Principle One:

I have a very unique faith, and before you click off, give me a minute to explain. I believe every human alive now and ever born has a unique faith, something they fundamentally believe about the way the world works and about the life they want. From the most ardent atheist to the most devout monk, we all have a faith that we either rely upon or one we run from. My unique faith has been cultivated in the Judeo-Christian culture so of course you would want to label me a Christian or a Jew. You would be right and wrong at the same time. My faith will not or cannot be defined by those labels, and neither should yours.

Really it doesn’t matter what my faith foundation is; what matters is whether I am fully grounded in it. The happiest, most content and satisfied and the most giving people seem to have one thing in common; a strong foundation in a faith that they believe in deeply.

Instead of proving each other wrong, based on something we apply out of the ancient book we call the foundation of our faith, maybe we should find those lofty things common to each of us, things like: Love for our fellow man, taking joy in the laughter of children, the pleasure of giving a gift to someone less fortunate than us…and on and on.

Instead of beating each other up with our books of truth, what if we warmed each other with our love for each other, for our willingness to find the best in each other and to serve one another. The books of truth usually have that in common: a call to a higher purpose.

I have something I think you would like to know, something that isn’t The Secret, or the 7 Habits of Highly Successful People, just principles of a life well lived; well at least up to this point. I could still mess it up and do something so out of character that it would invalidate my message, but my best friend and hero, Sara, my wife of 43 years is unlikely to let that happen. In fact, Principle number Five is Surround Yourself with Wise Counselors who Would Be Honored to Carry Your Coffin. We will get to that soon enough and you will understand how and why it matters.

Who am I to try to convince anyone that faith matters? I am not a pastor, having never even visited a seminary much less gone to one. I am a business leader, not a spiritual leader, having more CEO in me than I often need or even want. It’s a curse of a sort in that you see the world through the eyes of opportunistic capitalism, and while that sounds very impressive, it’s actually not. Sometimes I wish I saw things like a monk rather than an entrepreneur.

I want to share my simple faith and what that has meant to me as I lead in the world of business; a faith in a higher power, a God, an overarching “logos” to this whole thing we call life. I won’t try to name my God, because once I do, you immediately make a judgement based on that name. My faith has been informed, and is being formed, in the Judeo-Christian culture, so you might decide, after having been wounded or confused by your history within this culture that this is not the place for you. Please stay awhile and see. I too have been wounded and often confused by the traditions of the Judeo-Christian teaching. Yet, it has been instrumental in my simple faith.

I am not going to try to convince anyone without faith that they should have faith. I am a pretty poor evangelist for any kind of religion let alone one that proposes you need a savior. If you have no faith, then you likely don’t want to be proselytized. If you have faith, you likely, or hopefully, know what or who or what you have faith in. And if you are just curious, then let’s discover together.

I would like to gather stories from people, like me, who can attest to the power of their faith when it mattered; and in times like we are dealing with as of this writing where Covid has changed everything, it matters greatly.

So, take what you will from this and if you have a story to share, we are listening. Content will be moderated to avoid those pitiful trolls who take anything written or said about faith and feel an obligation to tell us our faith is a myth, that there is no higher power, no God, no spiritual at all or if there is sense it is all science. As I said, my job is not to convince them but to create a community of those who believe, whether your belief is organized or as chaotic as mine.

First, a little background so you know I am serious about not being qualified but at the same time being compelled due to a life well lived, or at least up to this point lived as well as I could. I see my true self through the eyes of those who know me best, my family and my dearest friends who have walked this long journey with me. What I see from them reflects a far better person than I think I am personally. Why? Because I have heard all of the thoughts that they never hear, filtered out because of my faith, yet still there, in the back of my mind saying, “Who are you to tell anyone about how their faith should impact their business life or how their business life should reflect their faith?”

I have been successful in business and I have failed in business. While not a rich man, I am financially free, or at least as much as one needs or wants, and by many standards, I might be perceived as having done well for myself and my family. You will read more about those successes and often more about the failures as we take this journey together.

I have led organizations from $1M in revenue to $400M in revenue, once I led a publicly traded company, but mostly they were privately held or closely held companies. I’ve run and now lead a few not-for profit companies and have had the opportunity to “turn-around” well over 30 other companies, for companies that needed a turn-around as they ran aground or headed for the cliff from which they could not recover. Many of my own personal revelations of faith came about through these times.

I serve on a couple of boards in active roles.

And more importantly, I have reached a point where I have the time and the capacity to start this journey with you. I do not seek to profit from this but to create something that others may profit from. I hope I stay true to that purpose, since as I already shared, I am at heart… a visionary capitalist.