A fun, chaotic and successful tortilla de patatas with Rosalía.
Best Self

“It’s no secret that you can’t be the best anything if you aren’t your best self.” Grey Huffington
By: Gabriela Yareliz
I am devising a plan to feel like I have a life again. Our habits and days are made of choices, and lately, it feels like all I do is work, commute (another full-time job), and sleep to do it all over again the next day.
Everything else— exercise, being present, communication, hell— even peeing, feels like a rushed moment. I am tired of feeling that anxiety and rush around human moments. It’s this ticking clock that if I don’t squeeze this thing in now, I won’t be able to that day.

In the past two weeks, I have heard at least twice that those human moments, whether it’s waking up, eating breakfast or the daily shower, show how much respect you have for yourself. How we move sends a message to ourselves.
As I heard this again recently, the image of me cramming breakfast into my mouth on a train platform popped into my head. About the only things I do in my house for sure before leaving is reading my Bible, tongue scraping and my makeup (and getting dressed of course). And it’s not about being hard in oneself; on the contrary, it’s about humanizing oneself.

Move with excellence, Emma Grede says.
If you, like me, sometimes feel like your own afterthought— it’s time to devise a different plan. One that relays respect to your own soul.
The Massie-Khanna Alliance


What Bobby said.
Listen, it’s my philosophy that you know a politician has integrity when both parties hate him/her while he/she keeps pushing accountability.
I am a fan of the bipartisan effort and work propelled forward by Rep. Thomas Massie and Rep. Ro Khanna. They seem to be the real deal. May they see all of this through with the backing of the American people.
Pam Bondi should have never landed this role in the administration. (Though I am sure she is fulfilling the role they had for her).
Justin Anderson said it well:
“Pam Bondi was not elected or appointed to protect predators, institutions, or power. Her only job is to serve the American people. Hiding the truth is not neutrality – it’s complicity. and history has never been kind to those who chose silence over justice.”

When you see the photos of children with their clothes off and the names of criminals redacted, you know decades of government and the current administration have failed. Some of our representatives, however, seem to be locked in.
Questions for February

“If no one told you what to like— what would you actually choose?” Theo Von reading an ad for Pepsi
By: Gabriela Yareliz
On many mornings, I listen to comedy during my commute. It helps keep the blood pressure low. The morning is always filled with weird things.
Today, it was a train with blood smeared on the outside of it, on the side (alarming). A woman dramatically twitching in her seat and mumbling to herself, clearly on drugs. An elderly woman who moved so slowly the doors almost closed on her, while having a line of people behind her waiting to get out. It’s never boring.
As I listened to Theo Von this morning, he read a Pepsi ad, and the quote above reminded me of something we have talked about here before— listening to inner wisdom.
Who are you when the ads, the social media marketing, the posters on the green boards in NYC— when it all vanishes and is silenced, what do you choose?
When was the last time you checked in with yourself and how you are feeling?
Time to journal!
“Journaling is the writing on the walls. It’s walking through your inner world and making note of what’s there. It’s slow, and it’s honest, and it’s one of the most intimate acts of self-intimacy. Because if you can’t be honest with yourself on the page, how can you expect anyone else to truly know you?” Wilde House Papers
Questions as we begin the month:
-Does it draw me in?
-How do I feel when engaging?
-What energy/attitude/vibe do I want to embody?
-What can I add to nourish myself?
-What am I not changing? (Whatever you do not change, you are choosing).
Circle

“Cézanne painted the same mountain because he wasn’t done seeing it. You are allowed to circle something until it opens.” Rainier Wylde
Circle as long as you need to.
Yo No Perreo
By: Gabriela Yareliz
I will never forget a funny friend who told me proudly that he had seen a Puerto Rican artist’s music video. “The one with the women in the bikinis dancing,” he told me. “You are going to have to narrow it down,” I told him. “That is basically every music video.”
I had an internal cringe in that moment. This is how I felt about last night’s halftime.
Leading up to last night, we all heard a lot of commentary about the Bad Bunny halftime show. I was at a law firm event from hell (more on that later), where I heard some women saying they didn’t understand why a non-American was chosen to perform. I laughed with snippy cynicism and showed restraint.
The commentary around it being in Spanish didn’t bother me. Listen, these past few years, the halftime show feels about as matched to the audience as the new Cracker Barrel CEO to the brand. I don’t think the entertainment is well-matched to this specific sport’s audience. You can argue otherwise. If this was the World Cup halftime, I would feel it more on brand— but whatever. This wouldn’t be the first or last year where the show and spectacle turns off viewers. That was not a matter of concern to me. It was just part of a decade long pattern.
I think the part that disappoints me is that this is what people equate to my culture, which is rich and hard working and beyond what was on display. I have little respect for women twerking and literally showing ass (for lack of a better way to put it) and saying that their feminism is found in twerking alone (yo perreo sola), in touching themselves and promiscuity. I am not into lyrics about a man with many women or where he has placed his penis lately.
It is weird to me that we take the most toxic elements of our culture (they are not relationally healthy; they actually damage families and self-dignity), and we celebrate them as if they are liberation.
It is wild to me that women in my culture (I see them on socials) who say they hate men and show 90% of the skin on their body praise this when it’s the exact thing they claim they despise in their delusional brand of feminism.
A Hispanic or Latin man that I have admiration for— someone like Erwin McManus. A man of one wife, a writer, philosopher and futurist. A man who teaches the world to think and seek the eternal. A man who uplifts women and surrounds himself with them (fully clothed). That is a man worth celebrating and admiring.
Our culture can have class. It doesn’t have to be ghetto or urban or caserio music because not all of us act like we are from the projects. For those of us in professional fields, the spectacle last night doesn’t help elevate us or get us respect from those around us. This is about as helpful as mob culture was to Italians. I am more than just a sexual object. I like to think I actually have a brain, and it’s more interesting than my breasts— I promise.
It’s a show I wanted to be proud of but couldn’t be. A lot of important messages were drowned out by the debaucherous party.
It has its audience; I am not it. Yo no perreo.
Well
“Whatever you’re doing, do it well. If you’re writing a thank you note, take an extra minute to mention something beyond the typical thank you. If you’re exercising, do each set as well as you can. If you’re in conversation, really listen and don’t just wait for your turn to talk.
Having high standards adds up. You can nearly always find an extra minute to do it better. And most important, you prove to yourself that you’re the type of person who does things well.” James Clear
Do the thing well.
Some of the Week’s Favs (2.6.26)
01. Pyro Fitness
“Your habits are the silent architects of your life.” Kirsty Godso’s mantra

02. THIS TEA!!
Tried this tea by Natazia zu Stolberg, and I am obsessed with it. Smells like cumin but tastes like a warm hug.

03. Podcast of the Week
This podcast with Emma Grede and Simon Sinek. Their conversation about leadership is important. Leadership is a topic I am obsessed with. I am always down to talk about it.
04. Quote About Courage
“ENTHUSIASM
IS A FORM OF COURAGE.”
Rainier Wylde
05. The Overflowing Florida Penalty Boxes, and Paul Maurice Stormed Off into the Tunnel

The Florida Panthers fought the Tampa Bay Lightning, and apparently, PoMo was ejected from the game. An icon. Not a single other soul fit in those penalty boxes. My favorite part of a hockey game— a penalty that was worth it.
Hope
From Tracy Anderson’s newest publication, Atlas:
“I hope you connect to your past.
I hope you see your stories.
I hope you dream forward.”
TRACY ANDERSON


































