Monday, Day 165 – Mentorship Mode
In the afternoon, I had my monthly same page meeting with Lawline’s COO. Afterwards, I had a drink with an entrepreneur who is in EO accelerator in Madrid. I went straight away into mentor mode, asking many questions to better understand her business. Of course, I gave her a copy of my book. She started it on the way back to Madrid and emailed me all the similar experiences she has faced. We all go through the same stages when running a business!
Tuesday, Day 166 – Lunch with Alberto
The highlight of my day was a lunch with a local entrepreneur, Alberto, who runs a boutique search engine marketing company. Since he was a former EO member, we were able to dive deep quickly. After lunch, I stayed at the hotel where we had lunch and I did all my work calls.
Wednesday – Day 167
Spanish class, gym, took Leila to dance, family dinner.
Thursday, Day 168 – Monthly Executive Meeting and a Triple Date
I spent the morning preparing for my monthly alignment meeting with our coach and executive team. Before the meeting, I went for my first run in a long time, as the weather is warming up. The meeting went great, as we all came very prepared and focused on the task at hand. That night Kelli and I had a really nice evening with two other couples at a restaurant that turns into a club late night (which we did not last until).
Friday, Day 169 – The Electric Mountain Bike
Today was the first time I rode on an electric mountain bike, and the first time I went mountain biking in Barcelona. From living in NYC, I expected an electric bike to be what delivery guys use to speed down streets at 40pm while not pedaling. In Europe, these electric bikes only work while you pedal, but they give extra power which helps with hills and such.
These two bikes were my friend Roman’s and his wife. They are probably the only two like it in Spain, as they got them from Indiegogo and they are very futuristic looking. I met him at his house after I dropped the kids off at school.
After spending some time getting geared up with gloves, helmets, and sunglasses, we got on the bikes. I put the power on 1 out of 5 and started pedaling. Wow. It pushed me forward much quicker than I expected. He lives on a steep hill and we started biking up it and I could not believe how easy it felt. I could get used to this! We kept going up and then all of a sudden he made a sharp right into a mountain trail area. To be honest, that was the first time I realized we were about to go mountain biking not road biking.
He was taking me on a route that was about a 20km round trip and took us all the way up a mountain to a tower. It was the best of both worlds with the electric bike. I kept the power on the lowest level most of the time so I still got a decent workout in, but going up the steep hills were very doable. The hardest part for me was actually the steep declines as I was leaning too heavy on my handlebars and it was hurting my shoulders and wrists. Some sections were so steep that I put the power very high and I could still barely make it up. I could not imagine biking those points without power. We rode for three hours, and I had such a great experience.
That night, Kelli and I hung out with the kids at home. They watched a movie and we finally got to watch episode 1 of This is Us.
Saturday Day, 170 – Jonah’s First Bike Ride
I started my day off with my 4th haircut since I have been in Spain (one way to keep track of how long we have been here). But this time it was a “special” treat as I went with my boys and we all got haircuts one after another. Later in the day, I took Jonah for his first bike ride in the park. We bought the bike from the family who was in the apartment before us, however it is just a bit too big for Jonah.
We went into Turo Park which has the perfect area that was all dirt and made it easier for his stop/falls. Since he had just learned to ride a bike and this bike was too big for him, it took awhile for him to get his bearings. Finally, it was a victory, he was able to do the full loop around the big fountain area, while avoiding the strollers and couples in his way.
That night, Kelli and I went to a restaurant down the block while the kids watched a movie in the apartment. It is certainly a sign they are all getting older and more mature. Josh is reading this while I type, so I have to be careful what I say. 🙂
Sunday, Day 171 – Lunch at Gava Beach with Friends & Karaoke at Night
Once again, taking advantage of the ease of having a rental car, we met our friends and their kids for lunch at a beach about 30 minute away. While we waited to sit, the kids collected 100’s of amazing shells (no exaggeration), and each one was more beautiful than the next. While the breeze was cold, it was nice to be able sit outside and enjoy the sun.
I had sent them a link to my audible book, and they both had just finished listening to it. What was cool is that they both said they felt they knew us so much better now, as they now knew all our stories from the book (WHICH JOSH STILL HAS NOT READ). It reminded me of something I once read about how cool it would be if each person came with an instruction book that others could read about them. As it turns out, they could also relate to a lot that was in the book.
Lunch lasted close to 5 hours (well it is Spain). Just enough time to head home, relax, and go out for a friend’s birthday. It was at a bar that has karaoke in the basement with a live back up band. However, this was not just any old karaoke bar, each singer who went up was better than the next. A great way to end the week! Â
