Hey folks,

Happy Friday! A couple of things on my mind…

1. Street Cat vs. House Cat (Round 2): Shared this a year ago, but it came up 3x this week. My friend Izzy wrote an excellent article on two different executive modalities. House Cats know how to manage up and down, cooperate, work within functions, and manage their reputation (don't take that as a pejorative, the best execs at places like P&G are absolute killer house cats). Street Cats are wired completely differently, and it really revolves around survival: they're typically more difficult to work with, don't always respect functions, are obsessed with reality/substance, and have an overly sensitive BS detector. You can learn to be either, but it helps to know which you are more naturally and what your role requires. As an entrepreneur I'm 100% a street cat. But I've joined a couple boards lately and realized I've been stepping on some toes, and that's because a board really is more of a house. Doesn't mean I need to leave, but it gives me some language for why I've ruffled some feathers. Also - really cool thing to feed AI - I've used AI to help me be more considerate and house cat like before just taking solo action, and I think you could too. Maybe just feed the article to Claude and say you need to go "house cat mode" or "street cat mode." Which are you?

2. Guys Group Q's: I have a group of guys that I meet with every other week to check in on each other's lives, challenge each other, and pray for each other. Sometimes when it's my turn and they're asking "how are you doing?" I struggle to prioritize what's actually going on, because it's kind of the only venue where I helicopter up like that. So this week I made a quick document of questions I could ask myself on the drive over to get some clarity. (It's religiously coded, but even without that, I think you'd find it useful no matter your faith.) If you don't have a group like this, especially as a guy, I think it's one of the most powerful things you can do as a man to set up your family for stability. Honestly I wasn't super into joining at first, but it's proven to be one of the most helpful and meaningful things in my life. AMA.

3. Apprenticeship Studies: My wife Chandler and I see it as our job that our sons, once they turn 13, apprentice under me to become a man, and our daughters, once they turn 12, apprentice under Chandler to become a woman. They're on the "Blake track" or the "Chandler track," and they need to follow along. A big piece of that is shaping how they view manhood and womanhood, and that's where I've found these studies to be really helpful. Everett (14) and I recently started Men and Foundations from Jon Tyson/Jeff Bethke, an overview of 6 core attributes every man should have. What I've liked is that it's got a physical book, short videos, and is structured enough that it's easy to go with it, but lightweight enough that it puts our discussions at the forefront. Chandler just recently started Defined by Priscilla Shirer with Charleston (12), doing the same thing on her track. My hope is to invite each of our kids in after their coming of age, and maybe even persist it into adult years with them all. Just grabbing studies off the shelf like this has made it feel way more attainable than writing something myself. AMA.

I think that's it for this week!

Best,

Blake

P.S. Chandler and my book launches on 10/13! We're building a launch team of 1,000 people to help us get the word out. Members get an early copy, bonus content, and a real role in shaping the launch. Click here if you're in: I'm in! Can't remember who the heck we are / why you're on this list? Read up on theallsmiths.com ​