Shitter’s Full!

For as long as I can remember, I've ushered in the Christmas Season by watching - and usually falling asleep during - National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.

It started with VHS.

Then DVD.

And now I have a digital copy, thanks to Apple TV.

I know most of the lines by heart and quote them often.

"The little lights, they aren't twinkling."

There's a scene where Clark Griswold dreams about the pool he wants to install and has visions of the family - including Cousin Eddie in a Speedo - all swimming and having a good time.

And there's the girl in the red swimsuit, of course.

Nicollette Scorsese - smoking hot - and as every red-blooded American man knows, that scene was cut short by a good three or four seconds.

As Clark is fantasizing, Bing Crosby's song Mele Kalikimaka plays. There is no telling how many times I heard this song - hundreds, perhaps - before I realized the chorus was not what I thought.

For years, I heard, "Mele Kalikimaka is A WISE way to say Merry Christmas to you."

I often wondered what was so damn wise about it.

And then, sometime in my early forties, I finally Googled it.

Mele Kalikimaka is HAWAII'S WAY.

Huh.

Well, damn, I was wrong about that.

But before I looked up the lyrics, you couldn't have convinced me otherwise.

It's easy to get locked into certain viewpoints based on misunderstandings and misconceptions.

For over a decade, I clung to the misconception that I could not flip houses because I was "just a realtor" who worked with investors who flipped houses.

I was as wrong about that as I was about Crosby's lyrics!

Flipping houses is fun and profitable, plus I've helped more people find houses to flip since I started doing it myself than I ever did before.

But where misunderstanding lyrics about Christmas in Hawaii makes for a funny story, misunderstanding opportunities is expensive!

Not buying some of those houses myself is among my greatest business mistakes.

I'm on my way this morning to a Mastermind hosted by my friend Christian and led by my friend Fletcher.

The topic: Building a "bolt-on" $2 - $5M front-end media company...

...that 1) drives the back-end business.

...2) increases customer values by 30X over traditional publishing methods.

....& 3) pays you to publish/share your journey as you become your best self (by diving deep into your obsessions and fascinations and solving your own problems).

Not long ago, I would have felt more than a little out of place at an event like this.

A media company?

I'm just a storyteller, man.

Like, you know, I just post on Facebook.

What the hell would I do with a media company?

And like so many deals on flip houses I missed because I was "just a realtor," I would have passed on the opportunity.

In fact, I did pass!

When I first got the invite, I said no thanks.

But then I began to wonder. . .

Am I missing something?

Do I misunderstand this opportunity?

Is not going to this stupid?

Am I making another mistake?

Yes, yes, yes, and yes.

So I asked Fletcher, "Hey man, can you squeeze me in?"

There was room, and I'm on my way this morning.

And since Christian, the host, has a vacation home in Maui, I'm headed to Hawaii for the event.

I am curious to know if a media company is in my future.

Maybe.

Maybe not.

It sure doesn't feel like it.

Hell, I'm not even sure what owning a media company means.

But I won't make the mistake of not finding out because of being "just a storyteller."

So, Aloha!

And Mele Kalikmaka, too!