World - what is UP! It’s been some time. Welcome new subscribers, and welcome back to those that have been along for the ride.

I recently joined a men’s group, Better’Men’T - a community of 12 high-caliber individuals dedicated to continuous improvement, growth, and holistic wellbeing.

Part of our first assignment was to list three goals for 2026 in order to hold each other accountable (along with one misogi, word of the year, and a start/stop/continue - I listed mine below for those interested).

One of my goals? Write 49 newsletters this year, one per week, starting this week.

I’ve been thinking about firing the newsletter back up for a while, so here we are. Sunday night. 9:30pm. Firing away 🚀

(Procrastination, anyone?)

If you’re reading this, thank you. I understand time is limited, and I don’t take it for granted that you’re here right now.

My goal is to help you make positive, meaningful, aligned changes in your life, and help you do more of the things that set your soul on fire, more often.

Now let’s get into it.

Today’s agenda:

Plain and simple.

👋🏽 Quit my job
🎫 Bought a one-way ticket
✈️ Flew to Bali the morning after my last day of work

What a year.

Quick highlights:

🧘‍♂️ Yoga retreat in Bali
✅ Completed a 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training
📋 Taught 61 yoga classes (currently at 84 as of this writing)
🐳 Dove with Whale Sharks
🚗 Took a 40-day solo roadtrip (10 states, 13 national parks, 7,000+ miles, ~1M steps, slept in my car)
🏔️ Ran 37 miles of the Wonderland Trail at Mount Rainier
🎙️ Published 150th podcast
✍️ Journaled 300+ days
❤️‍🩹 Completed a year of therapy
🤿 Got my advanced open water scuba certification
🌿 Did an Ayahuasca ceremony
🏃🏻‍♂️ PR’d a half marathon on no training (1:33:16)
🌏 Made friends from all over the world
🥂 Celebrated 7 years alcohol-free
🏈 Surprised dad with a trip to Notre Dame football game

And one of my most important decisions:

I decided 𝒏𝒐𝒕 to go to Nepal.

(Flights were booked, Everest Base Camp trek was planned)

Logic said yes.
Intuition said no.

I came home and taught yoga instead.
A week later, Everest evacuations began due to an unexpected blizzard.

2025 was a wild year, and none of it was planned.

Most of it was felt.

Gut. Feeling. Intuition. Divine energy. Whatever you want to call it.

And I wouldn't change a thing.

So if you’re reading this, I encourage you to:

Follow your intuition.
Lean into the feeling logic can't justify.
Because 𝒅𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏, you probably know what’s right for you ✨

_______

I love the adventure, thrill, & heart-racing moments that make me feel alive and engaged with the world.

(Two of my favorite words: ALIVE and ENGAGED)

But I also love the small things in-between; the day-to-day, moment-moment glue that holds it all together:

Heart-to-hearts
Long hugs
Healing tears
New friends
Powerful conversations
Balinese smiles
Expansive horizons
Open roads
Fresh air
Picturesque sunrises
Breathtaking sunsets

One night I was in Bali, staring at the stars and moon, marveling at their beauty. One of those small, precious moments.

Then I panicked, wondering what I was going to do when my visa expired.

Next moment I heard, “Go to Thailand”

Okay, I thought. And booked the flight 20 minutes later.

Cheers to the adventure ✈️

I just bought a one-way ticket to Louisiana for the end of February to visit my sister, brother-in-law, and meet my new nephew. Welcome to the world, Baby Leo! 🦁

From there, I’m thinking about a one-way to Guatemala, then ripping a Central/South America circuit.

Then again - I have no idea.

While the vision is uncertain, I trust that the path will reveal itself through aligned action.

Last year I bought a one-way ticket to Bali, had one week booked in Ubud, and let life unfold.

That led to:

Two months later I went back to Bali for a Yoga Teacher Training (never planned), and boom - here we are, teaching yoga, living in a calling, and approaching 100 classes taught.

I even had my friends ask me to host meditation sessions and yoga classes on a recent Caribbean cruise. Talk about living an unexpectedly aligned life.

FOR YOU: what have you always thought about doing? What can you do TODAY to take one small action towards that goal, dream or vision?

Keep it simple - 5 minutes or less. Set up a meeting. Fire off an email. Send a text.

“Tomorrow becomes never. No matter how small the task, take the first step now”

-Tim Ferriss, The 4-Hour Workweek

If you’re still with me - thank you.

I’m not quite sure how this newsletter is going to unfold, but I can tell you right now it will be real - authentically me.

Sharing my journey, lessons, and experiences along the way.

If you’re in for that, buckle up.

Who knows what’s next ✈️

🌱 Keep Plantin ✌🏼

🎙️Seeds of Success Podcast (Spotify)

🎙️Seeds of Success Podcast (Apple Podcasts)

🎬YouTube | 📸Instagram | 📱TikTok | ✍️LinkedIn

I’m not sure what “going viral” exactly means, but I posted this TikTok last month, hit 12k views, and gained 500 followers. Seems that a lot of people are ready for change.

Goal 1: Travel to 34 countries by age 34 (Nov 6)

Goal 2: Publish 49 newsletters (1 per week, starting end of Jan)

Goal 3: Earn $50k in self-generated revenue

Misogi: Host a retreat

Start: Getting up at the sound of my alarm

Stop: Looking at screens for entertainment purposes past 9pm (no TV, shows, or social media scrolling)

Continue: Meditating & teaching yoga

Word of Year: Confidence

Hold me accountable, will ya?

If you’re STILL still with me…

Can you please reply to this email with two quick words, “Got it”

Since it’s been a while, this help your email provider recognize this newsletter, keeping it out of your spam folder.

You can also take about 10 seconds to add me as a contact. It’s very easy:

For Gmail users:

On desktop, drag this email into the Primary tab. On mobile, click the three dots in the top right of this email, then tap Move To, then Primary.

If you’re an Apple user:

Click my email address at the top of this email (next to the From field) and choose Add to Contacts

Thank you, now I’ll shut up 🙂

See you next week

(Aka in like 1 hour from time of sending this newsletter)