For the Ones Who Refuse to Settle

Over the weekend, I received a message from someone who felt triggered by one of my posts about the economy and hard work. And it made me pause—not to retract anything I said, but to double down on why I say it at all.

What I shared wasn’t some naïve blanket promise that “if you work hard, you’ll get everything you want.” That’s not how life works—and I know that. I’ve lived it. I’ve worked with men who have everything on paper and still feel like something’s missing. I’ve seen people give everything they have and still fall short.
I know not everyone “makes it.”
And yet… what breaks my heart more than failure is when people stop trying. When they let the pain win.

When they shrink under the weight of other people’s limitations, or their own.
We weren’t promised a pain-free life. Suffering visits everyone. But so does possibility.
This is why I do the work I do.

This is the stand I take:
I stand for those who dare to enter the arena.
Who refuse to let their past—or the opinions of others—decide their future.
Who still believe there’s more available to them in this life.

Freedom. Love. Legacy.

I call this Leadership You Can Fall In Love With. Because it’s not just about performance or profit—it’s about being someone you can be proud of. Someone your partner can respect. Someone your children admire. Someone who knows who they are and leads from that place.

In a recent episode of The Diary Of A CEO, Gary Stevenson reminded us how rigged the economic game can be. How most of the wealth we see is inherited, not created. And that expecting everyone to start from the same line is a lie we’ve been sold.

But Daniel Priestley, in that same breath, spoke about the age of entrepreneurship. The unprecedented access we have. The fact that if you can be consistent, visible, and in integrity, there is still room to build something powerful.

Both are true. The world is unfair. And it’s still full of opportunity.

My life changed because people stood for me when I couldn’t yet stand for myself. My mother. My mentors. My coaches. My friends. They whispered possibility when all I heard was limitation.

I had cinematic inspiration too! Such as A Knight’s Tale tells the story of a lowborn squire who dares to rewrite his destiny by posing as a noble and entering the elite world of jousting—driven by the belief that “a man can change his stars.” Or The Pursuit of Happyness, which follows the story of Chris Gardner a struggling father who, despite homelessness and endless rejection, refuses to give up on his dream of a better life for his son—showing us what relentless belief, sacrifice, and love can do.

Now, I live my life standing for others. For the ones who dare to dream.
Who still have fight in them. Who want to love deeply, live boldly, and lead meaningfully.

As Marianne Williamson said:
“We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.”

Let this be your permission slip.
You are not alone.
And you are not done yet.