*BANG BANG BANG* “FBI OPEN THIS DOOR OR WE WILL BUST IT DOWN”

I jump out of bed.

Naked. Confused. Full of adrenaline.

I grab my glasses and look out of my bedroom window to see six SUVs and probably 20 to 25 Homeland Security, FBI, and police officers surrounding my next-door neighbor’s house.

At this point, I am watching an action movie.

I throw on some boxers and make my way to my rooftop to watch the show.

By the time I get up there, the agents have already busted down my neighbor’s front door.

A few minutes later, I look to my right.

On my neighbor’s roof, maybe ten feet away from me, are six agents.

Flashlights on me.

Rifles pointed straight at me.

Okay.

I calmly put my hands up and do my best to communicate that the half-naked man standing on the neighboring rooftop at six in the morning is not a threat.

They realize I am just the confused neighbor and continue with their search.

I decide that is probably enough excitement for one morning and make my way back downstairs.

This time, I put on real clothes.

I make myself a cup of coffee and head outside to investigate.

It is about 7:30 AM at this point.

I had a meeting scheduled for 8.

I pushed it back.

Just in case the FBI needed my backup..

As I mentioned in the intro, September somehow felt like three lifetimes packed into one month.

I got my first tattoo.

Well, technically I got three.

No half measures.

I got hit with a corporate lawsuit against my business.

Might need to cut back financially.

(I won’t.)

I went to USC Family Weekend, which, if you could not already tell, reminded me how insanely proud I am of my little sister.

But probably the most important part of this month was all the conversations in between.

I had a lot of deep conversations with people I love, and they made me think about the kind of man I want to become.

I realized that more people look to me than I probably notice.

My little sister.

My friends.

People who call me when they need advice, when something goes wrong, or when they just need someone in their corner.

And that comes with responsibility.

I am not naive.

I know my little sister is not going to stay my baby sister forever.

She is going to grow up. She is going to meet people. She is going to fall in love. She is going to build a life that does not revolve around her older brother annoying her every five minutes.

So while I still get to be that person in her life, I want to treat her with the utmost respect, love, and care.

Because whether she realizes it or not, I want her to grow up knowing what those things are supposed to feel like.

I want her standards to be high.

Not because I can protect her from everything.

I cannot.

But because I can show her how someone who genuinely loves her should treat her.

And I think the same thing applies to friendship.

I have somehow built this incredible group of people around me.

People who trust me.

People who ask me for advice.

People who know that if things ever really went wrong, I would go to war for them.

And I know they would do the same for me.

That is something I do not take lightly anymore.

I used to think growing up was mostly about becoming more successful, more confident, more independent.

And obviously, I still want all of those things.

But I am starting to think a big part of becoming a man is becoming someone other people can depend on.

Someone who shows up.

Someone who protects the people he loves.

Someone who gives good advice, even when it is not the advice they want to hear.

Someone whose word actually means something.

September was chaotic.

Tattoo needles, lawyers, business meetings, family weekends, federal agents on my roof.

But underneath all of that, I think this month was really about responsibility.

Not the boring kind.

The good kind.

The kind that comes from realizing you have people in your life worth showing up for.

Fall is here, and like I said, I have people relying on me now.

So I’m adding a new section to make sure everyone who reads The Monthly Mo is almost as cool as me.

This month was pretty much the epitome of owning your own business.

I already talked about some of the lows earlier.

But the highs have never felt higher.

This month, I finally met the first salesman I ever hired in person.

We have worked together for three years.

He lives in Pittsburgh.

And somehow, despite talking constantly and building a business together, we had never actually met.

So naturally, the first time I met him, I flew him out to California for a meeting with one of the biggest grocery chains on the West Coast.

No pressure.

We walked into that meeting together after three years of phone calls, zoom meetings, emails, orders, problems, wins, losses, and everything in between.

And I had one of those moments where I kind of zoomed out and thought:

This is pretty fucking cool.

Three years ago, he was the first salesman I hired.

Now we are sitting across the table trying to win one of the biggest accounts we have ever gone after.

Fingers crossed.

Still waiting to hear back.

And I think that is why I love business so much.

A lot of people who know me know that I could never have a job where every day looks the same.

I need action.

I need something to chase.

I need the possibility that everything can go incredibly right or incredibly wrong.

One moment you are talking to lawyers wondering how much this is all going to cost you.

The next you are sitting in a conference room thinking about what happens if you land one of the biggest customers you have ever had.

The lowest of lows.

The highest of highs.

All within the same week.

Investments -

Portfolio remained steady this month. Best thing I could have asked for with everything going on.

Newest Investments have been $CIFR ( ▲ 1.62% ), $CLSK ( ▲ 1.76% ), $SPCX ( ▲ 7.36% ), $AMPY ( ▼ 0.46% )

Life is always going to be chaotic.

There will always be something going wrong, something going right, something completely unexpected, and the occasional rifle pointed at you before sunrise.

But through all of it, I want to keep becoming someone the people I love can count on.

Someone who shows up.

Someone who keeps his word.

Someone who can handle the lows without losing himself and enjoy the highs without taking them for granted.

Also someone who is whimsical.

Very important.

Anyways, September was insane.

Would highly recommend doing three lifetimes every month.

See you next month. Love you all. :)

Until next time,

Mohammad Kevin El-Ajouz