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The Non-Stop Connector: Jesse Morris on Work/Life/Passion Balance, Part 2

July 23, 2015
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Last week we met Jesse, who’s a pretty impressive individual with a focus on bettering himself, others and getting companies running. Also, he’s a super talented cook which I can attest to. If you want to catch up on what we discussed last week, check it out here.

On how Jesse compares to Beyonce and Obama:
I am pretty obsessed with the concept that we all have 24 hours in a day. Time is the only asset we cannot get back once it’s used. I really like to think about how I can use my time most efficiently and how I can optimize my potential. I have a brother with autism who wasn’t really given a fair shot at life. It is even more motivating for me to realize my potential. I don’t feel like I’m quite there yet. Part of me thinks I need to be building a network, a platform where I can share/facilitate meaningful content. My newest hobby is finding YouTube celebs and learning how they form communities around their passions. Emergency Awesome is my new favorite channel. Charlie, the personality is the nerdiest most awesome guy, who spends his whole time talking about video games, TV shows like Game of Thrones and other weird shit. I love his cadence and true sense of self. I’m toying around with how/if/when I’ll create a little soapbox.

About the mystery of startups:
The last thing I spend a lot of time thinking about is fundamentals-based cash flowing businesses. I think some VC’s have created a mystery regarding the “value” of young companies that isn’t completely fair or realistic. We live in a time where technology can be used to create real businesses that generate real cash. I love the idea of being able to “counterpunch” – respond quickly to market opportunities through simple digital business modeling. I’d love to get to a point where we can spin out 1-2 ideas per year to take chances at these opportunities. Thats all for this rant, moving on…

When you were a kid, what did you think you were going to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be a Chef. A friends mom actually remembers asking me this question distinctly, and always reminds me of my answer.

I actually took this a step further when I was looking to go to college and looked at some Hotel/Restaurant Management programs. After speaking to a bunch of people in the industry, I decided against it.

I’ve always loved being in the kitchen. When my brothers gravitated to video games growing up, I always leaned towards hanging out with my mom in the kitchen.

I also think that there is no better way to garner community and forge new relationships than being at a dinner table. For me, the greatest single moment of solace I have each week, is at a Friday night dinner, after the meal, with a few drops of wine left in the glass. Sitting there, digesting, not just the food, but the conversations of the night and the progress made over the past week. Exhale to perfection.

Now that you’re pretty much a grown-up, what do you think you’re going to be when you grow up?
I’m never growing up… haha. I honestly want to be a Dad. I want a bunch of kids running around. I think I was meant to have a big family. I’d rather be defined by the family I create instead of by the career path I forge.

How do you focus on your career while knowing you’d like to be defined by the family you create?
Because I’m focused on my career, I am less focused on the women I am bringing into my life. In order to have a family, I need to have a wife. In order to have a wife, I need a girlfriend, in order to have a girlfriend I need to date. Vicious cycle. I’m not sure if one day I’m going to wake up and realize I need to dedicate real energy to that. Right now I tell myself to listen. Listen to the opportunities that come into my life and take advantage of them. If I come across a beautiful/nice/sweet young woman in line at the coffee shop, you better believe I’ll be talking to her.

When it comes to professionally, I really do believe in the “Entrepreneurial Path”. I like defying convention. I like the flexibility of being able to run multiple businesses with their own life cycles.

I’d like to have a bunch of businesses running that create wealth through technology, but I have this weird image of owning a couple breakfast/coffee/coworking restaurants. I’d be a happy as a clam talking to customers and seeing their days brightened by a service I was offering.

Want to learn more about Jesse? Check out these links!
Twitter: jessehmorris4
Instagram: jessehmorris
Business: http://www.joinspartan.com
Email: jesse@joinspartan.com
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessemorris2014

Anything else you want to share?
I am a quadruplet.

The Non-Stop Connector: Jesse Morris on Work/Life/Passion Balance, Part 1

July 16, 2015
career, profile
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In the second installment of people crushing life, allow me to introduce you to an incredible human being and all-around stand-up guy. Jesse Morris is the President/Partner of Spartan & Spartan Ventures. They are a digital agency/incubator that builds technology products/platforms for clients but also launches their own companies. ReadyCart is the most successful wholly-incubated product they’ve launched and they’re excited about the progress they’ve made with it. They also invest in startups by way of discounting their development rates for equity. Jesse oversees Business Development, Marketing and Strategy for the organization. Read on to learn about his work/life/passion balance.

Jesse on the topic of “Balance”:
Balance is one word that I usually don’t use to describe myself. I am extremely passionate and pour my whole self into whatever I’m truly committed to. This personality trait often tips the scale of being “balanced”. At this point in my life, I am committed to Spartan and creating wealth for myself through this vehicle. When the company is performing well, I feel good and have time for “balanced” activities. When the company is cash strapped or facing a serious issue, I usually feel it and dedicate the vast majority of my physical/mental/emotional time trying to solve the problem.

On people caring about 3 things:
I am fueled by meeting/connecting people and listening to their stories. I’d like to think I’m pretty self aware. I have been given the “gift of gab” and have had success helping others through bringing new people into their lives, whether it is personal or professional. I realize that you can break most people down into caring about 3 things; health, wealth, and family. If you can help someone in any or all of those three areas, you are gold. People make professional business decisions for personal reasons. I live to connect with people on a personal level and help them achieve what they are reaching for.

How NYC can affect your approach to work and life:
Back to the balance question, and the commitment thing. I recently spent 4 months living in Santa Monica, working remotely. I spend most of the year living in NYC and travel quite a bit to DC (where my business partner lives) and to Chattanooga, TN (where Spartan HQ is). The time spent in Santa Monica was amazing. It was the most balanced I have felt in years. I was waking up early to work east coast hours, but I was completely done working by 3-4pm each day. I went to yoga 4 days a week and ran, played volleyball and paddle boarded on a weekly basis. I hosted dinner parties at my apartment and made a lot of new friends. Through this experience, I realized I am much more of a daytime person as opposed to a nighttime person. I really enjoy spending time outside and running around, playing sports, expending physical energy. At night, I love a dinner party and a casual glass of wine, going to bed somewhat early and getting a good nights sleep. Living in NYC, there is so much to do after midnight, but it never really appealed to me. I think this Santa Monica trip allowed me to settle into some natural processes that is harder to do in NYC. In NYC, if I don’t go out, I work. Sometimes ‘til past 11pm.

What Jesse does in his free time:
I really enjoy cooking, playing sports, watching a show/movie, meeting new people, spending time in public (learning, people watching).

Check back next week to learn how Jesse is just like Beyonce, some causes that are important to him and his plans for the future!
Want to learn more about Jesse in the meantime? Check out these links!
Twitter: jessehmorris4
Instagram: jessehmorris
Business: www.joinspartan.com
Email: jesse@joinspartan.com
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessemorris2014

Part Outdoor Scientist, Part Ski Instructor: Alexa’s Work/Life/Passion Balance – Part 2

July 9, 2015
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Now for the second part in our two-part series learning about how Alexa, our double-careerist makes space for work, life and passion. If you want to catch up, read Part 1 here.

How do you feel about your work/life/passion? How do you feel like it will evolve?
I have the best job in the world.  I get paid to backpack 20 miles a day off trail at 10,000ft and catch frogs.  But my work is seasonal, temporary, and without benefits.  Looking forward to a life with more permanence and stability, I am addressing the differences between wants and needs to guide career decisions.  I need a home, a community, daily exercise in the mountains, and time with my amazing husband.  I want (but may need) to think critically and problem solve, to make things with my hands, and to live in a place I love.  I don’t want to feel like I can’t afford avocados, or fresh berries, or a teeth cleaning, or a new exhaust system…

What are some things that sorta hold you back?
I make a lot of excuses to NOT pursue the things I love.  I have a hard time taking risks.

What do you do in your free time to get more passion in your life?
I bake my own bread and crackers and make my own yogurt when I have time.  I run and ski and climb but rarely take ownership of risk in the latter two.  I do yoga on my own but usually call it “active stretching” because I don’t want to buy in too much.  Not much in this world is better than sleeping in with the person you love, enjoying a breakfast of bagels and lox and stove-top espresso, going out for an afternoon hike, ski tour, run, or climb, and finishing off the day with tasty homemade dinner.  Oh, and reading is WAY better than watching Netflix but sometimes TV happens….

When you were little, what did you think you’d be when you grew up?
As a kid, I honestly didn’t know what I would be when I grew up. I thought I would figure it out as I went along.  And, now that I am partially grown up, I still don’t know what I will be when I am fully grown up, or if I will EVER fully grow up for that matter.

I will say that as a child,
1) the bottoms of my feet were usually black and tough from running around barefoot outside;
2) I had a sketchbook and enjoyed arts and crafts time;
3) I would conduct week long experiments in the bathtub to create the perfect bath product concoction, and when my mom would invariably knock one of my incubations over while shaving her legs, the experiment would have to start over from scratch and I would not be pleased; and
4) I put myself down for naptime regularly.

So, not much has changed, except that I am worse about the sketchbook and better about the experiments.

Now that you’re grown up, what will you be?
An ecologist-baker-printmaker-mom-homesteader, of course.

How can we find you if we want to learn more?
Rikki Goldenberg has used smoke signals in the past with pretty good results.

Anything else you want to share?
Um, when a page won’t load on Chrome, ever wonder why there is a dinosaur at the top of the message?  Try pressing the spacebar once, and then press it again, and watch that dinosaur…

So there you have it folks! But, one of the last bits of advice Alexa shared may have been my favorite:
It was actually good for me to write these sorts of thoughts down.  I’ve been going back and forth about returning to school for ecology since September, and I just need to do it.  It is time to commit, because committing to something is better than waiting to commit to the “right” thing.  There is no “right” thing at the end of the day.  I do not believe in soul-mates, and I do not believe in a soul-career.  In both cases of mate and career, the chemistry needs to be there, but so does the effort to make things work.  Its about making the choice right, not so much about making the right choice.  Masters (or PhD…..) in ecology, here I come.

Here’s to committing to try new – scary- things! Thanks Alexa!!

If you’re interested in telling me about your own work/life/passion balance creation, shoot me a note at workhappi AT gmail.

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