Tristan’s 7+1: What I'm reading, watching, listening to, etc...

Every day is going to test you. It doesn’t get easier. Some days will test you more than others. In many ways, the noise, pressure, and uncertainty are only going to increase over the next year.

Some days will hit hard emotionally, especially when the outside world starts shaking your inner stability. It’s the environment doing what it does. You have zero control of what happens around you. It can be daunting…

That’s the moment where you have to show up better for yourself, those you love, and those you lead. Don’t look to today’s loud or reactive leaders for guidance. Look backward. Look to people who carried responsibility with values and principles, when leadership meant it came with the duty to protect and guide under a set of guidelines that came outside the self.

Study how they stayed calm, grounded, and focused when things were falling apart around them. They didn’t wait for conditions to improve. They strengthened themselves so they could handle worse conditions.

That’s what real leadership looks like. Not a title. Not something written on paper. It’s how you show up when things don’t go your way. From Marcus Aurelius to Abraham Lincoln, the lesson is the same. Lead yourself first. As Marcus Aurelius said, “You have power over your mind, not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”

That strength isn’t loud. It’s steady. And it’s built every time you decide to endure, take action, and keep going even when things don’t get easier.

^{WHAT I’M EXCITED ABOUT}
1 on 1 Coaching

It took a while to get here, but we are growing. We’ve started to stack our organization with more successful agents that are making a difference as coaches to agents that are with us. If you are curious about coaching just email me back. 

^{BOOK I’M READING}
How Democracy Dies
I’m a historian by degree, and even though I dropped out of law school I’m always curious about the different takes on democracy. I just started this one because it came highly recommended by 2 executives I know. 

^{WHAT I’M WATCHING}
Tony Robbins + Hormozi Talk
This one is making the rounds in the real estate world, and I listened to it and took notes. Very well done and powerful conversation. I highly recommend you watching this. 

^{WHAT I’M LISTENING TO}
Dr. Michael Levin on Reprogramming and Anti Aging
Dr. Michael Levin (@drmichaellevin) is the Vannevar Bush Distinguished Professor of Biology at Tufts University and director of the Allen Discovery Center. He is primarily interested in how intelligence self-organizes in a diverse range of natural, engineered, and hybrid embodiments.

^{WHAT I JUST BOUGHT}
Maruman Mnemosyne Dot Grid Notebook
I love this company for paper and for notebooks. There are different grades of paper, but they all are great quality. This notebook is great and since I’ve been using this paper for 2 years now, it’s been tough to use anything else. 

^{ARTICLE I’M READING}
Davos 2026. Business Leaders, Be More like Mark
Paul Holmes argues that effective leadership is defined by five narrative elements, Naming the Pain, Possibility, The Boat, Relatability, and Sensemaking, which transform management into a form of mythic storytelling. The article uses Mark Carney’s recent Davos speech to illustrate how leaders must brutally acknowledge current realities while providing a concrete plan, or "Boat," to bridge the gap to a better future. Ultimately, Holmes contends that a leader's primary moral responsibility is to reshape the dominant narrative, making complex geopolitical forces feel like relatable, everyday human choices.

^{WHAT TECH I’M TESTING OUT}
Manus Ai
This company just got bought by META and I am loving it. It builds slides, websites, apps, and has great outputs for design. This is one of those companies that will be growing in use more as people discover it.

^{WHAT I’M WORKING ON}
Calling with Purpose
Over the last few months I’ve been adding more reasons to reach out to your database, reasons that are purposeful. I hate reaching out to people and letting them know that I’m just touching base, so I came up with these 5 new approaches, on top of the original 9. If you want this just email me back and I’ll send it to you. [email protected].

Thank you for reading A Brilliant Tribe.

Best regards,