“Autumn shows us how beautiful it is to let things go.” -Unknown

I am not sure whether I liked the fall season when I was a boy. When I think back I picture school starting, summer ending, days getting shorter, and the weather cooling off. In high school I knew that football practices would starting. This is not a good way to start off this blog post. So allow me to pivot.

When you look on social media about mentions of “Fall” or “Autumn” what do you see? Photos of leaves changing, bazillions of “my kid is going back to school” photos, pumpkin spice latte mentions…

Here’s what I want to say: I don’t like to let summer go. There I said it.

BUT here’s a list of what I am excited about this fall:

1. I am a full-time employee for the first time in about 6 years! And I love working at VisionTrust International!   I am having so much fun. They have truly allowed me to be me and to innovate. I am stoked to share with you some of the new initiatives we are developing!
2. My new partnership with Alex Lewis and Car Window Poetry!  This year Alex and I decided to join forces in this “side hustle” with Alex as Chief Sharer and I as Relationship Builder. It’s an ideal scenario for me as I get to make connections and help with the development of the business operations as a startup. We already have some fun stuff in the works. I am stoked about the impact we are going to have on our community and in schools.
3. I am writing fictional short stories, an ebook, online and email courses. In fact, I’m taking a few days off this fall just to write.
4. Mentoring is a big part of my life and I have four guys in their twenties who are in my mentoring cohort.
5. Reading through a stack of books including:
   1. Side Hustle by Chris Guillebeau 
   2. The Hidden Option: Igniting Creativity to Solve Life’s Problems by Jonathan Malm
   3. The Membership Economy by Robbie Kellman Baxter
   4. The Adventures of John Carson in Several Quarters of the World: A Novel of Robert Lewis Stevenson by Brian Doyle 
   5. The Lost City of Z by David Grann 
   6. I’ll be talking about these books in the near future.
6. Finally, I don’t have to water the lawn and garden twice a day.

I hope your fall season is starting off well!

Jim