Here’s what I originally wrote on Saturday before the damn snowstorm cancelled our flights 🫠🫠🫠

Guys, it’s happening. We’ve officially... broken ground, and it’s really exciting to see movement happening on the site. I’ve shown this picture to people and received some pretty muted reactions because I mean, it doesn’t look like much LOL… but if you’ve been with us for a while you know this image is 2 years in the making!

This clear site is a far cry from me and Chad with our little machete (full video of that coming soon). I’ve got a full team with some real tools, and I can’t believe it! As you can see in the video above, I’m also learning about Jamaican traditions so next week’s newsletter should be quite interesting.

It is said that if you are building a house and sprinkle white rum around the foundations, it will keep the duppies, or evil spirits, away

I’ve been absolutely drowning at work but I’m working from Jamaica next week to see this all in person and really looking forward to that. I hope at least a change of scenery and some sunlight will help me through some really tough weeks at work. Excited to share more soon!

And here’s my actual reflections…

Originally I thought I’d be writing reflections from Jamaica and telling you all about what I witnessed at the groundbreaking. But instead, I had to do some Googling to learn about the white rum thing above 😂 however, I will say, this has been a real test of the principles that I’ve been talking about. And I’m pretty proud of the shift that I’ve made and my ability to just accept my reality.

Funnily enough, I came across an old episode of one of my favorite podcasts, The Gray Area yesterday (the day I was supposed to be with my team onsite) and that helped me make this peace.

He’s interviewing the author of this book about mindfulness called Wherever You Go, There You Are. Much of what they talk about is the real wisdom in just being able to accept and be present in the moment, whatever that moment throws at you. Positive or negative. And I’ll be honest, I was not there.

Particularly on Sunday, when I was frantically trying to find any flight that would get me to Jamaica before Wednesday morning... But after about five hours, I let it go. And guess what? I took those lemons and made lemonade. Getting stuck in Detroit meant I got to see my brother and sister-in-law who’d been out of town for the weekend.

And I got to have some really great conversations with my dad, make him coffee in the mornings, and take him out to a really fancy dinner that blew his mind!

I’ve really been trying to embrace the idea that I will manage whatever life throws at me. I think as an entrepreneur, its a really important skill because you have to accept that things will happen outside of your control and you have to pivot!

Regardless of what you do for work though, I think its a skill we’re all gonna need more of as we’re living through these very chaotic and uncertain times.

If you have time, I recommend listening to the podcast. He wrote this book in 1979 and he talks about how the stress they were experiencing in the 70s feels like paradise compared to what we’re experiencing now…

Anyway, I’m working on this skill for the long run and I’ve stopped moping about missing this trip. I’ve moved into the place of mindful acceptance and I’m grateful for some good memories made back home. 💕

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