It’s hard to write right now.
Not because I don’t have words—but because words feel thin compared to the weight of this moment.
2025 was, without question, one of the hardest years of my life. And I’ve lived through plenty. Health challenges hit from multiple directions and didn’t let up. Clients I care deeply about were navigating their own storms. It felt relentless. So, when we turned the page to 2026, I let myself hope. Just a little. Maybe this year will be lighter. More stable. Kinder. And then ICE invaded Minnesota. And with that came fear, uncertainty, and a sense that safety—something we take for granted until it’s gone—was suddenly fragile. Minnesota feels this deeply. Fully. And yet the rest of the world keeps moving, because when pain doesn’t stay in the headlines, it starts to look invisible.
And still.
Life refuses to be only one thing at a time.
In the midst of all this, my son is living his best life. Truly. There is joy in our family as he succeeds in ways we only dreamed about. There is growth happening. There is a new book launching which I co-authored –Issues: Remove Friction, Fast-Track Your Growth, and Ignite Your Greatness – and with it, a new body of work around solving what actually matters, at the root. There is new learning. Tools, workshops and talks are coming. Momentum, even when it feels hard-earned and difficult. I’m fiercely proud to be a Minnesotan in the middle of this battle. I’m proud of our grit, our care for one another, our commitment to community and refusal to look away from all that is happening. And yes, I’m deeply ashamed of much of what’s happening in America right now. Both things are true.
This isn’t a lessons-learned moment.
It’s a commitment and faith statement.
Faith that humanity is better than our worst moments. Faith that fortitude matters more than optimism. Faith that naming the real issues – without flinching – is how we move forward together. Minnesota is hurting. And Minnesota is strong. And I believe, with everything in me, that we will get through this—not because it’s easy, but because we choose to face what’s real and keep going anyway.