Hi Everyone,

Happy Friday! Thanks for spending part of it reading The Lake Street Journal.

This week we’re talking about my Father’s Day gift, storytelling, and President Trump. Let's get into it.

Fitness is a Family Value

I got the best Father's Day gift this year.

It wasn't a gadget, a golf club, or a grill master apron.

It was a workout with my family.

You might think this sounds silly. My daughter is two, and my son is three months old, so what could a family workout possibly look like?

Well we actually hijacked my wife's workout. She was headed down to the basement for a quick sweat, and I decided to bring the kids down to "cheer her on."

So I set up my son in the bouncer facing mom, and I started entertaining my daughter. I got out her toy barbell and gave her a resistance band to play with. And then I sneakily started my warmup...

I figured my daughter's attention would wane and we'd be heading back upstairs within five minutes, but I was pleasantly surprised. She bounced around the basement, copying our warmups, climbing on the bench, and doing her own little "exercises."

She mimicked mommy's burpees and laughed at my form every time I pulled a power clean.

Before long, my wife was done with her workout, and I was halfway through mine. My daughter cheered me on as I finished my cleans. Then my wife took her upstairs while I did some intervals on the ski erg with my son watching from his bouncer.

So that was it. The first family workout. Maybe not what you were expecting, but it meant a lot to me.

What, you might be thinking, does this have to do with leadership?

Everything, I'd argue.

As I've mentioned before, your family is the most important team you'll ever lead. And leading them toward fitness is the most important contribution you can make.

Nick Bare is a dad, an elite athlete, and CEO of Bare Performance Nutrition. In a conversation with CrossFit Games champion, Jason Khalipa, Bare shared his perspective on making fitness a family value.

"As parents, as fathers, we are leading our kids. We're leading our families," said Bare. "One of the responsibilities as a leader is to let our family know what is important, what they should be working on, what is a priority."

He was talking about fitness.

In that same conversation, Khalipa said, "The single greatest variable I think people can add into their life to fix literally everything else is fitness."

I happen to agree.

Fitness is the highest leverage habit you can build. It makes you feel good both mentally and physically. It builds confidence. It improves your sleep and gives you more energy. Not to mention improving your length and quality of life.

If I could only give my kids one gift, I'd give them the gift of fitness.

In fact, it's a gift I've already decided to give them.

Before our kids were born, my wife and I put our family values into writing. One of those values is, We take care of our bodies with exercise, sleep, and nutrition.

When we bought our first house last year, we had a chance to embody that value in a big way. The first dollars we spent on our house were spent building our gym.

I'm not talking a treadmill and a pair of dumbbells. I'm talking a gym that would rival some CrossFit boxes. We have a thousand square feet of floor space and enough equipment to host classes. Rowers, bikes, barbells, dumbbells, plates, kettlebells, wall balls. You name it, we probably have it.

This stuff arrived on a tractor trailer in crates. It took me days to assemble. The flooring alone weighs 2,400 pounds and nearly killed me getting it into the basement.

Sure, this is a subtle flex, but I'm trying to emphasize how seriously I take this stuff.

As a leader, if you truly care about something, you don't just talk about it. You act on it. You do it every day. You spend excessive amounts of time, and money, and energy on it. And that importance bleeds through to the people around you.

The founder of Ikea once said, "No method is more effective than a good example."

When Rich Froning, another CrossFit champion, was asked about the importance of his kids seeing him workout, he responded, "I think it's one of the most important things."

Froning says he's never told his kids they had to workout. But seeing him down in the basement, day after day, they choose to do it themselves.

Again, the power of a good example.

So my wife and I spent the time and money and effort to build this gym so our kids can see us down there sweating every day. We're not making them exercise, but I think there's a pretty good chance they'll follow our lead.

That Father's Day workout was my first clue—even earlier than I expected.

It's especially true with kids, but it's true of any group you're leading. If you set the example—with your time and your effort and your money—people get the point, and they start following your lead.

It takes time, but probably less than you think.

My daughter isn't even two and a half, but when I ask her what she wants to do when she's a grown up, she gets a gleam in her eyes and answers, "Exercise with big weights!"

To me, that feels like success. It's more than a sentence in a Google Doc. For us, fitness is a family value.

Stories > Facts

Morgan Housel hasn't been publishing much lately, but my friend Jack has, and he's honestly just as good.

Of all the great leaders I've studied, most share one exceptional skill: storytelling.

As Jack explains in this piece, stories inspire action. To be a great leader, you must inspire action, so of course great leaders are great story tellers.

This is a top notch piece. Give it a read, and make sure to subscribe to Jack's newsletter. I enjoy every issue, and I think you will too.

The Trump Blueprint

Love him or hate him, President Trump is one of the most prominent figures of our time.

This podcast was a fascinating look into his life and the events that made him who he is today. Regardless of whether you love him or loathe him, it's valuable to understand him—as much as is possible of a sitting president.

This episode does a great job of helping you understand Donald Trump. Plus the production value is excellent which made it fun to watch.

My favorite insight from the episode was that Trump is particularly good at negotiating deals but particularly bad at managing people and operations, as can be seen in his decades long history in business and his time in the White House.

This podcast has a ton of great episodes on leaders, so if you enjoy this one—or even if you don't—I suggest browsing the rest of the catalogue.

Workout of the Week

This is a great option for when you want to move but not crush yourself. I chose an easy weight. Adjust to your skill level and desired exertion.

"Push to Squat"

EMOM 20:

Min 1 - 5 Bench Press (135)

Min 2 - 5 Front Squats (135)

Enjoy!

Quote of the Week

"Pressure is a privilege." - Eli Manning

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Talk soon,

Joe