Last updated: September 22, 2024
I started the month of July by closing a relationship.
I don’t talk much about my private life online, but this one hurt. I wrote about it, privately, for myself and my learnings. I won’t share that. But I will share what Brianna Wiest says in her poetry book Salt Water:
If there’s anything I wish we could talk more about it’s the in-between stages of letting someone go. Because nobody lets go in an instant. You let go once. And then you let go again. And then again and again and again. You let someone go at the grocery store when their favorite type of soup is on sale and you don’t buy it. You let them go again when you’re cleaning your bathroom and have to throw out the bottle of the body wash that smells like them… Sometimes you’re going to have to let one person go a thousand different times, a thousand different ways, and there’s nothing pathetic or abnormal about that.
Letting go is tough. So I traveled to distract myself. And to see friends.
Goa, India
I was blessed to be staying in the coastal state of Goa, India with my long-time friend Akshay Mahajan. He’s a photographer and curator. We’ve known each other for almost 20 years.
It was comforting as I seeked closure to spend time with him and his wife in their beautiful new home in a rural Goan town.
I wasn’t sleeping well so I’d wake up early in the morning to go for walks around their village. One morning I happened to see a group of otters hunting for fish in the lake. It was a rare sight. Perhaps good luck for the future.
Mumbai, India
A few days later I flew to Mumbai with my Indian brother, Kaushal Karkhanis. Kaushal was the first person I ever met when I briefly moved to India after college. He feels like family. I stayed at his home in Dadar and we spent most of the time 1-on-1 catching up on our lives.
Some other memories:
- Daily morning walks to Shivaji Park for workouts at the open gym.
- Morning chai became a cherished ritual.
- I was overwhelmed by the heat and humidity but captivated by the city’s energy.
- Videos I filmed gained over 5,000,000 views and I gained many thousands of new Indian fans and followers on Instagram.
- A wild adventure with Vishal Gondal and his son Aaryan Gondal along Marine Drive for India’s cricket world cup celebratory parade.
See more photos and tips and tricks for Mumbai, India in my upcoming travel article.
Eventually I was ready to go home. I booked my flight for the next day, packed up, and left India hoping to be back soon.
India Videos
These are some of the viral videos I made in India. Several of them got over 1,000,000 views each which felt nice.
Click the videos to watch them on Instagram where I had the most engagement. If you prefer YouTube links, try these:
- Best Breakfast in Mumbai India
- Chai in Mumbai, India
- Trying Maharashtrian food in Mumbai, India
- Piri piri fries in McDonald’s Mumbai
- How to ride a train in Mumbai, India
- Holy Cow
Draper University
I landed in San Francisco and immediately went to Draper University. I have a good relationship with the administrative team there, including Suffiyan Malik, and they invite me to speak once or twice a year.
I gave a talk on teaching students how to host events to build their network and business, and how to do it for networking in an authentic way. I got to test a few new small group modules as well in my ever-improving quest to be an excellent speaker.
Hire me to come speak at your company or event! Plus see here if you’re in EO.
Austin, Texas
After my talk I flew home to Austin and my mother came to visit me, which is always nice. She spent a few days in town. It was a treat to be with her, take her to restaurants, and do some chores together. One of my favorite memories was laying out and reading at the pool of her hotel together.
Other notable memories:
- Random coffee with Jess Barber
- David’s “No Seed Oils” house party
- Baron’s Book Reading
- Podcast studio recording with Neville
I went on a walk with The Board Walks and met Garrett and Seneca. I wrote about their story.
I met and interviewed Drea while I was in Austin, too.
IP2 Conference by Andrew Wilkinson
Then it was time to fly to Victoria, Canada to visit my friend Andrew Wilkinson.
Andrew hosts a conference called Interesting People, and this was his 2nd time doing it… so the event was called IP2. Andrew hired Monica Lim to run the conference, and they both invited me to be the Master of Ceremonies.
On the way, I had a layover in Seattle. There I had coffee with my friend Derek Del Conte and one of his very smart friends who is also an investor in a company I like. We talked about stocks and investing.
One of the highlights of this travel was flying a seaplane from Seattle to Victoria. I asked if I could sit in the cockpit with the pilot, and they said yes. That was so cool to do takeoff and landing and watch the views.
The IP2 conference in Victoria was action-packed, busy, and stressful. But it was also amazing. I don’t take a lot of conference jobs, but this was helping a friend out in a special situation where I could lead the show and use my own judgment to modify the schedule. Plus I got to see my friends Steph Smith, Ayman Al-Abdullah, Patrick Campbell, Greg Isenberg, and more.
I have to give another shout-out to Monica. I worked closely with her on the agenda and some elements of the conference. She did all of the work behind the scenes with her team so I was able to show up and run the microphone from the stage.
A few of my favorite memories:
- Going to Andrew’s fancy office the day before the conference to have a planning meeting with him. His new book Never Enough is out and I genuinely recommend it.
- Leading the pre-conference happy hour the day before the conference. I was on my toes and tried my best to connect the room in preparation for a successful event.
- Sauna at the hotel a few times with friends and attendees.
- The last day of the conference. I rebooted the schedule in real-time to better serve the audience with speakers, introductions, and small group activities. I truly felt like I was in my zone of genius to work with the team and all of the attendees… and then we had oysters and dinner at Andrew’s house to finish the night.
- Quality time with Shaan Puri on the flight home.
Los Angeles
From the conference I flew to Los Angeles, California to see some friends. I wrote about Mallory and had dinner with her. Jonathan and his beautiful, intelligent wife Rachel hosted me at their home in West Hollywood. I also got to see my friends Caitlin, Kendall, and Lucy.
Jonathan and I attend an inspiring church service.
I spent two additional days poking around Santa Monica and Venice. I have to admit it was pretty nice. I can see why people live out there. Waking up in the morning and going to walk along the beach was beautiful. The weather was also quite nice.
From there I flew to Denver to start a family reunion. I’ll talk about that in my August recap next month.
Conclusion
So much travel again! From Goa, to Mumbai, to San Francisco, then Austin, Seattle, Victoria, Los Angeles, and Denver. All in a month.
Key takeaways:
- I’ve been traveling too much. It’s wearing on me. My health and sleep have suffered and I miss feeling strong at the gym.
- I loved being involved with Andrew’s IP2 event.
- Shaan Puri is very smart.
- An unlimited oyster bar is truly the life of luxury.
Lessons learned:
- Schedule “luxury days” of zero activity during intense or long trips to recharge and catch up on work and content.
- Direct flights are worth it, even in economy.
- I enjoy Master of Ceremony work and conference management.
- I’m starting to appreciate Los Angeles more.
For August, I’ll be prioritizing rest, routine, and reflection. See you then.
I’m still testing out these public monthly recaps. See other entries from past months here.