06/05/2026
Ready for some real talk?
Many of you are just getting to know me, and depending on how we met, you probably know me from one specific part of my life.
Some of you know me as a real estate leader.
Some know me as a coach.
Some know me as a speaker.
Some know me as an entrepreneur.
Some know me as the founder of Journey with Equus.
What most people don’t realize is that all of those worlds exist simultaneously.
This week was a perfect example.
In the same week, I spent time with incredible real estate professionals who are focused on growth, leadership, and building businesses that actually support the lives they want to live.
I worked on a vision that could transform a nonprofit from surviving to thriving and create a model that could help other grassroots organizations do the same.
I met with amazing leaders as we prepare to launch a new leadership luncheon designed to bring together people who want to grow, challenge themselves, and become better.
And while all of that was happening, I was also helping save the life of a 17-year-old stallion standing in a kill pen.
That’s my life.
And honestly, I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
But it also reminds me of something important…
Every person you meet is carrying more than you can see.
The agent closing 30 transactions a year may be caring for aging parents.
The entrepreneur building a company may be questioning whether they can keep going.
The nonprofit founder may be wondering how they’re going to fund the next month.
The person smiling in the photo may have spent the night worried about something nobody else knows about.
We live in a world where people are quick to judge and slow to ask questions.
This week reminded me how much better we’d all be if we spent a little less time assuming and a little more time being curious.
This week alone, I’ve spent time with incredible real estate professionals and leaders who are committed to growing, building, and becoming the best versions of themselves. I’ve been preparing for a leadership luncheon that I’m genuinely excited about because I believe the world desperately needs more people willing to lead with integrity, curiosity, accountability, and purpose.
At the same time, we’ve moved another step closer to launching the vision we’ve been building on this ranch—a nature-based retreat experience designed to reconnect people to themselves, to the land, and to what truly matters. A project that, if successful, won’t just support the horses here at Journey with Equus. It could become a model that helps other grassroots nonprofits create sustainability instead of constantly living in survival mode.
And while all of that was happening…
We were fighting to save the life of a horse.
A 17-year-old stallion who, at one point in his life, was reportedly worth $825,000.
Think about that for a minute.
A horse that once carried that kind of value somehow ended up standing in a kill pen.
That should make every one of us stop and ask some hard questions.
Not just about horses.
About responsibility.
About leadership.
About what happens when something or someone is no longer useful to us.
We watched him for days.
We waited.
We hoped someone from his past would step forward.
No one did.
So we did what we always do.
We shared his story.
Our supporters stepped up.
People donated.
People shared.
People cared.
And together, we secured his safety.
What followed was a powerful reminder of where we are as a society.
Instead of conversations, we often choose conflict.
Instead of curiosity, we choose assumptions.
Instead of asking questions, we choose accusations.
And instead of working together to solve problems, too many people seem more interested in proving they are right.
What struck me most this week wasn’t the criticism itself.
After more than a decade of leading a nonprofit, criticism comes with the territory.
What struck me was how few people slow down long enough to understand a situation before deciding they already know the answer.
How often do we do that in our businesses?
In our families?
In our communities?
In our leadership?
How often do we react before we understand?
How often do we judge before we ask questions?
How often do we decide someone is wrong before we’ve taken the time to hear their perspective?
The older I get, the more I realize that true leadership has very little to do with having all the answers.
It has everything to do with being willing to stay curious.
To ask questions.
To gather facts.
To understand the entire picture before making decisions.
And to be willing to do the right thing, even when it’s uncomfortable.
Especially when it’s uncomfortable.
Over the last decade, Journey with Equus has stood in the gap for animals that had nowhere else to go.
We’ve celebrated miracles.
We’ve experienced heartbreak.
We’ve watched communities come together.
And we’ve learned some difficult truths.
Many do not respond.
Many do not donate.
Many do not offer a safe landing.
And some attack the very people trying to clean up the mess after the safety net failed—or after discovering there was never a meaningful safety net in the first place.
The uncomfortable truth we’ve witnessed over more than a decade of doing this work is that the people with the greatest ability to make a difference are often the least likely to step forward.
Not always.
There are absolutely exceptions, and we are deeply grateful for them.
But time and time again, it is not the people with the deepest pockets who save these horses.
It is ordinary people donating $10, $25, $50, or $100 at a time.
It is retirees on fixed incomes.
It is families who sacrifice something else because they believe a life matters.
It is the grassroots supporters who show up over and over and over again.
Meanwhile, many of the individuals and industries with the financial resources to create real safety nets, fund meaningful retirement programs, and prevent horses from ever entering the slaughter pipeline simply choose not to get involved.
And when they don’t, the responsibility falls to small nonprofits, rescues, sanctuaries, and everyday people who refuse to look away.
That isn’t bitterness.
That’s simply the reality we’ve lived for more than ten years.
And before anyone mistakes this for complaining, let me be clear:
I love my life.
I love this mission.
I love the horses.
I love helping people discover who they are and what they were created to do.
I love building businesses.
I love creating things that have the potential to outlive me.
But some days are heavy.
Some days remind me just how broken certain systems are.
Some days remind me how much work still needs to be done.
And some days remind me that leadership isn’t about being popular.
It’s about being willing to stand in the fire when everyone else is walking away.
The truth is, I’m not perfect.
I’ve made mistakes.
I will make more.
But I will continue to lead from a place of curiosity rather than certainty.
I will continue to ask questions.
I will continue to gather facts.
I will continue to stand up for the horses.
I will continue to protect what matters, even when it’s unpopular.
And I will continue to believe that compassion and accountability can exist in the same conversation.
So as I sit here reflecting on this wild week, that’s the question I leave you with:
What’s going on in your world right now that most people don’t see?
What’s the challenge you’re carrying?
What’s the dream you’re building?
What’s the battle you’re fighting?
Because behind every business, every title, every success story, and every social media profile is a human being doing their best to navigate life.
I’d love to hear what’s happening in your world.
Let’s have a real conversation.
