel fulfilled? Or would I quickly move on to the next best thing, pursuing ever-moving targets?

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:

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Thank you for being here.

Sails up, eyes open.

Until next time,
Dan Baird

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