jULY 7, 2025
Maybe I’ll Write About Pain…
Pain is my oldest companion. Not just the pain of suffering through spankings, traumas, or unkind words. Chronic pain and I became companions when I was just seventeen.
Before that moment, I knew pain, but I’d never understood the debilitating nature of a pain that seemed to have no end. When I woke up under a roaring, shaking aircraft, I had many broken vertebrae, a traumatic brain injury, and a future that was no longer what I’d dreamt of.
I’ve written about this accident in other posts. The learning in my pain for me today?
It’s the lesson I’ve sat with for decades now.
What is my pain?
Am I the victim?
For years, I was
.
I was the audience to my pain as it sat on the stage before me. It dictated my decisions, my shrinking from challenges as fresh injuries metastasized into arthritis and decay between already injured bones, discs, nerves, and fascia.
Nearly two decades spent playing small personally, while I pushed the edges of possibility through business. No energy left for my toddlers. No strength left for wrestling with my growing sons, or capacity for my wife’s own challenges. I felt so broken.
And the worst part? I’d done it to myself.
From my choices to become a test pilot, to a racing driver, surfer, skydiver, rockclimber, and more. These actions tested me and broke me.
They added to my internal monologue; “I am broken, I am unworthy, I am not strong enough”.
For years, these inner thoughts defined my truth.
My pain carried with it so many reminders that I had somehow failed, that I was not enough, and was inherently unworthy of love. So many childhood fears brought back to the forefront, reinforced as a representation of what I thought I was as a person.
I used my business’s needs of me to hide from what I felt. I used being good at what I did, to insulate me from actually feeling the emotions I’d pushed down deep inside. I didn’t have the tools to be present with the realities. I didn’t know what to do with grief, with abuse, with codependence.
So, I hid.
I hid in my 100 hour work weeks. I hid in my team and client’s needs for me. I got good at my work, at my leadership, at anything that meant I didn’t have to face my past… Or my present.
For most men, it’s porn alcohol, drugs, or dopamine. For me, it was work to the point of burning out every 2-3 months. Then, sleep for 72 hours with a 102-103 fever, rinse and repeat. I did this for most of my adult life.
Then, as my business flourished, my marriage started to fall apart. I didn’t know my children and I couldn’t stop keeping score in my relationship. I was broken.
Over the past 7 years, I’ve learned to rebuild. My body, my heart, my truth.
In 2020, I gave up all of my secrets. In 2023, we moved our family halfway across the country to be present with the community we craved. Today, I sit here exhausted, but fulfilled. I spent the morning with the kids, taking them to school, then a beautiful workout with my friend Pedram Shojai , using the tools I’ve learned from Functional Patterns to strengthen the areas of my body atrophied from years of abuse, and injury. Late morning was filled with helping my new friend Bryan Reeves move from his home. My Bride packed his entire kitchen in 90 minutes.
My life has shifted so much. From ignoring potential pain, to sitting with it in deep presence. From feeling the victim in my body, to knowing I have tools at my disposal to grow. At 9:20 this morning, Pedram and I moved from the steam shower to the pool. A pool that has been filled by countless storms that have tormented us here in Central Texas over the past 4 days. The cold water lapping at our necks, I witnessed him shifting his state in the same way I have learned to do. Following the breath, becoming present with what is, no panic, no fear, just presence.
I smiled. I love that my community does the work I have learned to do to discover alignment in my body and soul. I love that we share language, tools, and practices. I so value that all this pain, all this struggle, all of this hardship, has led me to a deeper knowledge of me. Of who I am, of why I am here, and how to share my mission.
I exist on this planet to help myself and others face our fears, sit with our demons, and reprogram our software to be present with who we truly are.
All the pain I’ve experienced physically, and emotionally, have been a guide and a gift on this journey. I truly believe we each are given exactly what we need. Pain, grief, heartbreak, trauma, that is meant for us to both learn, and to witness. The pain we carry would probably cripple anyone else we love. They were not designed for it, but we were.
I’ve learned that my lesson has been in being present with all of it, and choosing to journey through these hardships and learn all they have to teach me.
When we are young, our brains and bodies simply do not have the tools or the development to handle much. For men, we’re not even fully developed mentally until our mid 20’s. As fully formed adults, we have such a responsibility to be present with what HAS been, in order to not allow our wounded, desperate, and lonely inner child to be in control of our lives today.
I wish someone had told me self control was as accessible as learning to breathe with intention, sooner. Today, I’m here to share how intention, passion, and purpose all work with alignment, to create resonance and legacy.
How we can overcome pain, brokenness, and struggle, to find the life we truly want. How we can shift from victim to victor.
I still struggle. I still live with the pain. But each day, I progress. Each day, I learn to be more present with all that I am, and all that is.
The past few weeks have been a journey, a path of witnessing that which has been, literally burned away. Dreams turned to ash. Friends lost, normalcy destroyed. So many things that once would have broken me and pushed me to turn away from the pain. Each of them now received as the gift they are. Surely, not easy. Certainly nothing I would have picked. But man, this pain has given me perspective.
Thank you for reading.
I hope you can gain something from this broken, joyful, grateful musing.
Maybe I’ll Write About Pain…
jULY 7, 2025
Pain is my oldest companion. Not just the pain of suffering through spankings, traumas, or unkind words. Chronic pain and I became companions when I was just seventeen.
Before that moment, I knew pain, but I’d never understood the debilitating nature of a pain that seemed to have no end. When I woke up under a roaring, shaking aircraft, I had many broken vertebrae, a traumatic brain injury, and a future that was no longer what I’d dreamt of.
I’ve written about this accident in other posts. The learning in my pain for me today?
It’s the lesson I’ve sat with for decades now.
What is my pain?
Am I the victim?
For years, I was.
I was the audience to my pain as it sat on the stage before me. It dictated my decisions, my shrinking from challenges as fresh injuries metastasized into arthritis and decay between already injured bones, discs, nerves, and fascia.
Nearly two decades spent playing small personally, while I pushed the edges of possibility through business. No energy left for my toddlers. No strength left for wrestling with my growing sons, or capacity for my wife’s own challenges. I felt so broken.
And the worst part? I’d done it to myself.
From my choices to become a test pilot, to a racing driver, surfer, skydiver, rockclimber, and more. These actions tested me and broke me.
They added to my internal monologue; “I am broken, I am unworthy, I am not strong enough”.
For years, these inner thoughts defined my truth.
My pain carried with it so many reminders that I had somehow failed, that I was not enough, and was inherently unworthy of love. So many childhood fears brought back to the forefront, reinforced as a representation of what I thought I was as a person.
I used my business’s needs of me to hide from what I felt. I used being good at what I did, to insulate me from actually feeling the emotions I’d pushed down deep inside. I didn’t have the tools to be present with the realities. I didn’t know what to do with grief, with abuse, with codependence.
So, I hid.
I hid in my 100 hour work weeks. I hid in my team and client’s needs for me. I got good at my work, at my leadership, at anything that meant I didn’t have to face my past… Or my present.
For most men, it’s porn alcohol, drugs, or dopamine. For me, it was work to the point of burning out every 2-3 months. Then, sleep for 72 hours with a 102-103 fever, rinse and repeat. I did this for most of my adult life.
Then, as my business flourished, my marriage started to fall apart. I didn’t know my children and I couldn’t stop keeping score in my relationship. I was broken.
Over the past 7 years, I’ve learned to rebuild. My body, my heart, my truth.
In 2020, I gave up all of my secrets. In 2023, we moved our family halfway across the country to be present with the community we craved. Today, I sit here exhausted, but fulfilled. I spent the morning with the kids, taking them to school, then a beautiful workout with my friend Pedram Shojai, using the tools I’ve learned from Functional Patterns to strengthen the areas of my body atrophied from years of abuse, and injury. Late morning was filled with helping my new friend Bryan Reeves move from his home. My Bride packed his entire kitchen in 90 minutes.
My life has shifted so much. From ignoring potential pain, to sitting with it in deep presence. From feeling the victim in my body, to knowing I have tools at my disposal to grow. At 9:20 this morning, Pedram and I moved from the steam shower to the pool. A pool that has been filled by countless storms that have tormented us here in Central Texas over the past 4 days. The cold water lapping at our necks, I witnessed him shifting his state in the same way I have learned to do.
Following the breath, becoming present with what is, no panic, no fear, just presence.
I smiled. I love that my community does the work I have learned to do to discover alignment in my body and soul. I love that we share language, tools, and practices. I so value that all this pain, all this struggle, all of this hardship, has led me to a deeper knowledge of me. Of who I am, of why I am here, and how to share my mission.
I exist on this planet to help myself and others face our fears, sit with our demons, and reprogram our software to be present with who we truly are.
All the pain I’ve experienced physically, and emotionally, have been a guide and a gift on this journey. I truly believe we each are given exactly what we need. Pain, grief, heartbreak, trauma, that is meant for us to both learn, and to witness. The pain we carry would probably cripple anyone else we love. They were not designed for it, but we were.
I’ve learned that my lesson has been in being present with all of it, and choosing to journey through these hardships and learn all they have to teach me.
When we are young, our brains and bodies simply do not have the tools or the development to handle much. For men, we’re not even fully developed mentally until our mid 20’s. As fully formed adults, we have such a responsibility to be present with what HAS been, in order to not allow our wounded, desperate, and lonely inner child to be in control of our lives today.
I wish someone had told me self control was as accessible as learning to breathe with intention, sooner. Today, I’m here to share how intention, passion, and purpose all work with alignment, to create resonance and legacy.
How we can overcome pain, brokenness, and struggle, to find the life we truly want. How we can shift from victim to victor.
I still struggle. I still live with the pain. But each day, I progress. Each day, I learn to be more present with all that I am, and all that is.
The past few weeks have been a journey, a path of witnessing that which has been, literally burned away. Dreams turned to ash. Friends lost, normalcy destroyed. So many things that once would have broken me and pushed me to turn away from the pain. Each of them now received as the gift they are. Surely, not easy. Certainly nothing I would have picked. But man, this pain has given me perspective.
Thank you for reading.
I hope you can gain something from this broken, joyful, grateful musing.
jULY 3, 2025
What I Do…
I surround myself with epic humans.
For years, I’ve said my super power is that I am a nucleus. Incredible people find me, see what I believe in, and believe in it too. At Aviator, we recently had the eighth tattoo of our logo on someone’s body. At National STOL, we have over 900 volunteers who make the entire series possible.
In my personal life, I’m often confronted by new friends saying I promote all my friendships like a salesman. What can I say? I believe in people.
In our mastermind, people realize I am their biggest cheerleader and truth speaker to who they are beyond their fears.
I live for this.
I believe that all of us have something to give. Some way to make the world a better place. For so many of us, we just need someone else to see this greatness in us and give us permission to overcome the programming of our youth.
Our nervous systems end up locked in spirals of repetitive safety. Never really achieving that which we desire, always held up at some self imposed upper limit, we’ve subconsciously created to keep ourselves safe.
Fight, Flight, Freeze, or Fawn. Our biology pushes us to one of these every time we feel discomfort. In today’s world of endless dopamine possibilities, we tend to avoid discomfort at every turn. Yet it’s within these discomforts, our true possibilities lie.
Learning to partner with my nervous system, to create real emotional range, and to honor all that is within me, has allowed me to live a life that is so incredibly fulfilling, I am truly present.
Where are you holding back from feeling? Where are you escaping discomfort? What pattern do you keep repeating that’s keeping you from being wholly you?
What I Do…
jULY 3, 2025
I surround myself with epic humans.
For years, I’ve said my super power is that I am a nucleus. Incredible people find me, see what I believe in, and believe in it too. At Aviator, we recently had the eighth tattoo of our logo on someone’s body. At National STOL, we have over 900 volunteers who make the entire series possible.
In my personal life, I’m often confronted by new friends saying I promote all my friendships like a salesman. What can I say? I believe in people.
In our mastermind, people realize I am their biggest cheerleader and truth speaker to who they are beyond their fears.
I live for this.
I believe that all of us have something to give. Some way to make the world a better place. For so many of us, we just need someone else to see this greatness in us and give us permission to overcome the programming of our youth.
Our nervous systems end up locked in spirals of repetitive safety. Never really achieving that which we desire, always held up at some self imposed upper limit, we’ve subconsciously created to keep ourselves safe.
Fight, Flight, Freeze, or Fawn. Our biology pushes us to one of these every time we feel discomfort. In today’s world of endless dopamine possibilities, we tend to avoid discomfort at every turn. Yet it’s within these discomforts, our true possibilities lie.
Learning to partner with my nervous system, to create real emotional range, and to honor all that is within me, has allowed me to live a life that is so incredibly fulfilling, I am truly present.
Where are you holding back from feeling? Where are you escaping discomfort? What pattern do you keep repeating that’s keeping you from being wholly you?
JUNE 24, 2025
From Fire with _______.
12:54PM yesterday, I was handed a moment.
Not a moment I would have chosen. Not a moment any of us would. But one of those raw, unfiltered experiences that life offers when it wants you to really listen.
It started with a phone call.
"We don’t know what happened, but Cam’s been in an accident, he flipped the truck."
And just like that, everything slowed down but my heart rate. My breath. My body. I was waiting for the next words, the ones that mattered most.
Cam, one of the most dedicated volunteers we have at our aircraft racing series, National STOL, was driving across the country. Not for a paycheck. Not for glory. For love. For vision. For belief in something bigger than himself.
He was driving our new truck, towing our production trailer through Montana, enroute to our next race in Wisconsin. The person who called it in said he’d just passed Cam when he saw the trailer begin to fishtail wildly. They were headed downhill, and the winds were ripping across the plains into the venturi of the pass.
Cam fought it bravely. He’s an incredibly cautious driver and caring person. He’s been working SO hard to help us bring this series to the world… But in a flash, it was too late. He could have tumbled into the crevasse to the left, but instead smashed into the silt covered hillside to the right. The truck tumbling at least 180 degrees, the trailer falling to its side.
12:54PM I got the call. I waited for the words, as my heart rate skyrocketed. “There’s smoke from the truck, but Cam got out, he’s okay”.
Hours passed, information passed from person to person with no clear picture of what was happening. National STOL has at its heart, the most incredible community of humans. Cam had lost his phone in the accident and was transported to the hospital with a minor injury. His Mom called me to fill me in on all she knew. She shared photos, videos, and snapchats, he was getting from other first responders on his Nurse’s phone (yes, you read that correctly. Only in Montana, would your nurse leave their phone with you to keep up to date with the world outside your hospital room).
Our COO, Karen filled our pilot community in on what had happened from her hard earned vacation in Europe. The outpouring of support was incredible. People prepared to drive or fly for a half day or more to help us rescue whatever could be recovered. My phone vibrated, buzzed, and rang like nothing else, all day.
Finally, late in the afternoon as the sound of my children’s voices returned to our home from school, I got a call from Officer Ethan of the Montana Highway Patrol. He sounded young, personable, and sympathetic.
He couldn’t believe Cam had gotten out… And there it was, the feeling in my heart that I hadn’t yet let out.
A flipped vehicle, so much uncertainty… My heart’s racing.
Seven years, one day earlier… My brother’s car had flipped end over end. He’d been ejected from his seat and a short time later, he was gone.
I’ve sat with the grief of that moment so much. Yet, it still holds me at times, especially on the anniversaries, the birthdays, the moments he should be here. Of course this experience was lighting up my nervous system with the similarities… But Cam? Cam was okay.
Grief isn't linear. Trauma isn’t tidy. But presence is powerful. Presence is how we heal. Presence is how we move forward.
When the Officer called, it changed everything. This was no longer a rescue mission for the hundreds of thousands of dollars we’d invested into the truck, trailer, and production equipment. It was all on a Viking style pyre… Except for the most important thing, human life.
This series runs on the backs of volunteers. Cam represents hundreds of humans who pour in without expectation of any return except to make the world they care about better, safer, and more accessible.. And in one fiery instant, the very embodiment of that sacrifice and commitment was tested.
So yes, the trailer is gone. Yes, it hurts. Yes, we lost more than equipment, we lost something special we’d built.
But we gained a forcing function.
Sometimes it takes fire to clear the way for what’s next. Sometimes it takes a total loss to usher in what we were truly meant to build. Maybe now we finally get the semi-trailer. Maybe now we step into the next phase of the dream.
Cam is okay. That’s the miracle. The rest will work itself out.
If you’re reading this and you market to men, or know someone who does, we had 87 million men watch our broadcasts and videos last year. We’re on track for 120,000,000 viewers this year. We’d love to promote brands we believe in, who believe in people pushing themselves to be the best version of themselves.
Racing brings us all together, bettering ourselves makes us feel like family.
P.S. If you happen to be an expert on insurance, it appears our commercial coverage will only replace a small portion of the value, feel free to reach out with wisdom for us! Thank you for reading.
P.P.S. If you’ve never heard of National STOL but want to come to one of our events to see the incredible humans, amazing airplanes, etc. Drop me a message and I’ll gladly comp my friends tickets to be a part of the experience. I started as a volunteer for this organization before it became a part of our holdings.
It’s SUCH a special group of humans.
From Fire with _____.
JUNE 24, 2025
12:54PM yesterday, I was handed a moment.
Not a moment I would have chosen. Not a moment any of us would. But one of those raw, unfiltered experiences that life offers when it wants you to really listen.
It started with a phone call.
"We don’t know what happened, but Cam’s been in an accident, he flipped the truck."
And just like that, everything slowed down but my heart rate. My breath. My body. I was waiting for the next words, the ones that mattered most.
Cam, one of the most dedicated volunteers we have at our aircraft racing series, National STOL, was driving across the country. Not for a paycheck. Not for glory. For love. For vision. For belief in something bigger than himself.
He was driving our new truck, towing our production trailer through Montana, enroute to our next race in Wisconsin. The person who called it in said he’d just passed Cam when he saw the trailer begin to fishtail wildly. They were headed downhill, and the winds were ripping across the plains into the venturi of the pass.
Cam fought it bravely. He’s an incredibly cautious driver and caring person. He’s been working SO hard to help us bring this series to the world… But in a flash, it was too late. He could have tumbled into the crevasse to the left, but instead smashed into the silt covered hillside to the right. The truck tumbling at least 180 degrees, the trailer falling to its side.
12:54PM I got the call. I waited for the words, as my heart rate skyrocketed. “There’s smoke from the truck, but Cam got out, he’s okay”.
Hours passed, information passed from person to person with no clear picture of what was happening. National STOL has at its heart, the most incredible community of humans. Cam had lost his phone in the accident and was transported to the hospital with a minor injury. His Mom called me to fill me in on all she knew. She shared photos, videos, and snapchats, he was getting from other first responders on his Nurse’s phone (yes, you read that correctly. Only in Montana, would your nurse leave their phone with you to keep up to date with the world outside your hospital room).
Our COO, Karen filled our pilot community in on what had happened from her hard earned vacation in Europe. The outpouring of support was incredible. People prepared to drive or fly for a half day or more to help us rescue whatever could be recovered. My phone vibrated, buzzed, and rang like nothing else, all day.
Finally, late in the afternoon as the sound of my children’s voices returned to our home from school, I got a call from Officer Ethan of the Montana Highway Patrol. He sounded young, personable, and sympathetic.
He couldn’t believe Cam had gotten out…
And there it was, the feeling in my heart that I hadn’t yet let out.
A flipped vehicle, so much uncertainty… My heart’s racing.
Seven years, one day earlier… My brother’s car had flipped end over end. He’d been ejected from his seat and a short time later, he was gone.
I’ve sat with the grief of that moment so much. Yet, it still holds me at times, especially on the anniversaries, the birthdays, the moments he should be here. Of course this experience was lighting up my nervous system with the similarities…
But Cam? Cam was okay.
Grief isn't linear. Trauma isn’t tidy. But presence is powerful. Presence is how we heal. Presence is how we move forward.
When the Officer called, it changed everything. This was no longer a rescue mission for the hundreds of thousands of dollars we’d invested into the truck, trailer, and production equipment. It was all on a Viking style pyre… Except for the most important thing, human life.
This series runs on the backs of volunteers. Cam represents hundreds of humans who pour in without expectation of any return except to make the world they care about better, safer, and more accessible.. And in one fiery instant, the very embodiment of that sacrifice and commitment was tested.
So yes, the trailer is gone. Yes, it hurts. Yes, we lost more than equipment, we lost something special we’d built.
But we gained a forcing function.
Sometimes it takes fire to clear the way for what’s next. Sometimes it takes a total loss to usher in what we were truly meant to build. Maybe now we finally get the semi-trailer. Maybe now we step into the next phase of the dream.
Cam is okay. That’s the miracle. The rest will work itself out.
If you’re reading this and you market to men, or know someone who does, we had 87 million men watch our broadcasts and videos last year. We’re on track for 120,000,000 viewers this year. We’d love to promote brands we believe in, who believe in people pushing themselves to be the best version of themselves.
Racing brings us all together, bettering ourselves makes us feel like family.
P.S. If you happen to be an expert on insurance, it appears our commercial coverage will only replace a small portion of the value, feel free to reach out with wisdom for us! Thank you for reading.
P.P.S. If you’ve never heard of National STOL but want to come to one of our events to see the incredible humans, amazing airplanes, etc. Drop me a message and I’ll gladly comp my friends tickets to be a part of the experience. I started as a volunteer for this organization before it became a part of our holdings. It’s SUCH a special group of humans.
I’m The Old Man?!
june 5, 2025
Last week my friend Albert reached out. He had a new friend, a 20 something TikTok star that had specifically asked him to find “older men” for him to talk to.
He asked about my availability, and we settled on a date and time (today, 10:30AM) before I really let the request sink in. I’m only a couple of years older than Albert. Should I be offended? Honored?
I settled on “curious” instead.
We met at Mozart’s Coffee.
It’s on the lake, it’s beautiful, easy to access, and today I had the perfect parking spot, right next to the ramp leading to the baristas. It was humid, and warm, but with a gentle breeze moving through the canyon. I caught up with Albert briefly, then waited to meet this Gen Alpha “Uncle” who was looking for someone older who had answers to his questions.
The older I get, the more challenging it is for me to gauge the age of someone younger than I am. At first glance, he could have been 15, 25, or 30. The exuberance of youth contradicted the intelligence of his eyes and the firmness of his handshake. We greeted each other and found a seat under the sun shade on an outside deck.
Albert, ever the gentleman, thanked us both for making this happen and then our rising star asked his first question… “So, what do you think, are there aliens?”
It may sound like an odd question, but it arose from a series of jokes and when it broke free, I gave the answer my all.
It would take far more than this one article to detail it, but I’ve learned, when someone asks from a place of humor, sometimes it pays off to answer with heart (don’t worry, I answered some serious questions with humor as well, everything has duality).
The next ninety minutes, we were off:
“Can anyone leverage passion into success?” — “How do you put your personal mission into words” —- “I want to help my followers love themselves, but how?” —- “I feel a sense of responsibility to help people, what do you think the best path to that could be?”
I’ve been blessed and challenged by an incredibly diverse life. Grief, love, struggle, hustle, joy, loss, love, disgust, and bliss have been my compatriots for as long as I can remember. We talked about the necessity for each of us to learn tools to be present with our emotions. To truly feel the entirety of the spectrum, not just the anger we learned from the masculine leaders in our lives.
We spoke about relationships, bringing children into the world, and business success and failure. We chatted about the importance of mentors, guides, and coaches. We went deep.
Ninety minutes later, I realized Albert was right. My heart had no place to be offended. This “Unc” he introduced me to represented some of the most valuable gifts a human can have. That of time and a desire to grow.
He’s well spoken, thoughtful, and on the hunt to better not just his life, but those who follow him. I truly am honored to be the “old guy” these days.
Those That Have & Those Who Hope.
JUNE 4, 2025
I went to my first “business” conference when I was thirteen years old. Soon after, I found myself at The “Big Seminar” at the Marriott by the San Francisco airport. Armand Morin hosted what was the largest event I could even imagine. Hundreds of attendees, dozens of speakers. My Dad had invited me to join him and I’d readily agreed.
I wanted a different life, I wanted freedom. I wanted safety.
I listened to every speaker and took pages of notes on my yellow legal pads. Frank Kern spoke with a Southern drawl, and introduced the idea of selling ebooks on niche topics. John Reese teased what would eventually become Traffic Secrets, and Alex Mandossian shared a revolutionary idea… The Socratic marketing method.
Ask people what they want, make it, and sell it to them.
My senses were overwhelmed. The music, the lights, the bigger than real life personalities and perfect diction shared from stage was more than enough to make me shift my reality, my desires, and my beliefs in what was possible.
That event deeply changed my trajectory forever. Alex became my mentor (I followed him around like a puppy and practically begged to help him). He opened so many doors over the next years, I look back with a sense of awe and appreciation.
Today, I attended Giovanni Marsico’s Destiny Fest 2025 just five minutes from my home in Austin. I’ve changed a lot since I was 13. I no longer find being spoken at by gurus to be the most valuable use of my time, and yet I sat in the audience for hours listening to old friends from 20+ years ago, as well as new friends sharing their experiences in incredibly polished poise.
Having only an 18 minute slot really dials speakers in.
The heart of what I came away with though, was the speakers were in front of an audience split by one concept.
Those that have, and those who hope.
Many of my friends in the audience have all they need. They live lives of service, presence, and peace. They’ve climbed the first, and for many, even the second mountain. They observe the next mountain as a partner, rather than one to triumph over through strength, grit, or striving.
The others in the audience listened with baited breath as I once did 26 years ago. They’re hoping to find the answer to success, happiness, self love, and accomplishment. They were the target market for the pitches that came from the stage and the metric by which the event will feel like a success to the organizers if they’re converted.
I have no judgement for either camp. I am so deeply grateful to have experienced both sides of the experience… Or all three sides, if you count being a speaker at such events, working hard to sell my story to those who wanted it.
But the observation was palpable. How we show up to the world and each interaction deeply matters.
The deepest value for me today? Hallway conversations.
Conferences are incredible for those in need of hope. The hallways are magic for those who have it already.
I arrived 20 minutes early, as is my way.
It is always fun to see who is there, and who arrives, when. Beautiful conversations with FRD staff alum Sarah Pevehouse and her daughters reminded me I should bring my children to events such as these. To witness them with their own sensory overwhelm, their own new connection to thoughts, ideas, and possibility.
Seeing new and old friends who’ve felt like family from first contact like Garrain and Blair Jones, Preston and Alexi Panos- Smiles, Alex Pursglove, Jesse Elder, Ryan Deiss, Tamar Hermes, Joe Polish, Corey Boutwell, Brian Sanders, and so many others, reminded me just how important my family of choice is to me. When we moved our family of five here two years, fifteen days ago, I never could have imagined the breadth of community we would have today. The people we get to do life with are truly incredible.
All in all, I am grateful for all the invitations to this event and the invitation to reexamine parts of my life I’d long laid to the parts of memory rarely explored.
What is a part of your story you haven’t thought about in a long time that helped make you who you are?
The Power of Setting
a Date.
june 3, 2025
Last year I accidentally became a coach.
I’d never set out to do it, never dreamed of it, never planned for it. One moment, I was sharing my (admittedly wild) life story on a friend’s podcast, the next I was coaching the host… Then the content dropped to the masses and seven beautiful people reached out to me. They wanted me to help them on their journeys.
Over the next 18 months, I built some beautiful relationships one on one… And one of my clients practically begged me to build a collective. A place where they could do the work in the presence of others doing the same.
I designed the whole thing in October.
Frameworks designed to help business owners experience the freedom I do today (the same tools I used to have a zero hour work week). Each one paired with somatic exercises and deep questions to challenge every founder to work through their traumas and habits. It was ready before Halloween.
In January, the client who’d asked me to launch this pushed again. She wasn’t taking no for an answer. She wanted this mastermind of fellow humans doing the same work!
Years ago, I’d have had it all prepped, ready, and pushed out. I wore striving like a second pair of shoes. I pushed myself for decades, and I hid from my feelings by working harder.
Striving in that way no longer serves me. It no longer entices me. I want to be. Plus, I am blessed to no longer have a need to hustle. Our life is afforded by the work I did over the past 26 years in business. I don’t have to push like I once did.
So, I put the onus on her.
“If you want it so much, why don’t you build it and I’ll partner with you?”
The next thing I knew, we had a website, a funnel, webinars, even a newsletter. We had a steady stream of people who professed an interest in this crazy thing called “Somatic Business Coaching” but most surprisingly? We had members joining from day one.
People I deeply respected from different parts of my life. Men and women, ready to shift their relationships with money, success, legacy, and the parts of themselves that had control for decades without their consent.
That was February.
Yesterday, we set a date.
My plan all along was to sell 24 seats. To have 24 founding members who wanted to set the tone for what this whole thing would be forever. Each person that signed up, I told them we didn’t have a start date for the 12 week intensive. Instead, we’d meet weekly for an open coaching session with the whole community and set the start for when it filled.
These past few months of calls have been filled with magic.
I’d love to share all the testimonials received, to play to the marketer in me, and to maybe even catch your interest in joining… But I won’t use social media to play games.
You’re here reading my words and I want to share the wisdoms I learn.
So, I’ll simply put that into the world.
Plans change.
Yesterday we made the decision to set a date. Our official launch is the week of Summer Solstice. June 24th to be exact.
When you set a date, you challenge the universe. You draw a line in the sand that is too hard to take back… And it makes a difference. In the last 24 hours, I’ve received more interest in the work we’re doing than I have in weeks.
It’s like people somehow know that it’s time.
We don’t have 24 members. I guess it makes sense, we’ve done zero traditional marketing. No social blitzes, no affiliate programs, no launch, nothing I would have pushed for in my past life as a human doing. I’ve just shared my story.
Those who want to experience radical presence and build a deep legacy keep being drawn into it… And I am honored.
We may not end up with our goal met, but the tension and power of setting a date have made my heart grow with passion. I am so excited to bring the frameworks and practices to these incredible humans, and to continue to share what little wisdoms I may have with you all.
Nostalgia…
MAY 28, 2025
I’ve been teaching my kids how to use AI.
I’m far from a super user, and all of my written posts are still free of it. I use this space to truly think through the art of writing. But I know the next generation needs to wield AI like the incredible weapon it is. I know they need to be opened up to its possibilities now, not when the rest of the world has surged ahead.
My eldest and I were deep in conversation about the ethics of using AI in school, and I popped open my “Eric Farewell GPT”, an LLM (large language model) I’ve loaded with my book, my blog posts, my podcast interviews, and more, (I built this to allow my team to write in my voice to manage the back end of my coaching and mastermind businesses. It offered a prompt “Draft a marketing email based on Eric Farewell’s voice”.
One click later and it created some genuinely excellent copy (I’ll share it unedited below). My LLM knows I learned copywriting from Gary Halbert and Jay Abraham. It knows the cadence of my sentence structures, and it knows how important the last 7 years have been to my development, especially learning a new basis for what success means to me.
Reading it, I was hit with deep nostalgia (which Google says is a “sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations”).
I don’t miss the hustle culture of internet marketing. I don’t miss the pressure of launch design, or the endless webinars, conferences, seminars, or happy hours… But there is a part of me that misses polishing my words. Split testing everything, and trying new formats that had never been tried before.
I loved creating copy, but loved editing it even more. It seems like a lifetime ago. I began my journey into marketing 26 years ago when I was just 13 years old. It was such a trial by fire, and demanded so much from me. I am deeply grateful for the experience, even the hardships.
So, if you enjoy reading my words… And you’d like to have them in your inbox in a new way, I’m leaning in and sharing things through a newsletter for the first time in almost two decades.
https://app.gohighlevel.com/.../mVcrXhrllRtsZJjftWcD...
(By the way, my rockstar assistant Maria made this website with my GPT… It’s not perfect, but it was zero effort for me, and absolutely good enough… SO freaking cool).
I’ve since taught the LLM the following prompt: “I'd like to add that never at any time should this GPT use an em dash — or emojis, Can you make that happen for me?” It acquiesced graciously of course.
I’d love to have you join me on the newsletter… And I’d love for your feedback on the one click marketing email it created below. If this post, or that one click letter it created speak to you, there may be something we should chat about soon. I’m here for it!
-Eric
P.S. If you still feel like I’ve left you hanging with how I’m teaching my kids AI, and the ethics of using it in school… I’ve followed a method I’ll credit to Geoff Woods for prompt creation. CRIT: Context, Role, Interview, Task. I share this knowledge with my children to help them understand the power of the tools.
The ethics are something that is an ongoing challenge for me. In a world where AI will power most of their lives, I still see the value in learning how to think through writing… And I want them to honor their commitment to follow their school’s values, one of which is that AI is not allowed until high school. Yet I recognize they need to know how to wield this tool as deftly as possible… So I share how I use it, and how I empower my teams to… Thus, this post 🙂
All AI From Here:
Hey [First Name],
I don’t know where this email finds you, but I imagine—if you’re anything like me—you’ve been feeling that subtle pull.
That whisper that says, “There’s more.”
More freedom. More alignment. More of your life lived on your terms.
I remember sitting in a quiet field once, the kind where the breeze has stories to tell if you’re willing to listen. I had just walked away from what most would consider a “secure path”—steady income, a clear roadmap, predictability. But it didn’t feel like mine.
That was the beginning of everything.
And here’s what I’ve learned since: the dream doesn’t chase you down. You build it, one bold decision at a time.
If you've been waiting for clarity, this is it.
If you’ve been stalling for permission, here it is.
If you’ve been holding back because of fear—know that courage is not the absence of fear. It’s action in spite of it.
I’m opening up space for a handful of committed people who are ready to stop dabbling and start living. Entrepreneurs, creatives, soul-driven leaders who are tired of waiting and ready to create.
This isn’t for everyone. It’s for the ones who feel the nudge and know it’s time.
[Link to offer / program / call to action]
Let’s walk this path with intention.
You bring the fire. I’ll bring the roadmap.
With gratitude and grit,
Eric
The Sound of Rain on a Metal Roof.
MAY 26, 2025
9:07 PM, Austin, TX.
It’s pouring. We’re under flash flood warnings and a tornado watch. My eyes are full of tears and yet I’m smiling with my whole soul.
Tonight, I miss our house in Florida. The metal roof our friend (and Aviator alumni) Jorge put on it was built well beyond the requirements of Florida codes. Designed to sustain 200mph+ winds, it doubled as an instrument every time it rained… And to be fair, it rained most days in Florida.
It’s raining hard here now, the thunderclaps rattle the windows. The air smells like my childhood, and the roof as an instrument is sorely missed.
Yet, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.
I find such meaning in missing; things, experiences, even people. Those who are gone from my life for a time, and especially, those who are gone forever.
I don’t know where I first heard the phrase “The only way to grow is through grief”, but I remember my body’s negative reaction to the concept. My revulsion to this truth.
In December of last year though, I was deep in a breathwork session at Front Row Dads Live. My friend Mike Miro Brcic was leading and I was unironically in the front row. I’ve done a lot of breathwork. I was even invited to become a practitioner by the incredible humans at Soma+iq last year (their course is worth its weight in gold btw). But this time was different.
I’ve gone deep, dark, heavy, and light. But this was the first time I’d experienced pure, unbridled bliss. As the 120 men in the room around me each went through their own experiences, silent, or crying, yelling, even screaming at the top of their lungs, I laughed.
Like the sound of rain on a metal roof, I laughed with all my soul.
I sat with all the joys I’ve had in my life, and got to be a true observer of my story.
Then I felt that same joy shatter.
I felt the depths of my grief. Of my sorrow, my regrets, my learnings, my failings, and my shame.
The friends and family members I have lost, the resentments, and rejections, the betrayals by those I have trusted the most.
In that void, I felt something new.
Some new knowledge that these feelings are so close together. The bliss, the abyss. They felt like sides of the same coin. One side, total joy, the other, complete misery.
In my breath, I decided to play with the coin. To be present with both sides duality. Suddenly, I was laughing again. One man in a sea of emotions shifting from sobbing to joy. Being present with all of me.
As I’ve written this, the thunder has passed. All of our warnings and threats have abated. I don’t miss our house in Florida, but I do miss the singing of the metal roof. Maybe we’ll find that again in our next home.
If you’re still reading this, thank you for being present with my heart. I am so grateful.
june 5, 2025
I’m The Old Man?!
Last week my friend Albert reached out. He had a new friend, a 20 something TikTok star that had specifically asked him to find “older men” for him to talk to.
He asked about my availability, and we settled on a date and time (today, 10:30AM) before I really let the request sink in. I’m only a couple of years older than Albert. Should I be offended? Honored?
I settled on “curious” instead.
We met at Mozart’s Coffee.
It’s on the lake, it’s beautiful, easy to access, and today I had the perfect parking spot, right next to the ramp leading to the baristas. It was humid, and warm, but with a gentle breeze moving through the canyon. I caught up with Albert briefly, then waited to meet this Gen Alpha “Uncle” who was looking for someone older who had answers to his questions.
The older I get, the more challenging it is for me to gauge the age of someone younger than I am. At first glance, he could have been 15, 25, or 30. The exuberance of youth contradicted the intelligence of his eyes and the firmness of his handshake. We greeted each other and found a seat under the sun shade on an outside deck.
Albert, ever the gentleman, thanked us both for making this happen and then our rising star asked his first question… “So, what do you think, are there aliens?”
It may sound like an odd question, but it arose from a series of jokes and when it broke free, I gave the answer my all.
It would take far more than this one article to detail it, but I’ve learned, when someone asks from a place of humor, sometimes it pays off to answer with heart (don’t worry, I answered some serious questions with humor as well, everything has duality).
The next ninety minutes, we were off:
“Can anyone leverage passion into success?” — “How do you put your personal mission into words” —- “I want to help my followers love themselves, but how?” —- “I feel a sense of responsibility to help people, what do you think the best path to that could be?”
I’ve been blessed and challenged by an incredibly diverse life. Grief, love, struggle, hustle, joy, loss, love, disgust, and bliss have been my compatriots for as long as I can remember. We talked about the necessity for each of us to learn tools to be present with our emotions. To truly feel the entirety of the spectrum, not just the anger we learned from the masculine leaders in our lives.
We spoke about relationships, bringing children into the world, and business success and failure. We chatted about the importance of mentors, guides, and coaches. We went deep.
Ninety minutes later, I realized Albert was right. My heart had no place to be offended. This “Unc” he introduced me to represented some of the most valuable gifts a human can have. That of time and a desire to grow.
He’s well spoken, thoughtful, and on the hunt to better not just his life, but those who follow him. I truly am honored to be the “old guy” these days.
JUNE 4, 2025
Those That Have & Those Who Hope.
I went to my first “business” conference when I was thirteen years old. Soon after, I found myself at The “Big Seminar” at the Marriott by the San Francisco airport. Armand Morin hosted what was the largest event I could even imagine. Hundreds of attendees, dozens of speakers. My Dad had invited me to join him and I’d readily agreed.
I wanted a different life, I wanted freedom. I wanted safety.
I listened to every speaker and took pages of notes on my yellow legal pads. Frank Kern spoke with a Southern drawl, and introduced the idea of selling ebooks on niche topics. John Reese teased what would eventually become Traffic Secrets, and Alex Mandossian shared a revolutionary idea… The Socratic marketing method.
Ask people what they want, make it, and sell it to them.
My senses were overwhelmed. The music, the lights, the bigger than real life personalities and perfect diction shared from stage was more than enough to make me shift my reality, my desires, and my beliefs in what was possible.
That event deeply changed my trajectory forever. Alex became my mentor (I followed him around like a puppy and practically begged to help him). He opened so many doors over the next years, I look back with a sense of awe and appreciation.
Today, I attended Giovanni Marsico’s Destiny Fest 2025 just five minutes from my home in Austin. I’ve changed a lot since I was 13. I no longer find being spoken at by gurus to be the most valuable use of my time, and yet I sat in the audience for hours listening to old friends from 20+ years ago, as well as new friends sharing their experiences in incredibly polished poise.
Having only an 18 minute slot really dials speakers in.
The heart of what I came away with though, was the speakers were in front of an audience split by one concept.
Those that have, and those who hope.
Many of my friends in the audience have all they need. They live lives of service, presence, and peace. They’ve climbed the first, and for many, even the second mountain. They observe the next mountain as a partner, rather than one to triumph over through strength, grit, or striving.
The others in the audience listened with baited breath as I once did 26 years ago. They’re hoping to find the answer to success, happiness, self love, and accomplishment. They were the target market for the pitches that came from the stage and the metric by which the event will feel like a success to the organizers if they’re converted.
I have no judgement for either camp. I am so deeply grateful to have experienced both sides of the experience… Or all three sides, if you count being a speaker at such events, working hard to sell my story to those who wanted it.
But the observation was palpable. How we show up to the world and each interaction deeply matters.
The deepest value for me today? Hallway conversations.
Conferences are incredible for those in need of hope. The hallways are magic for those who have it already.
I arrived 20 minutes early, as is my way.
It is always fun to see who is there, and who arrives, when. Beautiful conversations with FRD staff alum Sarah Pevehouse and her daughters reminded me I should bring my children to events such as these. To witness them with their own sensory overwhelm, their own new connection to thoughts, ideas, and possibility.
Seeing new and old friends who’ve felt like family from first contact like Garrain and Blair Jones, Preston and Alexi Panos- Smiles, Alex Pursglove, Jesse Elder, Ryan Deiss, Tamar Hermes, Joe Polish, Corey Boutwell, Brian Sanders, and so many others, reminded me just how important my family of choice is to me. When we moved our family of five here two years, fifteen days ago, I never could have imagined the breadth of community we would have today. The people we get to do life with are truly incredible.
All in all, I am grateful for all the invitations to this event and the invitation to reexamine parts of my life I’d long laid to the parts of memory rarely explored.
What is a part of your story you haven’t thought about in a long time that helped make you who you are?
june 3, 2025
The Power of Setting a Date.
Last year I accidentally became a coach.
I’d never set out to do it, never dreamed of it, never planned for it. One moment, I was sharing my (admittedly wild) life story on a friend’s podcast, the next I was coaching the host… Then the content dropped to the masses and seven beautiful people reached out to me. They wanted me to help them on their journeys.
Over the next 18 months, I built some beautiful relationships one on one… And one of my clients practically begged me to build a collective. A place where they could do the work in the presence of others doing the same.
I designed the whole thing in October.
Frameworks designed to help business owners experience the freedom I do today (the same tools I used to have a zero hour work week). Each one paired with somatic exercises and deep questions to challenge every founder to work through their traumas and habits. It was ready before Halloween.
In January, the client who’d asked me to launch this pushed again. She wasn’t taking no for an answer. She wanted this mastermind of fellow humans doing the same work!
Years ago, I’d have had it all prepped, ready, and pushed out. I wore striving like a second pair of shoes. I pushed myself for decades, and I hid from my feelings by working harder.
Striving in that way no longer serves me. It no longer entices me. I want to be. Plus, I am blessed to no longer have a need to hustle. Our life is afforded by the work I did over the past 26 years in business. I don’t have to push like I once did.
So, I put the onus on her.
“If you want it so much, why don’t you build it and I’ll partner with you?”
The next thing I knew, we had a website, a funnel, webinars, even a newsletter. We had a steady stream of people who professed an interest in this crazy thing called “Somatic Business Coaching” but most surprisingly? We had members joining from day one.
People I deeply respected from different parts of my life. Men and women, ready to shift their relationships with money, success, legacy, and the parts of themselves that had control for decades without their consent.
That was February.
Yesterday, we set a date.
My plan all along was to sell 24 seats. To have 24 founding members who wanted to set the tone for what this whole thing would be forever. Each person that signed up, I told them we didn’t have a start date for the 12 week intensive. Instead, we’d meet weekly for an open coaching session with the whole community and set the start for when it filled.
These past few months of calls have been filled with magic.
I’d love to share all the testimonials received, to play to the marketer in me, and to maybe even catch your interest in joining… But I won’t use social media to play games.
You’re here reading my words and I want to share the wisdoms I learn.
So, I’ll simply put that into the world.
Plans change.
Yesterday we made the decision to set a date. Our official launch is the week of Summer Solstice. June 24th to be exact.
When you set a date, you challenge the universe. You draw a line in the sand that is too hard to take back… And it makes a difference. In the last 24 hours, I’ve received more interest in the work we’re doing than I have in weeks.
It’s like people somehow know that it’s time.
We don’t have 24 members. I guess it makes sense, we’ve done zero traditional marketing. No social blitzes, no affiliate programs, no launch, nothing I would have pushed for in my past life as a human doing. I’ve just shared my story.
Those who want to experience radical presence and build a deep legacy keep being drawn into it… And I am honored.
We may not end up with our goal met, but the tension and power of setting a date have made my heart grow with passion. I am so excited to bring the frameworks and practices to these incredible humans, and to continue to share what little wisdoms I may have with you all.
MAY 28, 2025
Nostalgia…
I’ve been teaching my kids how to use AI.
I’m far from a super user, and all of my written posts are still free of it. I use this space to truly think through the art of writing. But I know the next generation needs to wield AI like the incredible weapon it is. I know they need to be opened up to its possibilities now, not when the rest of the world has surged ahead.
My eldest and I were deep in conversation about the ethics of using AI in school, and I popped open my “Eric Farewell GPT”, an LLM (large language model) I’ve loaded with my book, my blog posts, my podcast interviews, and more, (I built this to allow my team to write in my voice to manage the back end of my coaching and mastermind businesses. It offered a prompt “Draft a marketing email based on Eric Farewell’s voice”.
One click later and it created some genuinely excellent copy (I’ll share it unedited below). My LLM knows I learned copywriting from Gary Halbert and Jay Abraham. It knows the cadence of my sentence structures, and it knows how important the last 7 years have been to my development, especially learning a new basis for what success means to me.
Reading it, I was hit with deep nostalgia (which Google says is a “sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations”).
I don’t miss the hustle culture of internet marketing. I don’t miss the pressure of launch design, or the endless webinars, conferences, seminars, or happy hours… But there is a part of me that misses polishing my words. Split testing everything, and trying new formats that had never been tried before.
I loved creating copy, but loved editing it even more. It seems like a lifetime ago. I began my journey into marketing 26 years ago when I was just 13 years old. It was such a trial by fire, and demanded so much from me. I am deeply grateful for the experience, even the hardships.
So, if you enjoy reading my words… And you’d like to have them in your inbox in a new way, I’m leaning in and sharing things through a newsletter for the first time in almost two decades.
https://app.gohighlevel.com/.../mVcrXhrllRtsZJjftWcD...
(By the way, my rockstar assistant Maria made this website with my GPT… It’s not perfect, but it was zero effort for me, and absolutely good enough… SO freaking cool).
I’ve since taught the LLM the following prompt: “I'd like to add that never at any time should this GPT use an em dash — or emojis, Can you make that happen for me?” It acquiesced graciously of course.
I’d love to have you join me on the newsletter… And I’d love for your feedback on the one click marketing email it created below. If this post, or that one click letter it created speak to you, there may be something we should chat about soon. I’m here for it!
-Eric
P.S. If you still feel like I’ve left you hanging with how I’m teaching my kids AI, and the ethics of using it in school… I’ve followed a method I’ll credit to Geoff Woods for prompt creation. CRIT: Context, Role, Interview, Task. I share this knowledge with my children to help them understand the power of the tools.
The ethics are something that is an ongoing challenge for me. In a world where AI will power most of their lives, I still see the value in learning how to think through writing… And I want them to honor their commitment to follow their school’s values, one of which is that AI is not allowed until high school. Yet I recognize they need to know how to wield this tool as deftly as possible… So I share how I use it, and how I empower my teams to… Thus, this post 🙂
All AI From Here:
Hey [First Name],
I don’t know where this email finds you, but I imagine—if you’re anything like me—you’ve been feeling that subtle pull.
That whisper that says, “There’s more.”
More freedom. More alignment. More of your life lived on your terms.
I remember sitting in a quiet field once, the kind where the breeze has stories to tell if you’re willing to listen. I had just walked away from what most would consider a “secure path”—steady income, a clear roadmap, predictability. But it didn’t feel like mine.
That was the beginning of everything.
And here’s what I’ve learned since: the dream doesn’t chase you down. You build it, one bold decision at a time.
If you've been waiting for clarity, this is it.
If you’ve been stalling for permission, here it is.
If you’ve been holding back because of fear—know that courage is not the absence of fear. It’s action in spite of it.
I’m opening up space for a handful of committed people who are ready to stop dabbling and start living. Entrepreneurs, creatives, soul-driven leaders who are tired of waiting and ready to create.
This isn’t for everyone. It’s for the ones who feel the nudge and know it’s time.
[Link to offer / program / call to action]
Let’s walk this path with intention.
You bring the fire. I’ll bring the roadmap.
With gratitude and grit,
Eric
MAY 26, 2025
The Sound of Rain on a Metal Roof.
9:07 PM, Austin, TX.
It’s pouring. We’re under flash flood warnings and a tornado watch. My eyes are full of tears and yet I’m smiling with my whole soul.
Tonight, I miss our house in Florida. The metal roof our friend (and Aviator alumni) Jorge put on it was built well beyond the requirements of Florida codes. Designed to sustain 200mph+ winds, it doubled as an instrument every time it rained… And to be fair, it rained most days in Florida.
It’s raining hard here now, the thunderclaps rattle the windows. The air smells like my childhood, and the roof as an instrument is sorely missed.
Yet, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.
I find such meaning in missing; things, experiences, even people. Those who are gone from my life for a time, and especially, those who are gone forever.
I don’t know where I first heard the phrase “The only way to grow is through grief”, but I remember my body’s negative reaction to the concept. My revulsion to this truth.
In December of last year though, I was deep in a breathwork session at Front Row Dads Live. My friend Mike Miro Brcic was leading and I was unironically in the front row. I’ve done a lot of breathwork. I was even invited to become a practitioner by the incredible humans at Soma+iq last year (their course is worth its weight in gold btw). But this time was different.
I’ve gone deep, dark, heavy, and light. But this was the first time I’d experienced pure, unbridled bliss. As the 120 men in the room around me each went through their own experiences, silent, or crying, yelling, even screaming at the top of their lungs, I laughed.
Like the sound of rain on a metal roof, I laughed with all my soul.
I sat with all the joys I’ve had in my life, and got to be a true observer of my story.
Then I felt that same joy shatter.
I felt the depths of my grief. Of my sorrow, my regrets, my learnings, my failings, and my shame.
The friends and family members I have lost, the resentments, and rejections, the betrayals by those I have trusted the most.
In that void, I felt something new.
Some new knowledge that these feelings are so close together. The bliss, the abyss. They felt like sides of the same coin. One side, total joy, the other, complete misery.
In my breath, I decided to play with the coin. To be present with both sides duality. Suddenly, I was laughing again. One man in a sea of emotions shifting from sobbing to joy. Being present with all of me.
As I’ve written this, the thunder has passed. All of our warnings and threats have abated. I don’t miss our house in Florida, but I do miss the singing of the metal roof. Maybe we’ll find that again in our next home.
If you’re still reading this, thank you for being present with my heart. I am so grateful.
MAY 25, 2025
Permission for Feedback?
Today, August and I had our “family board meeting”. Each quarter we give each child an opportunity to plan something special one on one with Nelle or myself. We take turns, they choose an adventure, and a restaurant that speaks to their soul.
Today’s adventure?
Go Kart racing… Again.
I’m not disappointed. I love to race. It is so deeply meditative. When you strap into a cart, car, plane, or cycle, and commit to running faster, passing others, and bettering yourself, there is nothing else you can allow your brain to do. You are truly, and deeply present.
This is our third carting board meeting. Just the two of us, no technology (aside from my phone in airplane mode acting as a camera), deep conversations, and engagement. We’ve been holding family board meetings for a few years now. Each time, they open a deeper window into our children’s souls (and ours, for them).
Our drive to the track started with my own admission; “last night I had a dream about how I was showing up for you”, I started. “In my own childhood, my parents seemed to be always busy, in my dream last night, I felt like I was acting the same way to you all week” I admitted.
Nelle spent the last two weeks out of town and I’d pushed nearly all my meetings to this week when she could be present with our kids and animals. It resulted in me catching up with so many epic humans I’ve felt not nearly as connected at home as I want to… Enough so, it’s apparently even entering my dreams.
“I’ve felt like you have been as present, at least as present as you could be, I don’t remember what I dreamed about last night though”.
Appeased by his response; and especially his humor, I allowed my former racing coach self to come to the surface. “August, this is our third trip with you as a cart driver. Would you like my feedback on your racing line and such?”
“Nope, I think I’ve got it”.
Boom. My input was not welcome. I was not about to break that boundary… And I knew it might change later.
Two trips ago, I lapped him twice in one seven lap race. Today, he kept me behind him with incredible skill until lap four. On cold tires, I threw every trick I knew at him. Late breaking, pulling in tight on apexes, pushing him to the inside (and the outside), for the first time he reacted with surgical precision to each challenge.
It was only when my heavier body was able to warm the tires enough to gain purchase on a double apex corner, I made it past.
We finished the race, high-fived, and laughed wholeheartedly, while sweating from our brows and rubbing our aching shoulders. Soon, he asked me where he could go faster.
Permission given, I didn’t even consider attacking his racing line, his braking choices, or where he got trepidatious on the throttle. First I celebrated his development. He had me beat for over half the race! Then, instead of coaching him with advice, I shared how my experience shaped how I look at tracks differently. How I work to maximize the energy of every turn. Where braking helps, and where it hinders. Where I can step outside my fears to go flat out through sweeping turns, and where briefly front loading the suspension gave me an edge on turn entries.
Our next race brought an incredible level of confidence to his soul. Up against a full paddock, neither of us performed as admirably as we had in the first race, but now we raced ourselves, our own lap times, more than any other individual.
We finished our time on the racetrack and had conversations about things I’d never learned to meet head on from my own upbringing. Relationships, sex, drugs, friendships, college, dreams. We had incredible Veracruz tacos with cold brew coffee and worked to calculate how many hours a week he’d have to work as an employee to meet his goals, vs. how many if he were a business owner with a solid offering.
I’m ready to go back to the race track.
But most of all, I am grateful to honor my children’s boundaries and pour into them when invited.
Whatever the journey, there are always opportunities for deeper vulnerability, more honored boundaries, and more curiosity.
My life has had a lot of chapters. Many, I’ve never written about.
I am so grateful to share this one with you today.
What edge of discomfort are you pushing in your own growth?
DATE
You're Doing it Wrong
You’re Doing it Wrong.
High achievers journal.
We write our thoughts, we process challenges, we get present with our words. Every morning routine book talks about it. Every guru tells us the power of it. Podcasts constantly extoll the virtues of taking the time to collect your thoughts on paper.
I believe you’ve been doing it all wrong.
Most of my life, I’ve been told that keeping a journal is to help process the bad things. To remember the hardships, and to grow.
What if that’s the wrong recipe?
I grew up in a French kitchen. My Great-Grandmother founded a restaurant in her home in 1931. The great depression was in full effect and she’d lost her husband to pneumonia two years before. She had two kids to raise and little choice. Over the next 83 years, that restaurant would win awards aplenty, grow into a bed and breakfast with 30 guest rooms, and in 1986 it became my birthplace.
By the age of seven, I was on a mission to buy my first airplane. The first step? To work for my Grandparents doing whatever they would let me. I led tours around the property (it’s on the National Registry of Historic Places), shined shoes, acted as a bell hop, and my favorite? I did mis en place for hundreds of diners. Snapping peas, sectioning grapefruit, prepping salads, wiping dishes at the pass through. Whatever needed to be done. It was there I learned my deep love for cooking, for serving others, and for food.
A couple of years ago, my friend Preston Smiles was sharing his wisdom with a room I was in. What he said went completely against the grain of everything I’d ever heard about journaling. “When your life is going right, THAT is when you should journal”. He urged everyone to take stock of the moments when everything felt in flow, when life was working. To honor what had brought you to a place of joy, of success, love, or belonging.
When he said those words, the nostalgia hit me like a ton of bricks. I remembered being eleven years old. My Grandfather had passed away that September. He was an incredible Chef.
That Thanksgiving I watched as my Uncle and Mother stared deeply into the kitchen refractometer, trying to perfectly replicate the salinity and fat content of our best thanksgiving gravy. My Grandfather had accomplished his version of perfection some years before and written all the data down. The perfect recipe, not just the contents, but the chemistry. If it had been available to him I’m sure he would have saved the molecular makeup…
But this was years before Top Chef and molecular gastronomy took the main stage (Richard Blaise and the Voltaggio brothers are still my heroes for that work) </foodnerdsubrant>.
I’d been a witness to a family heritage of writing down what created perfection, but I’d never had a mentor, friend, or coach guide me to following the same process in any area but the kitchen.
When things are going well, write the recipe!
When things are perfect, honor it by writing every known element so you have the keys to getting back to that perfection.
Living is Reliving.
When we take the time to write down our memories and experiences, there is deep value in the process. It helps us own our thoughts, helps us truly process. But when we take the time to relive those moments, to sit with the details we’ve forgotten, we get another appreciation for the life we have had. Writing out our recipes for perfection is such an obvious move, and one I’d never even considered outside of the kitchen.
What recipes for life have you written? What wisdom can you share?
Choose Your Path
I want to meet you where you are. Explore ways
to go deeper, and let’s transform your life.
Have you ever felt like...
You’ve built something impressive,
but it’s quietly burning you out
You’re successful by the world’s
standards, but inside, something feels off
You’re leading others, but feel
disconnected from yourself
You’re in motion, but unsure if it’s
the right direction
You’ve lost sight of your own voice
somewhere in the building
Your relationships are suffering—not from
a lack of love, but from a lack of presence
You’re putting in more than you’re getting
back—and not just in money, but in meaning
You’ve reached the point where
pushing harder isn’t the answer
You crave clarity, alignment,
and a way of living that feels true
There’s Something Missing,
But You Aren’t Sure What?.
Choose Your
Path
I want to meet you
where you are.
Explore ways to
go deeper, and
let’s transform your life.
Have you ever felt like...
You’ve built something impressive, but it’s quietly burning you out
You’re successful by the world’s standards, but inside, something feels off
You’re leading others, but feel disconnected from yourself
You’re in motion, but unsure if it’s the right direction
You’ve lost sight of your own voice somewhere in the building
Your relationships are suffering—not from a lack of love, but from a lack of presence
You’re putting in more than you’re getting back—and not just in money, but in meaning
You’ve reached the point where pushing harder isn’t the answer
You crave clarity, alignment, and a way of living that feels true
There’s Something Missing, But You Aren’t Sure What?
Meet Your Mentor:
Eric Farewell is a coach, author, and entrepreneur whose life has been
defined not just by what he’s built, but by what he’s rebuilt.
Born into a family of entrepreneurs, chefs, and pilots, just steps from a runway. Eric’s path began early with big visions and relentless drive. By age 13, he’d launched his first aviation business, and before 20, was speaking at internet marketing conferences nationwide. But behind the success was a deeper story, one of pushing too hard, losing alignment, and nearly losing himself.
A twice broken back, the death of his brother, and the near collapse of his marriage forced Eric to question what really mattered. That reckoning became a turning point. Through deep inner work, somatic healing, and a recommitment to presence over performance, Eric reshaped his life from the inside out.
Today, he’s the owner of multiple thriving companies, including Aviator Paramotor and National STOL, but his deeper mission is in guiding entrepreneurs and leaders to build lives and businesses that are fully aligned with who they are. Through somatic business coaching and mission-aligned consulting, Eric helps clients navigate personal reinvention, relational healing, and sustainable growth.
He is the author of Farewell to Normal, a father of three, and a mentor to those ready to build legacies that don’t just look good on paper, but feel right in the soul.
Meet Your Mentor:
Eric Farewell is a coach, author, and entrepreneur whose life has been defined not just by what he’s built, but by what
he’s rebuilt.
Born into a family of entrepreneurs, chefs, and pilots, just steps from a runway. Eric’s path began early with big visions and relentless drive. By age 13, he’d launched his first aviation business, and before 20, was speaking at internet marketing conferences nationwide. But behind the success was a deeper story, one of pushing too hard, losing alignment, and nearly losing himself.
A twice broken back, the death of his brother, and the near collapse of his marriage forced Eric to question what really mattered. That reckoning became a turning point. Through deep inner work, somatic healing, and a recommitment to presence over performance, Eric reshaped his life from the inside out.
Today, he’s the owner of multiple thriving companies, including Aviator Paramotor and National STOL, but his deeper mission is in guiding entrepreneurs and leaders to build lives and businesses that are fully aligned with who they are. Through somatic business coaching and mission-aligned consulting, Eric helps clients navigate personal reinvention, relational healing, and sustainable growth.
He is the author of Farewell to Normal, a father of three, and a mentor to those ready to build legacies that don’t just look good on paper, but feel right in the soul.
Transformation Stories:
Real People, Real Growth.
Aggie
Beauty Brand Advisor and Strategist
Scaling With Soul
Absolute game-changer for my business! In just four months, he helped me scale my business while cutting down my hours, giving me the freedom I desperately needed. Eric is not only a strategic genius—he’s also your biggest cheerleader, genuinely invested in your success, combines mindset shifts with real, actionable strategies to help you build a business that works for you, not the other way around. If you’re ready to scale, streamline, and step into your full potential, Eric is the coach you need!
Dez
Investor
Million Dollar Phone Call
Eric helped me figure out that thriving in business and family life can happen at the same time. This week, I received two calls worth over $1.2 million dollars—all while focusing on my kids. But the bigger win was realizing that my relationships with my kids have deepened. I’m not just building wealth, I’m building a legacy of connection and love that I didn’t know was possible.
Arriana Arcuna
CEO and Founder
"What this group has done for me over the last month is more than just allowing me to be seen as a business owner and entrepreneur — it’s made me feel like I truly have a cohort of people who know, like, and trust me… and I trust them right back.
This investment has absolutely transformed my life tenfold. If I had the opportunity to invest again — over and over — I would do it in a heartbeat."
Cassie
Coach
Business grew 53% in 3 months, but I grew 153% as a person…
Since working with Eric, my income has more than doubled in 90 days. But the real transformation was how I started showing up for myself—with clarity, confidence, and alignment. My relationships with my partner and my family have completely shifted. I feel present, connected, and fully alive for the first time in years. Eric helped me create not just a business that works, but a life that thrives.
Chris
I have not felt this excited about anything to do with business, money, or work in my life for a very, very long time.
I went from, 'I'm done, I'm out,' to having a direction, a path, and an energy I've never had before about building another business."
"If you were to ask me if I would do it all over again, I would pay three times what I paid to get this experience.
Brad
CEO
"Without even having started the coaching, I can already tell it's going to be transformational—emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and financially. It’s going to pay dividends for me."
Transformation Stories:
Real People, Real Growth.
Aggie
Beauty Brand Advisor and Strategist
Scaling With Soul
Absolute game-changer for my business! In just four months, he helped me scale my business while cutting down my hours, giving me the freedom I desperately needed. Eric is not only a strategic genius—he’s also your biggest cheerleader, genuinely invested in your success, combines mindset shifts with real, actionable strategies to help you build a business that works for you, not the other way around. If you’re ready to scale, streamline, and step into your full potential, Eric is the coach you need!
Dez
Investor
Million Dollar Phone Call
Eric helped me figure out that thriving in business and family life can happen at the same time. This week, I received two calls worth over $1.2 million dollars—all while focusing on my kids. But the bigger win was realizing that my relationships with my kids have deepened. I’m not just building wealth, I’m building a legacy of connection and love that I didn’t know was possible.
Arriana Arcuna
CEO and Founder
"What this group has done for me over the last month is more than just allowing me to be seen as a business owner and entrepreneur — it’s made me feel like I truly have a cohort of people who know, like, and trust me… and I trust them right back.
This investment has absolutely transformed my life tenfold. If I had the opportunity to invest again — over and over — I would do it in a heartbeat."
Cassie
Coach
Business grew 53% in 3 months, but I grew 153% as a person…
Since working with Eric, my income has more than doubled in 90 days. But the real transformation was how I started showing up for myself—with clarity, confidence, and alignment. My relationships with my partner and my family have completely shifted. I feel present, connected, and fully alive for the first time in years. Eric helped me create not just a business that works, but a life that thrives.
Chris
I have not felt this excited about anything to do with business, money, or work in my life for a very, very long time.
I went from, 'I'm done, I'm out,' to having a direction, a path, and an energy I've never had before about building another business."
"If you were to ask me if I would do it all over again, I would pay three times what I paid to get this experience.
Brad
CEO
"Without even having started the coaching, I can already tell it's going to be transformational—emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and financially. It’s going to pay dividends for me."
Offerings:
How We Can Work Together
Monthly One-on-One Coaching
Expand every possibility for your life with these intimate 90-minute private sessions with Eric Farewell (once per month)..
In Person
Ceremony
Go to the deepest parts of your soul with Eric in a once in a lifetime 6-hour in-person experience at the Farewell family estate in Austin, TX.
Access to 3-day in-person retreat
Get VIP access to one of Eric's Royals retreats (Spring/Fall) where you'll rediscover your truest purpose, and awaken the Royal in your soul.
Access to 12-week mastermind
Get VIP access to one of Eric's Royals Mastermind 12-week accelerators to become the leader you're meant to be, and tap into your legacy and mission deeper than ever before (in community with others doing the same).
Private Text
Access to Eric
Get direct access to Eric Farewell via text to communicate throughout your 1-on-1 relationship.
Unlimited access to Royals Mastermind collective
Get access to Eric's global community of Founders from all walks of life; this includes monthly coaching from our Royals Mastermind coaches.
25% off all Royals Mastermind offers
Get exclusive discounts for all things Eric Farewell and Royals Mastermind throughout your 1-on-1 client relationship.
Why This Work Matters
You Can Build a Business That Works and a Life That Feels True
Most people never question the pace they’re running or the path they’re on; until something breaks. I work with those who are willing to pause, reflect, and create from alignment.
This isn’t performance coaching. It’s presence coaching. Strategy paired with soul. Practical support rooted in real transformation.
If you're exhausted from doing it the hard way, you're in the right place.
It’s time to create results that actually feel good on the inside.
Live from clarity, not pressure
Build businesses that serve you, not the other way around
Reconnect to your spouse, your kids, your people, and show up fully present
Heal the patterns that keep you from intimacy and real friendship
Lead without the mask, and love the parts of yourself you’ve hidden
Grow your income without losing your health, your marriage, or your joy
Let go of what no longer fits, and finally move forward with conviction
You don’t have to choose between success and peace.
You can build a life that holds both.
Let’s talk about where you are and what’s calling you forward.
Why This Work Matters
You Can Build a Business That Works and a Life That Feels True
Most people never question the pace they’re running or the path they’re on; until something breaks. I work with those who are willing to pause, reflect, and create from alignment.
This isn’t performance coaching. It’s presence coaching. Strategy paired with soul. Practical support rooted in real transformation.
If you're exhausted from doing it the hard way, you're in the right place.
It’s time to create results that actually feel good on the inside.
Live from clarity, not pressure
Build businesses that serve you, not the other way around
Reconnect to your spouse, your kids, your people, and show up fully present
Heal the patterns that keep you from intimacy and real friendship
Lead without the mask, and love the parts of yourself you’ve hidden
Grow your income without losing your health, your marriage, or your joy
Let go of what no longer fits, and finally move forward with conviction
You don’t have to choose between success and peace.
You can build a life that holds both.
Let’s talk about where you are and what’s calling you forward.
Why This Work Matters
You Can Build a Business That Works and a Life That Feels True
Most people never question the pace they’re running or the path they’re on; until something breaks. I work with those who are willing to pause, reflect, and create from alignment.
This isn’t performance coaching. It’s presence coaching. Strategy paired with soul. Practical support rooted in real transformation.
If you're exhausted from doing it the hard way, you're in the right place.
It’s time to create results that actually feel good on the inside.
Live from clarity, not pressure
Build businesses that serve you, not the other way around
Reconnect to your spouse, your kids, your people, and show up fully present
Heal the patterns that keep you from intimacy and real friendship
Lead without the mask, and love the parts of yourself you’ve hidden
Grow your income without losing your health, your marriage, or your joy
Let go of what no longer fits, and finally move forward with conviction
You don’t have to choose between success and peace.
You can build a life that holds both.
Let’s talk about where you are and what’s calling you forward.
451 S. Airport Road, Lake Wales TX 78746
(863) 455-6452
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