When my children were little, we went big on the holidays. We made ornaments and cookies and gingerbread houses and bedazzled our world with wintery magic. My kids played in holiday concerts and our house was fully of noise, sugar, and glittery clutter from Thanksgiving to New Years.
For the four Christmases that Genesis lived with us, there was extra laughter and brightness.
The past few years have felt deeply quiet in contrast. My dad and brother are gone. Genesis no longer spends Christmas with us. There is very little extended family to gather. My children are teens and less eager to make messes with powdered sugar or Elmer’s glue.
I’ve been grieving the loss of holiday magic.
But I was too quick to surrender to sadness. Last night, the magic left me speechless, standing with tears of joy streaming down my face. It was the kind of magic that really only happens on holidays.
Our 15-y-o son, Fisher, made a gift for Fin, his 19-y-o sibling.
A gift unprompted, unsupervised and unexpected.
An Amazon bag full of 50 small scraps of paper. On each piece of paper was a sentence beginning with “I love you because…” Fin moved between tears and laughter, reading each message- some inside jokes and some vulnerable expressions of admiration. The kind of intimacy that only happens between siblings. Siblings who’ve shared much play, fun and delight, but also their fair share of grief.
So, once again, I am left as an evangelist for holiday magic. A believer in the mischievous, unexpected appearance of love and tenderness. The hand written notes of a cool-kid, lacrosse player with perfect hair, one who greets his family members with a grunt. Freely showering his sibling with appreciation, kindness, and love.
I am entering the most magical season, the one where I stand by and watch our children lead the way. Lead us all in the ways of love.
#holidaygrief #holidaymagic #touchingtwoworlds #grief #siblinggrief #grief #love #joy #siblinglove #griefjourney #griefislove #teen #boymom #momofteens
💥 Find your customers before you build.
Too many founders fall in love with their idea, and end up building something no one wants.
@definitely.rob (founder of @microconf and TinySeed) shares the hard truth: skipping this step is one of the fastest ways to fail.
🎧 Full conversation on YouTube: “The Brutal Truth About Exiting Your Business”
Link in bio 🔗
#TropicalMBA #TMBAPodcast #DCBLACK #DynamiteCircle #EntrepreneurLife #LifestyleBusiness #7FigureBusiness #LifestyleFounder #RemoteBusiness #RemoteFounders #BusinessAdvice #BootstrappedBusiness #MarketingTips #StartupStrategy #CustomerFirst #RemoteWork #BuildInPublic #BusinessWins #FounderLife #StartupLife #MicroConf #TinySeed
Is there an “easy mode” on business exits?
@definitely.rob says, not really. (He goes more in detail in his book “Exit Strategy”)
Even when the deal is smooth on paper, the emotional ride rarely is.
Full conversation on YouTube: “The Brutal Truth About Exiting Your Business”
Link in bio 🔗
#TropicalMBA #TMBAPodcast #DCBLACK #DynamiteCircle #EntrepreneurLife #LifestyleBusiness #7FigureBusiness #LifestyleFounder #RemoteBusiness #RemoteFounders #BusinessAdvice #BootstrappedBusiness #BusinessExit
#DigitalNomads #BusinessMastermind #RemoteWork #Entrepreneurship #BusinessNetwork #FounderLife #BusinessWins #StartupLife #WealthBuilding
💥 No one talks about this part of selling your business:
The weird, invisible pressure of doing something your friends can’t relate to, even when it’s the biggest win of your life.
@definitely.rob (founder of @microconf and TinySeed) opens up about the emotional side of exits.
Full conversation on YouTube: “The Brutal Truth About Exiting Your Business”
Link in bio 🔗
#TropicalMBA #TMBAPodcast #DCBLACK #DynamiteCircle #EntrepreneurLife #LifestyleBusiness #7FigureBusiness #LifestyleFounder #RemoteBusiness #RemoteFounders #BusinessAdvice #BootstrappedBusiness #BusinessExit #DigitalNomads #BusinessMastermind #RemoteWork #Entrepreneurship #BusinessNetwork #FounderLife #BusinessWins #StartupLife #WealthBuilding
I made $300K, worked 12 hours a week…
And still couldn’t relax.
Because true financial freedom needs durability.
@definitely.rob
#entrepreneurmindset #moneymastery #foundertruth #startupwisdom #longtermthinking
