Author Archives: paul

On May 25, 1983, I was 21 years old—lost and heading nowhere fast. That night, I was fspeeding down 4th Street in my hometown of Hattiesburg, headlights off, 90 mph, foot on the gas. It was 2 a.m. Three police cars chased behind me, blue lights flashing. Reckless. Irresponsible. Dangerous. I don’t remember much else—exceptContinue reading “The Door at the Bottom”

A few years ago, when both of my kids left for college, I wrote each of them a letter. Nothing fancy. Just something I hoped they’d find helpful once the room quieted down and the door had closed behind me. I slipped it into the top drawer of their dorm room desks and left itContinue reading “RSJ’s Advice to Upcoming Graduates 2025”

By the end of this year, more than 1,400 people will have traveled with me on RSJ Yonderlust Tours. It’s hard to wrap my head around sometimes, considering it all started with one trip to Tuscany back in 2016. Just a handful of guests and a shared love for a place I’d come to knowContinue reading “Eight Weeks, Fifty Memories, One Grateful Heart”

There’s a quiet fear I carry that never really goes away. It doesn’t keep me up at night, but it walks with me in the background of every day. It’s not a fear of failure. I’ve failed plenty. It’s not a fear of hard work. I love to work. That’s never been the issue. It’sContinue reading “Onward Toward a Creative Life and Not an Unlived Life”

YPRES, BELGIUM—This spring has been a long celebration—one after another, in a beautiful blur. It all started with Mardi Gras, a week before I left the States. Mardi Gras is always a festive, busy time for our company, with crowds, parties, and plenty of work on our end. It’s the season when the energy aroundContinue reading “A Spring of Celebrations”

(A Life I Didn’t Plan, But Am Grateful to Live) PETROGNANO, TUSCANY— Two full days off. That’s a rarity over here, and I don’t take it lightly. I spent those two days doing the kind of work I love—getting several long-simmering projects moving forward back home, catching up on Zoom calls with the restaurant teamsContinue reading “The Gift of Work, the Blessing of People”

PETROGNANO, Italy — Something unexpected happened over the course of the last 13 years. A quiet village in the Tuscan hills—Barberino-Tavarnelle—became a part of my story. Since 2011, spread across weeks and months at a time, more than two and a half years of my life have unfolded here. That was never the intention. ButContinue reading “Friendship”

PETROGNANO, TUSCANY— Since 2017, over 1,350 people have traveled with me on more than 55 trips to seven European countries and 40 European cities. What started as a single, one-off trip hosting a few people interested in the people and places I had discovered in Tuscany has turned into a second business that occupies almostContinue reading “Rolling Fork is Truly Rising”

PETROGNANO, TUSCANY—I wear a cap most days with a single word stitched across the front. “Onward.” A guest of mine here in Tuscany asked me what that meant. Was it a company name or a clothing brand? I told him it was just a word that’s meant something to me for a long time. MoreContinue reading “Onward”