I am Jake Carlson and am so thrilled that you are here- you and I have a lot in common. We both are seeking success and fulfillment in life while balancing what we love to do with those with love the most.
Who am I?
I’m a family guy. I have a wonderful wife and three completely awesome kids. We love to do things as a family and most of it revolves around the outdoors. We love to camp (but hate the cold so we made sure to get super warm mummy bags and a tent heater). We live here in San Jose, CA which gives us year round outdoor access.
I am an adventure junkie and love to try out new and exciting things. I’ve climbed volcanoes in the Philippines, spent an entire summer backpacking through 11 National Parks, skydove (is that a word?), rock climbed on two continents and scuba dove with sharks. I have a few adventures in the planning stages including kiteboarding and base jumping but am still working on the spousal permit.
Education
I love to read. As a kid I would stay up well past “reasonable” to finish the next chapter. I survived school half exhausted. I was never a great student but did pretty well. My passion for learning led me to pursue extended education. I have a BA in Philosophy with a minor in analytic thinking and deductive logic (I know boring right? It gets worse). After that punishment I had the brilliant idea to move to sunny San Diego and spend 14 hour days working on a dual MBA/JD program. During the day I took law classes and graduated in tax and estate planning (I told you it got worse) and nights getting an MBA in real estate finance and valuation. After that “experience” I passed the bar in the state of Arizona and began my life as a tax attorney.
Work
I was taught to work hard and appreciate what I had. My parent have spent their lives in commissioned based careers where working hard means enjoying more. I was an early starter working at a young age cleaning the dark corners of a pizza shop 2 hours a day at age 13. It took me 1 hour each way on the city bus for those 2 hours but I loved it. Since that time I have had many different types of jobs and have loved almost all of them. I have worked food service, turned records as a radio dj, clerked for a family law firm, data entry, stock broker, tax attorney, development director and now a speaker, author and business owner. I work hard each day and enjoy the benefits that work brings.
I gain inspiration from a number of sources: books, movies, music…social media.
Favorite book: How do I pick just 1? The easy out would be to just say whatever I am reading currently. I love books and average 20+ a year. I mostly read business and inspirational. I like Jim Collins, Malcolm Gladwell, Zig ZIglar and the late Stephen Covey.
Favorite movie: Big Fish. I always get sideways looks when I say this but I love Big Fish. A story of a father that tries to bond with his son through storytelling; while the stories may appear to be whoppers they show the life journey the lead character (Edward Bloom) is on. How he became who he is. I love the line when he asks the giant, “has it ever occurred to you that maybe you’re not too big? That maybe this place is just too small?”
Favorite Band: I have two and they are both so different. First when I need an energy pick me up I put on Of a Revolution (O.A.R.). A band I fell in love with in college and have followed since. Little known commercially but they are incredible live. The second is a band (actually more a person) who is no stranger to anyone- Jimmy Buffett. I love the lyrics and the “enjoy life” theme he presents. Plus as an added bonus he has so many songs that you can listen all day and never repeat (he even has his own station on XM).
Social Media: who do I follow? I am not real savvy with Facebook and my tweets can feel a bit awkward and I am sure my podcast will require fine tuning but that is who I am. I try to be honest and authentic. Because of that I follow authentic experts who can help me. I follow too many to list here but my favorites are Pat Flynn (SmartPassiveIncome.com), Cliff Ravenscraft (podcastanswerman.com) and Jason Gay (Wallstreet Journal)
I am a lucky guy and have been blessed on so many ways. I am excited to have you on this journey with me. If you like what you have read so far make sure you sign up for my newsletter or contact on Twitter