Welcome back to the Launch Key 🚀

Last week included a little travel, good friends, lots of laughs, old haunts, new-to-me technology and plenty of road trip windshield time. And it was all a good reminder of how important it is to recharge.

I needed Sunday drive time just to calm down after the US hockey team’s overtime gold medal. Every angle of Jack Hughes golden goal will be hard to forget! 🇺🇸

I came back with enough To Do items for the next 3 months. All to improve Launch Key. And that includes more insight from you. See today’s poll at the end of this issue and help direct future content.

Let's get into it.

I have always enjoyed windshield time.

I was due for a road trip because I’ve gotten a little stale with Launch Key. The AI agent stuff has been fantastic - and taken a lot of my time to sort. But I’ve fallen into a procrastination routine that lets me write just enough on the weekend to deliver Tuesday’s issue. So I cued up podcasts, made phone calls and let ideas percolate while driving 450 miles generating food for thought.

Sure, I started 2026 busy. But it was simple work, updating all the backoffice stuff to the latest Beehiiv version. So far, those things don’t really show up for subscribers. It’s maintenance tasks that I’ve tricked myself into believing was ‘work.’

I needed to add my own domain, change dns records and email, update my archive to the new version, add Stripe payments, review google keywords, re-rewrite welcome pages and reconstruct a referral program. Many things I haven’t touched in 2 years. It’s like buying new tires for your car. I briefly felt the difference, and then back to the same old routine.

But recently I’ve had some great reminders about what recharges me. Spoiler alert: it’s not the technology.

First was a longtime friend being in town unexpectedly. His story of corporate layoff is one of the reasons I targeted Launch Key at the over-50 crowd. He’s already had an interesting career portfolio but now he’s free to do something more akin to his passion. Grey-headed solopreneurs armed with modern technology should be a powerful force.

Next was a windshield update call with one of the best coders I know. He is blown away by how good AI coding is and admitted he finished his last project 7 months earlier than expected. But he’s also worried about landing his next remote gig because even mediocre developers look talented with these tools in their hands.

Finally, there was an in-person Launch Key subscriber gathering in Charlotte. People who have supported me for a long time. Good times and bad. Clients, employees, bosses, friends, confidants. Everyone had more important things they could have done. One even showed up on his birthday.

And what did they get in return? Some interesting cross-pollination, a fantastic burrito recommendation and a little Launch Key swag in the form of a trucker hat. What can I say? I’m a cheap date.

Between all the talk about AI - and there was plenty in all my discussions - the human connection is the thing that makes any of these tech choices blossom. Late-career entrepreneurs have a tremendous network advantage and mine continues to propel me.

So, I’m back.

And I’ve got more than a dozen topics I’ve tagged for future issues. I’ve got some clear direction for Launch Key digital products. I’m fiddling with the tech underpinnings. I’ve got a new-to-me Mac Mini reformatting right now for my own AI agent experiments. Oh yeah – I’ve also got some trucker hats if you’re kind enough to forward 10 referrals to the newsletter. 😉

Most importantly, I have a heart full of thanks for the people in my life who continue to recharge my late-career side hustle.

Now go launch something 🚀

Determining when to retire is one of life’s biggest decisions, and the right time depends on your personal vision for the future. Have you considered what your retirement will look like, how long your money needs to last and what your expenses will be? Answering these questions is the first step toward building a successful retirement plan.

Our guide, When to Retire: A Quick and Easy Planning Guide, walks you through these critical steps. Learn ways to define your goals and align your investment strategy to meet them. If you have $1,000,000 or more saved, download your free guide to start planning for the retirement you’ve worked for.

Find Your Retirement Timeline

Learn AI in just 15 minutes a day — perfect for any age or experience level. Learn practical AI tools that top professionals use to work smarter and stay ahead

Don’t let the noise drown out the truly important things in life.

📚 StoryBound : StoryBound is the first-ever educational storytelling series designed to bridge the gap in finance literacy, career development, and personal growth concepts that the classroom left out.

💼 Thriving Freelance - Gigs and Growth : Hundreds of job opportunities sent directly to your inbox each week, plus timely resources to support you as you grow and evolve.

🗃 Dealroom Business Success Uncovered : Learn directly from billionaire entrepreneurs on how to grow a business. Join a community of 2,000+ innovators.