Getting Started

Kicking off the Newsletter with some things to know

Hey everyone, thanks for taking a minute to check out my newsletter. Being that we’re just getting started here I wanted to give you a quick insight into what I’m all about and what I hope to accomplish with upcoming editions.

What I’m personally focused on

• Being a role model for my kids (4 of them) and a great husband for my wife

• Turning 40 in 2023 and want to do so with more wisdom, health, and strength than I had at 30

• Helping others discover their own energy, well-being, and success, and what personally fuels them

What do I want to do here?

Help people understand that in order to be there for others, you have to take care of yourself first by building a strong foundation in not just your body, but in your mind and spirit - putting on your oxygen mask so you can help others put on theirs. How do we do that consistently though? That’s what I’m trying to figure out through lived experience and learning from others who have figured out what works for them. I’ll share what I learn here.

Who and what has inspired me?

I wanted to give you some insight into who and what I’ve been interested in and learning from. This list is not exhaustive, but definitely foundational for me personally. I’ll definitely share more as well.

Rich Roll and his book Finding Ultra and the Rich Roll Podcast have introduced me to so many ideas, practices, and people. Definitely too many to go deep on in this post, but I’ll pull back the layers more as we go. The biggest concepts I was introduced to, and ultimately adopted myself, are a predominantly plant-based diet (a little fish, occasionally) and the removal of alcohol from my life (still have some NA beers that come in at 0.5% ABV, but lean more on 0.0s). Rich calls Gordo Byrn his “mentor from afar” and I would say that Rich is unequivocally that person for me.

Stoicism starting with a book called The Socrates Express by Eric Weiner and jumping into Ryan Holiday’s The Daily Stoic and other books, I have made Philosophy a part of my life at work and at home - even if my 12 yo thinks my stoic lessons are lame.

Michael Gervais and his Finding Mastery Podcast has introduced me to a different way of being, of appreciating the present moment, and how to actually connect with other people through conversations. His guests are the elite of sport and performance, but he approaches them in a way that helps the listener (me) know them as if we were at dinner together. He has me connected to everything from Andrew Huberman’s podcast to the Bhagavad Gita, and I’m always learning about something new I want to try to apply to my own life or approach with others from him.

Andy Puddicombe and his Headspace App taught me how to meditate, and I’ve been working on my daily meditation practice now for over two years (Sept 4 marked year two), with only a few days missed for the birth of our youngest daughter - I guess it’s frowned upon, by my wife at least, to meditate in a hospital room with a newborn in it...

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Thank you for reading this first edition,

Paul

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What I’m fueling with right now

This is going to be a regular closing section where I give some insights into what I’m reading, listening to, eating, and where I’m spending my time. My performance coach Fiona once told me “you don’t put junk gas into a Ferrari,” and while I have some work to do to get to Ferrari status... I understand that what you “consume” dictates the level of energy you put into the world.

• Food: Vegan Black Beans and Rice in the Instant Pot (recipe)

• Podcast: Rich Roll interviewing Chris McDougal, the author of Born to Run

• Audiobook: The Bhagavad Gita (slowly moving through this one)

• Practice: Hot/Cold protocol at the gym! More to come on this, but I’m playing around with 10 min sauna, 2 min cold shower, repeated 3x total. Inspired by Huberman’s personal workout protocol

• In-Person: I’ve been enjoying some great 1:1s with people, both in-person here at home and virtually at work that have been super fulfilling and a good reminder to get out from behind my wfh (standing) desk

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