Today, I’m grateful for the stillness and peace of my deck, a space that has quietly hosted many private conversations over the years—conversations about business, life, and relationships. This afternoon, I had the gift of catching up with an old friend I hadn’t seen in five years. Life brought him back into orbit recently when he made an investment in the bank.
It was a perfect day—sunlight, breeze, and conversation that moved freely. We talked about our companies and the people who power them. We talked about our kids. We talked about what it’s like to navigate business when you don’t quite fit the mold—when you’re different from what people expect to see. I told him how refreshing it was to have a real, adult conversation about the tension of leading—trying to do right by your team, your mission, your family, and yourself.