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Hey, Jai here.
This is my journal where I brain dump interesting things i’ve learnt or done recently.
You’re in the 0.5% of my audience that get to read this. Here’s the latest (<8 minute read):
I spent 7 full days offline (no phone or laptop) cycling through Patagonia alone.
It was all the things you can probably imagine. Scary, enduring, peaceful, liberating and downright breathtaking.
A little further down I’ll share my reflections.
but first, a vulnerable share:
Alina and I broke up a month ago, after 2 years together. It was my call, and she’s been so graceful about it. Nothing but great things to say about her and us - sometimes life guides us (me) in a direction that can’t be explained. One of intuition, and trust.
Having the courage to do something about it is the hard part.
I’ve always been the kind of person to ‘get on with it’ and spend very little time thinking about the past. This has built a sort of resistance to emotions. I thought it was a good thing - allowing me to be a more level-headed leader in business, and a more stable friend and partner.
I couldn't remember the last time I cried. Of joy or sadness. It’s like I wouldn’t allow myself to feel any extremes at all. A sort of dumbed-down existence that I sure as hell didn't want to be living anymore.
so I embraced the change.
We lived together for a week (after the breakup) in Mallorca talking, crying, processing. We wrote letters to each other. Then I flew to Patagonia for the week offline. Cycling all day with no escape from my thoughts. Breathwork sessions fucked me up (in the best way possible). There was no way out but through.
Truthfully, I don’t know why i’m sharing this, but it feels important somehow. Like there’s somebody reading that needs to hear it. If this is you, reply and let me know.
Here’s to embracing change, even when it hurts. Especially when it hurts.
Random things that have given me great value lately:
- Sir Richard Branson’s biographies Branson started the Virgin Group. I’d be very surprised if you hadn’t heard about one of his 100s of companies (Virgin Airlines, Virgin Active, Virgin Mobile, Virgin Hotels, Virgin Wines, etc). More than 10 of them are billion dollar empires now.
My dad was always fascinated by him. I think partly because he’s a big kite-surfer too, but mostly because of the way he mixed adventure with business. Holding many records for Atlantic crossings in boats, hot air balloons and launching planes into space. He risked his life many times over, for the thrill of living a full one.
What I like about his story is how consistently he was able to innovate on products and force the rest of the world to follow suit. Virgin were the first to bring TV screens into airplanes. Put beds into business class seats. They built new trains that were essentially crash-proof and twice as fast. They opened record (music) stores that became third spaces for people to hang out and vibe all day, distrupting the big-box retailers that were commercial and boring.
His principles are to:
1. Service
2. Value for money
3. A simple product
And when he starts a new company, he first finds the right people, and then protects the downside (always). For example, when he started the airline Virgin Atlantic, he negotiated a deal with Boeing to rent the planes for 1 year, with the option to return them if the airline couldn’t become profitable in that time. This kind of deal was unheard of at the time, and reduced most of the risk.
I’m drawn to biographies because they’re full of stories that make them easy to read. I recommend these two of Bransons for sure: Losing My Virginity + Finding My Virginity
- On my flight from Patagonia —> Milan for an event, I watched this youtube video with the founder of Whop (link)
Honestly, it changed my perspective about Whop. It always felt too bro hustle culture for me, marketing young guys who make a lot of money and then splash on cars and parties.
After watching this, Cameron feels a lot more like me. Bio hacking, meditation, big dreams, and a mission to build montessouri schools around the world.
But what I found really cool is that he literally gives a college education worth of insights into how to start a business, in 1 hour and 21 minutes.
At this point i’ve been part of building 5x million dollar businesses and found a lot of useful insights and things to try. I wish I had a video like this when I started out.
- Yep, another book.
I first read The Way of The Superior man a few years ago. Re-reading it now.
One of the best books i’ve found on how to understand women, by first understanding my own masculine and feminine energy. How polarity is needed for them to work together. For the masculine, their mission is the highest priority. And for the feminine, love is.
If you’re a guy wanting to understand yourself, read it.
If you’re a woman wanting to understand the men in your life, read it.
So, how about a lil reflection on my time cycling through Patagonia? Here’s 10 things I scribbled in my notebook once I finished:
- I slept 10-11 hours a night with no alarm, often falling asleep before I even had time to get under the covers. This continued even after the cycling was done, so it wasn't just fatigue
- I read 3.5 books
- Normally 'easy' things felt much harder.
No weather forecast, GPS or google translate
No texting people to organise a time and place to meetup
etc.
- I had so much more time in my day, despite cycling for 5-7 hours. I did a lot of things that I would usually rush past, and I starting walking the “long way” just for the hell of it
- I was more anxious to go back online than I was to go offline. I could feel the difference between a calm nervous system and one spiked on dopamine
- I love cash. Makes it so easy to buy things and “round up” when giving tips. I felt more abundant because of it
- The secret to staying offline was making it a challenge (eg. 7 full days), and giving myself no way out. Then the only way is through. This applies to so many life decisions - less noise and distractions. One goal every day - to cycle to the next point on my map. Committing to the path is the important part. Don’t give yourself another option
- Consistent effort over a sustained period of time is how you achieve your goals. You just need to get back on the fucking bike
- Your thoughts create your reality. Truthfully, I struggled on day 2 and 3. I went from no cycling experience to 50km/day off-road and up mountains. No podcasts or music or inputs. It fucking sucked (at least thats what I was telling myself). I started seeing everything around me in a negative light.
There is so long left to ride today
My ass is bruised and sore from the bike seat
I’m so bored and this is so slow
When I noticed myself doing this, I had to consciously re-frame my mind.
Wow, the weather has been so good to me
I’m tanning in this warm sun
My legs are getting stronger with every second that passes
The countryside is so green and beautiful around me I have the freedom and the money to fly anywhere in the world with little notice
I’m in fucking Patagonia, man
I could feel my mind shift in these moments, and the days became easier. More lively, more fun. It really is mind boggling how much your self-talk influences the lens that you see the world through, and thus your reality.
- An unexpected reflection is that I became “interesting” to people. I’ve always tried to be the most interested in the room. To hide in the shadows a little and find ways to get people to talk about themselves
In the first 5 days I cycled from Bariloche to San Martin, Patagonia and joined Edge City. It’s a pop-up city of builders, creatives and tech-first thinkers. About 500 people living in the town for a month.
Because I was offline I because known as the offline guy from Australia. Pretty hard to miss a long-haired 6”3 kid looking a little lost, I guess.
It became a conversation starter and I met a lot more people as a result.
The lesson, though, is that it doesn’t take much to “network”. You literally just have to do something interesting to people. Spend a week offline, or create a meaningful product, or do something most people haven’t (but want to).
Naval says “Networking is overrated. Do something great and your network will instantly emerge” and I fell into it accidently in Patagonia.
I posted a video on Instagram if you wanna feel what it was like.
Then I flew to Milan to meet 25 founders of IRL community businesses.
Founders of companies like Timeleft, WeRoad and The Offline Club.
Here’s a lil nugget that dropped out for me:
The world changes so fast, but human behaviour doesn’t. Jeff Bezos (Amazon) knows that people are always going to want faster shipping and cheaper prices. Have you ever head someone say “Damn I really wish that package took longer to arrive at my house”?
In our space, people are always going to want to belong. To sit around the campfire with friends that they enjoy spending time with. Not a lonely life with nobody to share it with.
Tech will change, and the world will go more and more online. But humans will always want to spend time IRL with other humans.
After Milan I continued on to Amsterdam to spend time with my best mate Cammy, his wife Via.
Cammy and I ran Naming This Later together a few years back and we’ve been through just about every high and low of business alongside each other.
The crazy part is we met on Skype in 2014, and only see each other a couple times a year (usually for a month or so).
A story for another day, but Amsterdam is a cool city.
For now, I’m back in Australia for the first time in 9 months.
November in Perth/Margaret River.
December in the Gold Coast/Byron.
Christmas & NYE back in Margs.
Then? I dunno, honestly.
Maybe Japan for a month or two.
Learn how to backflip on a snowboard or somethin’.
Execute our 2026 biz plans.
My youngest brother finished high school and turned 18 recently, and we have a bit of a tradition to do a boys trip with my other brothers. So we'll throw that in somewhere.
2026 feels like a blank canvas. And I like that.
And finally, a thought to ponder.
When was the last time you dedicated consistent time to learn a new skill?
Here’s my list of things I want to be great at:
- Dancing hiphop or swing
- Singing
- Playing guitar / piano
- Producing music like this (link to montell)
- Playing Tennis at a high level
- Fluent in Spanish
- Tantra
- Public speaking
- Most sports, haha
What have you wanted to learn for a long time, but never got round to it? Instead of waiting for 2026, I wonder what would happen if you just… start?
Seeya when I have something worth saying.
Big love, Jai
Journal Entry // November 16th, 2025
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