Most interviews chase numbers. This one chased nerves. On Well Being Walks with Kip Hollister, we left the factory and talked about identity after bankruptcy, the tension between ambition and presence, and what “calm beats chaos” looks like when you’re not standing on a shop floor. Success didn’t fix anything in me. Clarity did. Crew did. Doing the right things for the right reasons did.
Kip asked about the year I lived in my car, and I told the part I usually skip: the shame. A lot of people had watched me make real money early. The same crowd watched the crash. That season taught me that the only way out is forward, but not frantic. Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast. Call people first when the news is bad. Tell the truth while the problem is still ugly. You stop fearing failure when you keep your promises inside it.
Work-life balance came up. I don’t measure it in equal daily blocks. I front-load my life—heavy on work during my strongest years—so the back half can be free and useful. That view rubs some people the wrong way, and that’s okay. Time compounds like money. Stack hours now and you buy decades later: decades for kids, grandkids, and projects that don’t need your pulse to keep beating.
We talked about raising kids who understand money. When they were little we used a simple envelope system for long-term saving, short-term saving, giving, and spending. It wasn’t about being cheap; it was about being free. One daughter sells painted rocks by the roadside and saves like a CFO. Another wants the CEO chair. Both are learning that money is a tool you can master instead of a force that controls you.
Culture matters just as much. At Murphy, mistakes are data. If we blow a tolerance, we fix the jig. If we miss a delivery window, we fix the router and the checklist. We keep stand-ups short, keep checklists long, and write down what works so the next crew wins by default. That habit lowers blood pressure in ways yoga never will. Do both, but start by fixing the process.
If you are looking for a “well-being trick,” I don’t have one. I have a handful of rules that moved the needle: breathe before deciding because panic makes dumb decisions; put hard things on the calendar first and keep the appointment with yourself; choose crews who tell you the truth quickly and thank them when it stings; and spend wins on capability, not vanity, because capability makes tomorrow calmer.
Walking with Kip reminded me why I’m building what I’m building. It’s not just about revenue; it is about room—space in people’s lives to do work they’re proud of and still have energy left for the rest. Calm beats chaos. Earn your momentum, and then keep earning it.
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Source: https://hollistergroup.com/cultures/cultures-resources/jeremy-barker-discovery-of-your-true-self/
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