Life with Ken

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I have been in awe by the speed at which things have been happening so far this year. If you’re a subscriber to our Newsletter, which you should be if you aren’t, I have been encouraging the Life with Ken community to set the tone for their year and to set themselves up for the kind of year they want to have. I believe things have been going quickly, not because I’ve been doing a lot, but rather despite that. It’s evident via various mediums that January has been a month of acceleration. Great distance has been covered over the last soon to be 31 days.

This makes my call to set the tone of your year salient because, are you going somewhere fast or nowhere fast? Are you serious about your goals or have you forgotten you had any already? This week I fell a little behind because one minute I was on track and the next, I got overwhelmed. What I am saying is time isn’t “going fast,” rather there is a significant capacity and opportunity for you to get a lot accomplished, specifically this month if you choose to do so. And the value in choosing to do so is if you position yourself well in this period of acceleration, it will be easier for you to find your stride as the year continues.

I used to run track, and my main event was the 400 meter dash. First of all, that’s unheard of. No one’s main event is the 400 meter dash, you just run it. If I’m being pessimistic, my coaches in high school were probably like, we don’t have anyone else to run it make Kenneth do it, it’s not like he’s fantastic at any other event anyway. As it turns out, I was a decent 400m runner, certainly one of the best on the team, I could have been better had my life at that time been different, but you probably know that story by now. Anyways, I bring up the 400m because one thing I learned about that race is that there is a strategy to running it.

You want to go into a full-blown sprint like 75-80% of your top speed for the first 100-125 meters. The purpose of this is positioning, getting yourself off to a good start, and taking the lead as soon as possible, if possible. From that point you want to get into a good stride. You should have immaculate form at this point in the race and should be allowing the momentum of your start to carry you through the next 150 meters. Then for the last 125-150m you want to kick or got at your top speed and leave whatever you have left on the track. At this point you don’t have to be tired, but you should be winded otherwise you’re holding back for no reason other than you’re not trying.

January, in more ways than one has turned out to be the first 100-125m. If you haven’t come out of the blocks running to win, the rest of the year may be an uphill battle. I’ve made notable progress on my personal and business goals for the year. Yes, I’ve been trying to be consistent in working on my goals on a daily basis, but also certain goals haven’t taken as much time as anticipated. The following are some of my takeaways from the month of January that God willing, will lend themselves to me being able to get into a good stride for the next part of this proverbial 400.

My most recent revelation has been that, at least for me, I need to take a holistic approach to life. Prior to this revelation I thought that I could and or should focus on one thing at a time. What I’ve realized whether it be from trial and error, from the wisdom that comes with aging, or something similar, is that I can’t effectively solve a particular problem by only focusing on that problem. I alluded to this earlier this year but now I have fuller understanding. For me, and from a biblical perspective, my work life goes hand-in-hand with my romantic life. I used to think that if I just focus on work and get my life together from that perspective, then I can turn my attention to women and dating and that whole thing. The reality is I need to figure out how to walk and chew gum when it comes to this. If I don’t, neither will be solved and I’ll just end up spinning my wheels in a ditch.

Additionally, I’ve learned that I need to create space and get comfortable with privacy. I have been so used to being an open book to the point where I’ve shared things that I don’t need to share. I realized this was a problem when I realized that I felt uncomfortable with not sharing. I posted something on my behind-the-scenes page and wrote an “article” that I had no business planning on releasing. And in a sober moment I felt as though not only should I not feel comfortable publishing this content, but I shouldn’t even consider it. This was a cathartic wake-up call for me because it made me realize that my openness and willingness to overshare comes from an unhealthy place and that privacy is normal.

That incomplete feeling in my spirit that I feel when I don’t tell something that I don’t want to tell doesn’t come from a conviction to tell it, it comes from a desire to be accepted. I’ve felt that if I bear my soul then maybe myself, my friends, and my family would be more loving and accepting of me. That’s unhealthy, corrupt thinking, and something I need to escape and heal from. There are some things in life that I need to be okay with just myself and God knowing. And I need to work on creating and cultivating that space.

Finally, or at least the last thing I’ll share in this article is, after a valuable conversation I’ve realized the significance of what I’ve known all along. I know I need to improve my economics, but what I realized this month is that I definitely need to improve my economics. What I mean by this is my personal and business finances are something that I need to double, triple, and quadruple down on. My life will improve, and this business will improve when each respective set of finances improves. This doesn’t mean selling my soul or prioritizing money, what it means is understanding that everyone has their own battle in life, and the accumulation and generation of wealth happens to be mine. I don’t know the full context of this, whether or not it will be a life long journey, but I know if I don’t do something about it, it will.

Empathizing with myself and understanding that this is a big part of my plight on earth allows me to think and approach it differently. It’s not just about income or increasing income. It’s about being a good steward. And being a good steward isn’t just about keeping what you’re given, it’s about doing well by what you’re given. I need to be better at doing well by what I’m given. I’ve known this, but now I have the perspective of this is a really important part of what it means be me on planet earth. I can’t help the misuse of resources in my past, but I can certainly to something about it in my present and future.

My life requires help and that’s just the reality of the situation. I need to humble myself and seek out help even though I know from experience that there isn’t a lot of great help out there. If I’m going to make it in the long-term I can’t just be my own burden to bear. Trying to do everything myself has gotten me where I am now. Whether someone likes it or not they are going to need to figure it out and help me. What this looks like for me and potentially you as well, is having multiple pots on the proverbial stove top at once. If you only focus on making one dish this year (metaphorically), you won’t have a meal when it comes time to eat. Life may be moving faster than the speed of your priorities, and you would do well to try to keep up.

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Originally published January 30, 2025.