Build with Clay #123: Turn Around
A bi-weekly newsletter sparking personal growth
Hi, reader!
Today’s trivia: Which company owns the luxury automotive brands Bugatti, Lamborghini. Audi, Bentley, Porsche, and Ducati?
With that, welcome to the 123rd newsletter! This one is all about Turning Around.
A Book.
Theo of Golden by Allen Levi
This is easily the best book I’ve read in 2025. It might be the best fiction book I have read in the last 5 years.
It’s rated 4.7/5 on Good Reads (that’s very high). I’ve shipped a copy to a few people. I’ve shared the recommendation with friends and family. I’m now sharing it with you.
Do yourself a favor and read it!
A thought.
Theo, the main character in Theo of Golden, will inspire you to engage deeper in your community. I can attest because Theo encouraged me to engage deeper in my community just days after finishing the book.
It was 5:30pm on a typical hot and humid summer afternoon in North Carolina. As a self-proclaimed highly rational human being, I decided that it would be the ideal time to go on a run.
About a mile in (is that a world record?) I passed by a home that I have passed numerous times before. This time, there was a teenager doing basketball drills in his driveway. He didn’t notice me, but I ran past, admiring his dedication.
It made me think back to when I was a kid, hooping solo in my driveway. Putting up shot after shot. I recalled thinking how nice it would be to have someone to rebound for me. To play defense against me. To be in the driveway with me as I counted down “3, 2, 1….” and shot a 3 to win the Tar Heels the National Championship.
By the time I finished my trip down memory lane, I was 2 houses beyond the one with the teenager shooting hoops.
The little voice in my head told me to turn around.
I knew what Theo would want me to do.
Turn around.
I kept running.
It took 10 more seconds of self talk and then I finally turned around.
I jogged up to the kid’s driveway and said, “Hey, do you want me to play some defense on you?”
He smiled and said, “Sure.”
He then handed me the ball and said, “Take a shot.”
I did. I missed, but he said, “Ok, looks like you know how to play.”
For the next 5 minutes, I played defense against him as he continued his drills.
I found out he is trying to make his high school team. I encouraged him to keep working. Good things will come.
I left having made a new friend in the community.
At dinner that night, my kids asked me, “What was the best part of your day?”. My answer was obvious.
Just as obvious was how glad I was that I turned around. That I listened to that little voice in my head.
Next time you tell yourself to turn around, will you?
A quote.
“In every act of kindness, no matter how small, lies the power to change a life and strengthen a community.”
- Unknown
Answer: Volkswagen