For those of you that are new here, every week I send what I call a 1x1x1.
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One thought from my week.
One interesting find/tool from my week.
One image from my life.

Let's dive in 👇

Thought from the week

I’ve been saying a word that historically made me sweat a little.

No.

Two letters. One syllable. Feels like jumping off a cliff the first few times.

For the last 6 weeks, I’ve been in a full-blown Season of No™.

And something obviously great happened…

My focus went through the roof.

My output? Off the charts.

My brain? Calm. Clear. Dangerous.

The surprising part 👇

When you start saying no more often, something else happens:

You’re forced to get painfully clear on what earns a yes.

Over the last 6 weeks, I realized I’ve quietly built a little internal framework for decisions.

It’s not fancy.

It’s not in Notion.

It’s mostly scribbled in my brain while drinking coffee and avoiding new commitments.

Figured I’d share it in case someone out there is feeling calendar-chaos creeping in.

Quick disclaimer before I sound like a monk on a mountain:

I believe deeply in Seasons of Yes.

I’ve had big ones.

Move fast.

Start things.

Meet everyone.

Build everything.

Say yes to the weird opportunity.

Those seasons built my businesses.

They built my network.

They built my life.

But right now? This is a Season of No.

And I’m very aware that I’m fortunate to be able to say it.

My Current Criteria for a “Yes”

(Not in order. Not all boxes need to be checked. Some don’t apply to certain decisions. Just a brain dump from a guy protecting his calendar like it’s Fort Knox.)

Will I get to work with great people?

Energy is contagious.

If the answer is, “Yes, and I’d gladly grab drinks with them even if this project didn’t exist,” that’s a strong signal.

If it’s neutral or draining? Probably a no.

Will this make a great story?

This might be my favorite one.

Will this be something I laugh about in 10 years? Will it become a ridiculous anecdote in a future 1x1x1? Will my kids roll their eyes when I tell it?

If yes… I’m listening.

Great stories > small incremental wins.

Does this scratch the creative itch?

There’s a certain kind of project that makes you lose time.

You forget to eat. You forget to check your phone. You forget the world exists.

If it hits that nerve? That’s powerful.

If it feels like obligation disguised as opportunity? Hard pass.

Would I be okay losing money on this?

This one has saved me a lot of stress.

If I say yes and it goes to zero… Would I still be glad I did it?

If the answer is yes, that’s usually a good sign, especially for new creative experiments.

If I’d be bitter about it? That’s data.

Will I walk away with a skill I can reuse forever?

Some projects are tuition.

Will I leave knowing something that compounds? A new lens. A new muscle. A new edge.

If yes, I’m much more open.

Will this add calls to my calendar?

This one hurts.

Because calls feel productive.

But they are often silent assassins of deep work (at least in my world).

If the opportunity requires “just a quick weekly sync,” that’s not just a quick weekly sync. That’s a recurring tax on mental clarity.

No one ever built something great bouncing from Zoom room to Zoom room.

Will this eat into my 4 sacred family hours?

I get about four high-quality hours a day with my family.

I recognize I'm very lucky to have that and I protect it like gold.

Dinner. Bath. Books. Chaos. Laughter.

If a yes steals from that window, it has to clear a very high bar.

Because no opportunity beats being fully present at home.

Is it a worthy cause?

Money aside.

Cool factor aside.

Is it good?

Does it matter?

Does it help someone in a real way?

That still counts.

Would I be stoked doing this 5 years from now?

Zoom out.

Five years.

Still excited? Still proud? Still energized?

Or does it feel like something I’d be trying to quietly unwind?

Future regret is underrated as a decision filter.

Can my kids be involved?

This is a newer one for me.

But it’s rising in importance.

Can they see it? Touch it? Participate in it? Learn from it?

The older I get, the more I want the lines between “work” and “life” to blur in a healthy way.

Not because work invades life, but because life enriches work.

If they can be part of it, that’s a multiplier.

I'm realizing overtime that saying no isn’t about being rigid.

It’s about protecting momentum.

Focus compounds. Clarity compounds. Energy compounds.

Seasons of Yes build opportunity. Seasons of No build depth.

Right now, I’m building depth.

Happy Friday. Happy focus. May your calendar fear you just a little bit.

Interesting Tool/Find

Pole to Pole on National Geographic.

7 episodes and a lot mind blowing moments.

Our planet is wild!

Image from my life

We went to a local Golden Retriever meetup (yes we're those people).

Lots of lint rolling was to be had afterwards.

See you all next week!