Update 7: Grateful for cancer before ‘no evidence of disease’; 16 years to authentic living

Note: 3.5 months since last newsletter. Lot’s happening. Good & bad. Plan is to send 1x a month. My goal is to use this journey to help others in any way I can, PLUS this actually helps me heal. This one is a bit longer because of ‘catching up’. Kudos to you if you read the entire thing.

The sections to jump to and skim:

• Section 1: Cancer Updates
• Section 2: Have Ideas. Do Them. Updates
• Section 3: Uncharted Spirits Updates
• Section 4: Teaquila Farm Updates
• Section 5: Mavericks Training Updates
• Section 6: Your thoughts & feedback
• Section 7: Links to Posts I’ve Written

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(1) Cancer

• Scan Updates: After newsletter #6, I had PET and brain MRI scans. At diagnosis, one tumor in the lung was 5x the average size the docs see. I had 30 ‘mets’ (tumors) in the brain. Plus bones and lymph nodes. That scan revealed the lung tumor was 1/2 size (so only 2.5x the average) and the brain was down to 2 main tumors. Basically, gone from bones and lymph nodes. I asked my Oncologist, ‘did I buy some time?’ She said, ‘yes, but not sure how long. Just live your life.’ Helpful and not helpful at same time (looking for new oncologist actually. If you know a good integrative one, let me know!) But...
• Mental Damage: ...the mental damage on these scans was done. Without getting into detail, I was left to interpret the scan results BEFORE meeting with my oncologist. Even though the results were ‘good’ I didn’t know for sure until 48hrs later. I spent 48hrs in panic, worry, fear, etc. Not fun. Which made me realize...
• Mental Fortitude: ...I needed to work on the mental part. Which I have been working on daily since. I’m reading books, listening to scientists discussing the mind/body connection, writing beliefs, reciting beliefs, and more.
• Cancer Is The Best Thing: That was hard to write, because I’m not 100% there in that belief, but it’s part of building mental fortitude. My buddy Kenny Borg said to me, “I was talking to someone about you and they said, ‘It will either be the worst thing that has ever happened to him...or the absolute best thing. There’s no in-between. And it’s on him to decide.’” I’m seeing this happen in many ways, more a few points down.
• Control: The only thing I can control is my mind. My ‘cancer therapist’ asked me in last week’s session, “Why do you keep saying, ‘I got myself into this.’” It’s because my Oncologist said, ‘You’re the unlucky 15%’. If I believe that, then I have to rely on meds, which will eventually turn off. But if I gave myself the disease, then I can heal myself. It’s like when I’d climb a tree as a kid and I’d look down at my dad and say, ‘I can’t get down!’ and he’d respond, ‘If you can climb up, you can climb down, just do it!’
• Breakdowns: Prior to this last week I would have a full breakdown at least 1x per week and each night would lie in bed, listen to mediation music, and 90% of the time shed slow tears. In fact, while at my buddy Jonny’s 40th dudes weekend, I laid in the grass outside of the cabin away from the group and sobbed for roughly 40min. They just hit me when I least expect it.
• The ‘How’: ...but after weeks of work, the last 7 days being the best mentally / emotionally since pre-diagnosis. A much needed ‘reprieve’. First, I started writing these affirmations 20x each every morning (& saying aloud throughout day/at night): 1) I am grateful for cancer before I’m NED (no evidence of disease); 2) I am grateful that Tagrisso is my spotter (my med); 3) I believe I can heal myself; 4) My mind is the key to healing; 5) I am healing; 6) I am already seeing myself healed; 7) I am otf (125 years old). Second, I added visualization
• The Results: When I first started writing / saying affirmations above, I didn’t believe them. I was just writing / saying to trick myself into believing them. But on a 4 mile Ironman training run, I repeated for the entire run, ‘I believe I can heal myself’. At one point I was scream crying it and pounding my chest where the tumor is (I’m struggling writing this now), and a bout 25min in, I felt a physiological shift in my body. A lightness I had not felt. When I was at cabin mentioned above breaking down, at the end I had visual I’d never seen before...the tumors dissipating into thin air. Kind of like when you blow on a dandelion seeds. While this sounds ‘woo woo’ there’s actually a ton of science behind it, which I’m getting into. More on that coming.
• Opportunities: Part of cancer ‘being the best’ thing is that it has opened doors to doing things that are authentically me, including: 1) Making Uncharted Spirits a reality; 2) Becoming more athletic to help me surf Mavericks; 3) Building Teaquila Farm to help other live healthier / longer; 4) Speaking at conferences like SaaStock in Austin, TX. Plus, more...but all things that are authentic to me. It’s part of healing.
• Sum: Cancer could be the best thing that’s ever happened to me. It’s up to me to decide.
• My next scan results: are on 3/22/23. Send the prayers, love, and good vibes.
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(2) Has Ideas. Does Them.

• My Future: I’m seeing where my future is heading, assuming I have longer than the prognosis. I.e., assuming I live longer than the prognosis, I still have to pay bills, so what can I commit my life to?
• Coaching Founders: Early indication is that the mental mastery could become a skill I can coach on. I think I’d love to work with startup founders (SaaS / Ecomm, whatevs) to help them perform better. I.e., how do they get my new clarity & performance level without my disease?
• Step One: It’s not fully fleshed out, but I see it happening. My first speaking event in June at SaaStock will help me see it more.
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(3) Uncharted Spirits Updates

• One Month: We have 4 weeks and 1 day until we leave for Nepal for Season 1, ‘Uncharted Spirits: Supply Run Himalayas’.
• 16 Years In: In 2007 I was selling real estate in Chicago. My clients were in the car and the wife goes, ‘We’re gonna have to buy a house in 30 days, otherwise Chad’s going to to some country and never coming back.’ I had no idea I was talking about traveling the world that much. This is something I imagined years ago, now we’re finally here.
• Blue Ocean: We did a sponsor pitch last Friday. It’s very different than the SaaS sales I specialize in, but process is the key. The company started with, ‘we don’t have money’ to, ‘this is a cool project’, to ‘oh there’s a 100% money-back guarantee. Never seen that. I think I can find some money.’ Apparently, our SaaS sales / marketing process is wwaaayy different than what most CPG owners see. This industry is ripe for a jolt.
• Link to Deck: If you’re curious what the deck looks like, here’s a link to it. UCS Sponsorship deck.​
• Kickstarter: We’re doing two things: 1) CPG brand sponsorships and 2) kickstarter for friends / family / companies that don’t have a product we can use/display on the trip. It launches Thursday. We think it’s a great page.
• My Only Ask(s): The KS launches Thursday. I will send out the link to the KS page in the next email in last week of March in the next newsletter. While I’d love for you to contribute, I don’t expect it. My only ask is to consider 2 things: 1) Contributing $1, because the more conversions Kickstarter sees, the more likely it gets promoted by KS & 2) Regardless if you contribute $1 or not, could you share the link with 2 friends that you think would think it’s a cool project?
• Kickoff Party(ies): On 3/25 we’re hosting a launch event at Teaquila Farm. Invites to be sent soon. On 3/26 we’re doing an intimate dinner with just the Supply Run crew and, hopefully, the owner of our local Indian / Himalayan restaurant to kickoff the trip. Super stoked on this. If you’re a ‘local’ friend, look for an invite for 3/25.
• Filming Live: While we’re filming this to, ideally, turn it into a ’tv show’ of some kind. The real uniqueness is the live documentation of the journey. We leave 3/27, supposed to return on 4/20. We will document the entire trip on UCS insta, go follow this account to watch the trip in real time: https://www.instagram.com/unchartedspirits/​

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(4) Teaquila Farm Updates

• Slow: A bit slow on TF as I prepare for Supply Run, but still working on...
• Theme Moving Forward: Pre-diagnosis, TF was another food blog. Now, it has a lot more meaning, specifically around longevity and health span. While my situation makes things a bit more difficult, what we’re learning applies to all. The theme of TF will revolve around how people can live healthier, longer, better.
• Healing Space: This will be a sauna & ice bath on the farm to help me (& others) with healing, both physically and mentally (& emotionally). I’m building a movable ice bath now, should be finished today.
• Combined Bar & Greenhouse: We’re finishing Uncharted Spirits Bar over the next few weeks for the UCS events. But until we build the farm greenhouse, the bar will be our temporary greenhouse. We’re setting up seed succession system in there today, actually.
• Podcast: Once the bar is complete, it will also be a studio. It’s all in one! Haha. When I’m back from the Himalayas, we’ll be filming / recording podcasts around grown food for healing and generally discussions on longevity and health span. Pumped on this.
• Upcoming Projects: 1) Succession planting; 2) Cut flower fields; 3) Food production for grocery replacement; 4) Healing space; 5) Backlot mapping for future 2nd home & rest of food / flower production; 6) Greenhouse.
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(5) Training for Mavericks Updates

• Ironman Training: I’m using this to build my fitness level for eventual Mavericks training. I run this on June 3. And, yes, I will be raising money for something. Probably part healing, part UCS, part for cancer research. TBD.
• Big Wave Surf Training: A colleague at my place of work (Winning by Design) knows a big wave surf instructor that trains pros in Hawaii. We’re going to see if I can train with him after I run the Ironman.
• Best Shape: I’m in the best shape of my life despite the cancer. Quite amazing actually. In fact, my trainer, Sean, and I did a 1500m swim the other day and I was pretty quick. He goes, ‘how the hell do you have cancer?’ I said, ‘fuck me man, hell if I know. I don’t get it and sometimes it sucks.’
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(6) Your Thoughts, Feedback, and Involvement

Here’s my ask of you today...

• Please reply to this email with 2 things...

1) Were there any ‘ah-ha’ moments for you, personally, when reading this? If so, what stood out?

2)What do you want to read / see more or less of?

​Reminder: I’m publicly documenting this journey to help others and I’m going all in. If I didn’t go all all in, I’d just handle this in private. My belief, though, is that being public will help me leave this planet a bit better than I found it.

You’re gonna die.

Have Ideas. Do Them.

🏄‍♂️

• ​My Instagram​
• My LinkedIn​
• Uncharted Spirits Instagram​
• Teaquila Farm Instagram​

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P.s....

(7) Links to some of my writings since last newsletter:

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• Take the fucking swing - December

• Stillness - January

• Learning to Love The Feeling of Drowning - January

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