📝 Editor’s Note
I love to hike. The combination of disconnecting, exploring, and exercising checks all the boxes for me. My dad is no doubt laughing at the irony because he loves to hike; however, he could never get me to go with him when I was younger.
My two favorite hikes are in the Los Angeles area:
Mt. Baldy — 10 miles and 4,000 feet of elevation. Elizabeth did this pregnant!
Lover’s Loop — a beautiful 4 mile loop in central CA. Strange fact — you drive by Neverland Ranch to get to the trailhead. Yes, that ranch…
Ok, now I’m going to go deep and meta.
I also like the hike or the climb professionally. Like many of my peers in our mid-thirties, this is primetime for building our careers. I geninuely like to work hard and to grind. The idea of “mountain climbing” in a career sense is not a foreign concept to me. However, this weekend my friend Alan Sherouse gave a sermon about the transfiguration and being prepared to climb down the mountain. That was a foreign concept.
I’m so busy thinking about what is next and striving towards the top. As Alan said, no one talks about “downward mobility” or the fact that you can’t be that effective at 18,000 feet. It reminds me of a qoute from a Tim Keller book I recently read, “the way up is to go down…the way down is to go up”.
Without further ado….
Why Sammy?
Sammy and I both went to college together. He was a member of the UVA football team (Go Hoos) and a guy on campus who was well-liked and respected. We reconnected recently when a mutual friend put us back in touch. I’m excited to see what he is building at Morrow!
Connect with him on Linkedin.
Self-Description
A - adventurous.
B - builder.
C - creative.
Sammy’s 6 Recommendations
Written in his own words…
1. The Lion Tracker’s Guide to Life // Unreasonable Hospitality
Cheating and picking two. Both books. (1) A Lion Tracker's Guide to Life by Boyd Varty (2) Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara.
1. A Lion Tracker's Guide is an incredible lens into how exposure to the natural world reveals deep truth about ourselves and what makes us be most alive. It forces a step outside our ordinary rhythms. It addresses a phenomenon we can all relate to: "the hunt," and all that it encompasses - the object of desire, the pathway, the emotions and meaning along the way. It can be read on a long plane ride.
2. Unreasonable Hospitality tells the story of how Will Guidara elevated Eleven Madison Park to #1 restaurant in the world by choosing to be exceptional in a category that every other restaurant in the world had equal potential: how they made people feel. It reveals the art of creating extraordinary moments through ordinary situations, often through a frustratingly simple combination of thoughtfulness and effort,
Since I cheated, it's only fair I give the same open door - a sampling of Boyd's stories and insights are captured in a wonderful Tim Ferris podcast:
Unreasonable Hospitality is also available on Spotify audiobook:
2. Faherty
Coming out of the holidays, it's got to be Faherty. Their stuff is so versatile and wildly comfortable. A bit of recency bias since I walked in to pick something up there recently. But I also walked into Buck Mason. The difference was I wanted one of each at Faherty and felt like I was turning the store upside down at Buck Mason to find something I'd wear and wasn't an XS or S.
3. Early Mornings & Cold Water
I belong to the early morning tribe. I have energy, a clear mind, and quietness - all good ingredients for productivity. Plus a strange but cool feeling of aliveness in the stillness of the morning while the world slowly comes to life.
I don't do Cryotherapy or have a cold plunge in my living room, but am a huge believer in cold water as a healing agent for the body and mind. When I lived in SF, I forced myself into swimming in the Bay some mornings and always found a heightened level of clarity of thinking and inner stillness on those days. Now that I live in Nashville, I'm on pretty consistent routine of stepping into a cold shower once a day. I haven't proven or researched this, but intuitively think that, similar to applying ice to a recovering injury, coldness applied to the head and body moves a fresh recirculation of healing agents. I feel alert, lean, and clear afterwards.
My vice these days is probably subconsciously pulling up ESPN, Instagram, or some other social media stimulation when my mind calls for a distraction. Maybe not terrible in its own right, but I think the instinct to fill an open moment with a hit of stimulation is a habit worth breaking.
4. Productivity Recommendations
If you can swing it, the mid-day workout works wonders.
I have used a personal coach for 3 years. It's the single most important action/investment I've taken to advance my inner self during that time. People go to the gym to work on their bodies. Why not apply the same investment to work on your mind? 5% of the people reading this use their bodies in their profession. 100% use their heads.
Here are two quick plugs for friends with startups helping in the productivity department:
5. Gift Recommendations
Got a reMarkable from my brother over Christmas. Definitely better than the previous technology I was using - pieces of paper. I like it enough to change my behavior so that's pretty good. Overall grade: B+
Gifted a family member a 6-in-1 toaster/air fryer called Wonder Oven by Our Place. On paper it looks pretty freaking awesome. Overall grade: you'll have to ask him
Won a Coors Light beer bottle speaker at a white elephant Christmas party. Description: exactly what it sounds like. Plus it lights up with different colors. Overall grade: A+. I don't know how these are not in every store in America.
6. Iceland | Snæfellsjökull National Park
For those who know me, Iceland is one of my happy places. It started when I worked on a farm in northern Iceland for 4 weeks after UVA and fell in love with it.
For a country the size of Ohio, it possibly has the most geo-diversity of any other place on the planet. The landscapes are surreal - prehistoric, almost. The weather can be harsh, but it feeds the raw beauty of the place. It's a 6-hour direct flight from NYC to Reykjavik (direct flights coming soon from Nashville ;). If you go, see if you can escape the standard tourist Golden Circle route.
Plug | Morrow
The company I started is called Morrow. Morrow is a financial platform with a mission to bring financial access and agency to the American worker. We sell into blue-collar industries and provide our platform on behalf of their employees as a benefit, helping to alleviate financial strain and reduce workforce turnover. If this resonates with you as a business owner, employee, or otherwise, please reach out. We are growing and hiring.
Want to get in touch with Sammy? Reach out via email: smac5454@gmail.com
P.S. from Rambull — Why are baby Nordic products so much better than American ones? If your kid uses a pacifier, this Bibs Pacifier Box is a helpful $12.99 item. It not only keeps it clean (important) but also helps you keep track of it (even more important).
Go Sammy!!! And with a Mento plug. Great friends doing great things <3
Do you have a link for the sermon? I’d love to listen to it.