Born Rich

I might have this wrong, but I think Mother Teresa said:

"Hungry not only for bread—but hungry for love. Naked not only for clothing—but naked of human dignity and respect."

From that point of view, I was born rich.

Hey, it's Sunday Morning.

Great leadership isn't about power—it's about love.

Not the secondhand kind or the chocolate-and-flowers kind, but the kind that shows up when things fall apart. The kind that stays in the room after the door slams. The kind that keeps showing up, even when you're tired, out of ideas, and running on fumes.

Someone once asked me: If you were to die tomorrow, what would be your biggest regret?

I didn't even pause: "I'd want my children, my wife to know how deeply I love them."

Love as a compass.

When you come from nothing, surviving is a gift. And I more than survived, I thrived and gave myself and my family a life beyond my wildest dreams.

Could I have been wealthy? Yes. But as I write this, I realize: I am rich. Not because of what I accumulated. Because of what guided me.

Love sits at the center of what I value, and that clarity has shaped every decision I've made. Not always convenient, not always clean. Sometimes it's like Wolverine's claws in my chest. But I keep showing up anyway. Love doesn't always whisper. It shoves, sometimes.

To lead with love means facing the unknown without flinching. The more comfortable I've become with not having all the answers, the more clarity I've found—not just for myself, but for the people I support.

But clarity doesn't always bring comfort. Most of the time, it costs something.

To lead with love isn't to be the hero. It's to build something that doesn't need you to survive. Whether it's five or fifty thousand people, whatever you lead should one day thrive even when you are not there.

When I thought about what that meant for me, I tried to write it down:

I aim to create.

Transparent, prosperous.

Joyful, without me.

That's what leadership means to me: love that doesn't cling, care that costs something. Because wealth and richness aren't the same thing. One accumulates, the other remains.

I wasn't born naked, I was born draped with dignity. Everything else has been extra.

More on that, soon.

Until next Sunday.