How many years does it take to record one podcast?

Apparently three.

Episode 264 is here, and I'll be honest, I wasn't sure this day was going to come. I've been talking about getting back behind the mic for the better part of a year. My team can confirm that. But today I just hit record, and here we are.

I started Clarity Compressed in February 2018 as a content series built around a book that genuinely changed how I thought about business. What started as something I made for my 150-dealer client base turned into 263 weekly episodes, guests I had no business landing, and a show I recorded week after week without ever committing to more than the next one.

Then I recorded episode 263, signed off, and didn't come back for three years.

A lot happened in those three years. ASOTU became the More Than Cars movement. My creative agency congruent got merged into More Than Cars Creative. My son went from 16 to 19 and is now taller than me. More gray in the beard. More wins, more lessons, same energy.

The thing I said at the end of episode 263 has stuck with me the whole time: you win or you learn. Jalen Hurts said it after the Eagles lost the Super Bowl. Then he went out and won one. I think about that a lot.

The world is also a fundamentally different place than it was in 2022. AI is reshaping what it means to build, to communicate, to have a career. And the more that changes, the more convinced I am that the human stuff, real conversations, real thinking, real connection, is about to become the most valuable thing any of us have.

That's what this show is about. I'm not here as an expert. I'm here as a student who's been in the arena long enough to have some things worth saying.

Clarity Compressed is back. I'm glad you're here.

In this episode:

• The origin story: a reconditioning company, a book, and 150 dealers
• What happened in the three years between episode 263 and today
• The merging of congruent into More Than Cars Creative
• Why "you win or you learn" has only gotten more true
• How AI is changing what it means to build, communicate, and connect
• Why human conversation is about to become more valuable
• What's coming for the show: guests, structured thinking, writing, and more

Quote from this episode: "If you become a student long enough, you might start to sound like an expert, and that's because you've tried things, you've lost, and you've learned."

Follow me on:

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/pauljdaly

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/paulthedaly

I also host the daily, Automotive State of the Union Podcast (ASOTU)

My auto industry media company and creative shop is More Than Cars

Clarity Fam,

I just crossed the line on my 20th year of being an entrepreneur. It is so strange to think about how different my life was back in early 2003. I was in my first year of marriage, we were renting a small place, and I had this crazy idea that I could start and run my own company with nothing more that a "Small Business for Dummies" book and a Quickbooks CD Rom. There was no YouTube or touch screen phones, or even Facebook!  It's true, I'm that old.

Today I talk about one of the biggest distinctions I've observed in running a company. That is the difference between the "organization" and the "business". How does one balance the people and the profit?

I started this train of thought in this LinkedIn post and go a little deeper on this episode.

Here's to another 20 years!

Pursue Clarity,

Paul

Clarity Fam,

I was on a plane ride a few weeks ago that I will never forget. The leg room was tight, I had to pay for my beverage, the seat was a little more uncomfortable...and I LOVED IT.

All of this was because of one woman's extra bit of empathy and attention. It reminded me how one person can make all the difference.

I tell the story this week.

Pursue Clarity,

Paul

Clarity Fam,

As we roll into March, I start getting very excited about the changing of the seasons. Sure, in Upstate NY we likely have at least another 4-6 weeks where it could snow, however, I know that we are close to the nicer weather!

All of this has me in the 'spring cleaning' mentality when it comes to making changes for the better and it has me thinking about how much progress is good enough.

Often it is easy to let incremental improvement get overshadowed and shut down by the "best" improvements. In reality, the 'best' is a fantasy.

I dig into it a bit in this weeks episode as I anxiously await our first 60 degree day in Syracuse.

Pursue Clarity,

Paul

Clarity Fam,

Aside from my Eagles losing a heartbreaker last week, it's been a really great week. Mainly due to the fact that I was disconnected.

I took my family on our first intentionally disconnected vacation in quite a while. I spent 6 days unplugging from my hectic regular life and making new connections with my family.

I talk about it and share some of the things I learned in this week's episode.

Disconnect to reconnect and get that clarity,

Paul

Clarity Fam,

I do some of my best thinking on planes. Although I’m not built for commercial flight, (long legs, a head that wants to constantly fall forward when I fall asleep, and shoulders that constantly get bumped by the aisle walkers), it is a place where I tend to reconnect with myself.

This is probably the result of being strapped down for several hours, unable to bounce around talking to people and looking for the next great opportunity. But I welcome it.

Today, on a 4 hour flight from Syracuse to Dallas, I started thinking about how each era has a unique “enemy” of sorts.

I think I’m ready to name it for the 21st century. After you listen, let me know what you think!

Pursue Clarity,

Paul

Clarity Fam,

I just spent 5 days at the largest gathering of Auto Dealers form across the country and in the world. I sat down with some executives for podcasts with my media company ASOTU. One conversation in particular was with an SVP with a publicly traded company. One statement he said still has me thinking 2 days later. 

I’ll share it with you in this episode. 

Pursue Clarity,

Paul

Clarity Fam,

I'm about to embark on a 5 day journey with my company ASOTU to cover the largest show for Retail Auto Dealers, the NADA Show. 30k people will converge on Dallas to show and tell everything that is on the cusp of the future of automotive. But guess what...

There are millions of folks who are in the industry and won't get to go and I think it's the leader's job to bring as much back as possible. Merely going isn't enough to keep your people in the loop with you. A leader needs to provide a way for their people to experience and, most importantly, be able to contextualize what is happening in the industry.

This is what I call 'making the world smaller' and it applies to business leaders as much as it does to parents. I talk about it more in the episode.

And if you'd like to follow along for the next few days to see what the show I'm covering is all about, follow along here.

Pursue Clarity,

Paul

Carity Fam,

As I’m rolling into the second half of the month it’s busier than ever, but I’m more focused than ever on doing meaningful things. And I better be!

Between my work with Congruent, ASOTU, and beyond there are more and more things that demand my time, contribute to my emotional state, and require me to focus.

Today I give some thoughts on why it can be good to remind yourself and your team about the bad times, and I also reveal why I never got that tattoo.

I hope it’s helpful or at least makes you smile.

Pursue Clarity,
Paul

Clarity Fam,

I hope your first few steps into the new year were great ones! Today I’m going to read and react to a post made by the insidehistory Instagram account that dropped a perspective bomb right on my head.

In short, it tracked someone born in 1900 through all the wars, pandemics, conflicts, and crisis they would have experienced. It blew my mind.

Most pertinently, it reminded me that evaluating my current situation in a much broader context whenever I think things are ‘tough’.

I hope it brings you some great clarity as you march into 2023.

Pursue Clarity,

Paul

PS. I’ll be in Dallas (Go Birds) Texas for the NADA Show later in the month. If you’ll be there too, I hope we get to meet in person! Follow my company ASOTU on LinkedIn to get the full deets on the where’s and when’s of the week.