Guard These 3 Things Fiercely

Stop saying yes to everything. Here's what to protect instead

Author

Vince Porter
June 27, 2026

Table of Contents

Guard These 3 Things Fiercely

I sat down with James Sackey, founder of JSM, at our monthly Office Hours this past Monday. He said something that stuck with me. He talked about 3 things that will make or break your entire life.

Guard where you spend your time. Guard who you spend it with. Guard what information you consume.

These are not soft ideas. This is not motivational fluff.

Heather always tells our kids “Show me your 5 closest friends and I will show you what you will become ! “ .

Your environment shapes your mindset. Your network shapes your outcomes. Your information diet shapes your worldview. The research backs this up. Behaviors and outcomes spread through relationships at scale. If you want to change your trajectory, you have to be intentional about all 3.

Let's start with time. Most of us think we have infinite time to figure things out. We don't. Every hour you spend is an hour you can't get back. James told me he skips big networking events now. If it's over 100 people, he's probably not going. If it's 10 people, he'll be there. Why? Because he knows where his time produces the most value. He's positioned. He knows who he serves. So he only shows up where he can actually contribute. That's the inverse of how most of us operate. We show up everywhere and wonder why we're exhausted.

Your network is next. If you're in a scarcity mindset, you think giving away your time or your connections costs you something. It doesn't. James operates from abundance. He walks into a room asking one question: what can I give here? Not what can I get. The people you spend time with will either pull you up or drag you down. There is no neutral. If your network is filled with people who think small, you will think small. If it's filled with people who think big and act intentionally, you become that too.

Finally, your information diet. What are you reading? Who are you listening to? What podcasts are playing in your ear on your commute? What social media are you scrolling? This one gets overlooked, but it's just as important as the other two. Garbage in, garbage out. You become what you consume.

Here's the hard part. Being intentional about all 3 requires saying no. Lots of nos. No to events that don't align with your position. No to relationships that drain more than they add. No to content that pulls you in different directions.

Your life is the sum of these choices. Guard them like your business depends on it. Because it does.

If you missed the webinar, we do this every month. It's called Office Hours, and it's part of the P&C Collective, where we bring on guests to share insights, tell their stories, and learn together as a community.

Check out the recording if you want to hear more. - REPLAY

Hire your kids , Fund their Roth

Jacob, my 17 year old, is with us at the firm this summer interning. He is learning the ropes of tax and accounting... and giving his dad a nice write off.

We talk about it a lot in our tax planning circles, but you can hire your children, and as long as they make less than the standard deduction, they'll generally pay $0 in federal income tax. You'll get a deduction worth up to 37%, if you're in the highest bracket, and they'll get some spending money.

For Jacob, this summer's goal is to put $4,000 into a Roth IRA. If he is 17, puts it into a Roth that earns 10% each year for the next 42 years, then by the time he is 59, that $4,000 will have grown to around $220,000. If he waits until he is 25 to start, that same $4,000 will only grow to around $120,000.

So get your kids started early. Teach them the habits of saving and the power of compounding.

And save Dad some tax dollars while they learn the ropes at the ole CPA firm.

From The Collective

The Collective is a members-only community where entrepreneurs, real estate investors, and fund operators get access to expert office hours, tax strategy, and peer conversations they cannot get anywhere else.

Every month we bring a client or trusted advisor into our Office Hours program to share something worth knowing. We are looking for our next guest.

Know someone who should be in the room? Want to suggest a topic? Think it should be you?

Reply to this email. Let's talk.

Vince