Tristan’s 7+1: What I'm reading, watching, listening to, etc...

Hi ,

Leadership isn't a title you're handed. It's a decision you make over and over, usually when nobody's watching and nothing's forcing your hand. The great ones don't lead because the room demands it.

 They lead because they've decided who they are, and then they show up as that person whether things are going well or falling apart. That consistency is the whole game. People don't follow your highlight reel. They follow your floor. They watch how you treat the deal that fell through, the agent who's struggling, the version of you that's tired and could coast. 

Lead from your floor and you'll never have to manage your ceiling. 

^{WHAT I’M EXCITED ABOUT}
Our AI Sessions at A Brilliant Tribe.  I can't say enough about what these sessions are doing for our members right now. People are walking in unsure of where to even start with AI and walking out building real systems for their business. It's clicking. If you've been on the fence, come join us. Go to Ai.Abrillianttribe.com and get in the room. This is the stuff that's separating the agents who grow from the ones who get left behind.

^{BOOK I’M READING}
Marcus Aurelius The Stoic Emperor.  I just picked this one up because I’ve been wanting to read more about him. Here's a man running an entire empire, writing private notes to himself about staying disciplined, staying humble, and focusing only on what he can control. Two thousand years later we can still learn a thing or two about how he lived his life and led an empire. If you lead anything, even just your own day, this belongs on your nightstand.

^{WHAT I’M WATCHING}
FDR (Amazon Prime documentary). I'm watching the FDR documentary on Prime and it's a masterclass in leading through impossible odds. Depression, world war, his own physical limitations, and he still moved a country forward. Watch it for the history. Stay for the lesson on what steady leadership actually looks like under real pressure.

^{WHAT I’M LISTENING TO}
The Daily Stoic Podcast.  Short, sharp, and built to set your head straight before the day gets loud. Ryan Holiday takes ancient ideas and makes them usable right now. Perfect pairing with the Marcus Aurelius I'm reading, and an easy way to keep the mindset work going when you're driving between appointments.

^{WHAT I JUST BOUGHT}
Moleskine Lord of the Rings Notebook 3-Pack. Picked up the Moleskine Lord of the Rings 3-pack and I'm a little too excited about it. There's something about a great notebook that makes you actually want to sit down and think. Tolkien on the cover doesn't hurt. If you journal or plan by hand like I do, the right tools matter more than people admit.

^{ARTICLE I’M READING}
Is Your Leadership Style Too Nice? by Ron Ashkenas and Gali Cooks (HBR). — The premise hit me. Most leaders confuse being nice with being good, and they're not the same thing. Being good actually requires clear accountability, candid feedback, and disciplined decisions about roles and retention. Nice avoids the hard conversation. Good has it because it respects people enough to be honest. If you've ever softened feedback to the point it stopped helping anyone, read this one. Harvard Business Review

^{WHAT TECH I’M TESTING OUT}
Perplexity Comet. — I'm testing Perplexity's AI browser and using it to build out a full Trello board for the team. Watching it pull research, organize tasks, and structure a workflow in real time is wild. For agents, think about what that means: research a neighborhood, organize a listing launch, build a transaction checklist, all in one place. I'm early on it, but the potential here is real.

^{WHAT I’M WORKING ON}
I'm working on something a little different right now. Daily affirmations for myself, built around one goal: getting better at showing up consistently. Not motivation. Reminders of who I've decided to be before the day pulls me in ten directions. It's been grounding. If you want the set I'm using, just shoot me an email at [email protected].

Thank you for reading A Brilliant Tribe.

Thank you for reading A Brilliant Tribe. 

Best regards,