From Cartoons to Clarity

The Calm Before the Publish
Finally writing this last-minute... literally right before I hit publish.

I’m on the couch listening to some Leon Bridges, sipping coffee while Kallie makes breakfast, and the dogs are already down for nap number one. Honestly? Life feels good right now.

Busy, But Grateful
As the weeks go on, I’m finding it harder to carve out time to write. But for the first time in my life, it actually feels great to be busy.

I’m waking up at 4:30 a.m., diving into my day shortly after, and wrapping up around 5 p.m.—sometimes later with book clubs, errands, or house stuff. It’s a lot, but I’m happy. Grateful. And most importantly, I’ve got a plan to work way less in the future.

I recently mapped out my timeline to working 15 hours a week or less while generating $2.5 million/year in income.

That’s not a dream. It’s not a “hopefully someday.” It’s happening. It’s just a matter of when.

Relationships Aren’t Set It and Forget It
Two big themes hit me this week:

1. Deepening communication with Kallie

2. The duality of being a Gobundance member

Let’s start with Kallie.

If you’ve been reading for a bit, you’ve probably noticed a theme—my relationship with my wife means everything to me. I’m far from perfect, but I work hard at it.

I used to think relationships either “had it” or they didn’t. That if you had to work at it, it wasn’t meant to be. We'd just be best friends forever with zero effort… typical ignorant man shit, right?

Thankfully, I woke up from that Hallmark fantasy.

Stress-Tested Love
When I left my job and jumped into entrepreneurship, Kallie and I had already been together for six years. I knew we were heading into one of the most stressful seasons of our lives. And if we didn’t grow together, we’d eventually grow apart.

That terrified me. I’ve seen it happen over and over—people sacrificing their relationships on the altar of financial success.

Not me. Not us.

From Exhaustion to Connection
Lately, though, things have gotten wildly busy. Between workouts, work, travel, jiu jitsu, writing, self-development, a new business partnership, networking, errands, and house projects… just typing that out is exhausting.

By the end of the day, I’m wrecked. Kallie, who’s a supervisor at Progressive, is usually wiped too. So we sit down, make some small talk, turn on the TV, and veg the hell out. Some nights, I’m asleep on the couch by 7:30.

That’s not the life I want.

I want deep conversations. I want to keep learning about each other—what we’re dreaming about, struggling with, evolving into. But after a long day and nearly a decade together, it can be hard to break through the surface-level stuff.

The Nickelodeon Hack
So Friday night, I decided to try something different.

Me: “Hey babe, what was your favorite Nickelodeon cartoon growing up?”
Kallie: “Ohhh that’s a good one! Probably Rugrats... no wait! The Wild Thornberrys! I always wanted to be Eliza!”

That random question sparked a whole night of fun.

We reminisced about old cartoons, spiraled into a deep convo about modern feminism, ranted about the dumpster fire that is our medical system, and ended the night dancing like idiots in the living room to 90s hip hop.

It was exactly what I’d been craving.

And it reminded me—don’t overthink it. Just get creative. Ask a fun question. You never know where it’ll lead.

The Blessing and the Curse
Now let’s talk about Gobundance.

I’ve been hearing this a lot lately from newer members:

And honestly, I’ve felt that too. I’ve even said that myself.

But here’s the thing—it was true… until it wasn’t.

The Discovery Phase
Back when I was still figuring things out, I’d watch other guys in the group seemingly skyrocket to success and think:

What the fuck am I doing wrong?

I forgot I was still in the discovery phase of the journey.

Trying to figure out what I wanted to do. Who I was. What I stood for.

Everyone talks about the “hockey stick” effect in entrepreneurship. You grind for months or years with barely any progress—then suddenly, boom. You shoot up. (Sling shot engaged—Talladega Nights style.)

That slow, flat part at the start? That’s the discovery phase.

Go a Mile Deep on You
Most people use that time to chase tactics. I think the better move is to use it to discover yourself. Go a mile deep on who you are—and just an inch deep on all the business stuff you're testing out.

I did the opposite. I barely knew who I was and kept trying to force every shiny opportunity to be “the thing.”

Real estate? Maybe that’s it.
Buying a business? Could be.
This guy’s crushing it in e-com? Shit… maybe me too.

Clarity > Tactics
It wasn’t until I hit pause and integrated years of personal development work that things clicked.

I got clear on who I was.

Once I did that, my path came into focus:

• Lead Gobundance Emerge as Community Manager and future CEO

• Build a land investing company with three badass partners

• Live out my values every single day

These things let me show up as my full, authentic self. They align with the vision Kallie and I have for our future—our dream property in eastern Tennessee, raising kids together, having deep conversations with amazing people, and building a life we’re obsessed with.

Now? I’m locked in. Laser focused. Unshakeable.

And Gobundance? It’s only a blessing now.
It always was a blessing.
The “curse” was just my mindset.

Ask Yourself the Real Questions
So if you’re in that distracted, discouraged phase… take a step back.

Ask yourself:

• Who am I?

• What do I stand for?

• What do I believe?

• Who am I born to serve?

• What are my values?

• What do I find purpose in?

If you can’t answer those in a couple of clear sentences, that’s your work.

Once you can? The path forward becomes obvious. The noise fades. The rocket ship launches.

Talk Soon
As always, thanks for reading.
Have an awesome Sunday.

And if you want to jam on any of this one-on-one, shoot me an email. Always down.

— Kyle

I don’t have a song this week which is a red flag. When I have noticed when I am on the verge of overwhelm I stop listening to music…actually a better way to say it is, I stop feeling music. I will change that this week.

Fanatical Prospecting - Jeb Blount: A big part of my role in the land investing business is going to be keeping the pipeline full of buyers and sellers. This was recommended by a friend in Gobundance. It has been a great read so far and reminded me why I sucked as a roofing salesman…I hated prospecting…but I have changed. My mindset has changed. This time isn’t different…I am.