A clear, grounded look at income, work, and fulfillment. It’s time to get deep. Most people don’t stay in jobs because they love them. They stay because it feels safe. That was me. I had a long, respected, 20 years career. VP role. Top one percent income. All the perks. From the outside, it looked like complete success. From the inside, it felt like I was trading hours of my life for a version of myself that no longer gave me life… Here’s the important part. I didn’t leave because I was miserable. I left because I was aware. This conversation is not about just chasing your passion or burning the boats prematurely. It’s about learning to recognize when staying is costing you more than leaving. We start with income. Because if you get this part wrong, nothing else matters. STEP ONE. ☝️ Tell the truth about what you actually make per hour. This framework came from listening to Alex Hormozi, and it permanently changed how I viewed my career, my hours worked, and my effective income. Most people lie to themselves about income because they only count salary vs hours clocked in. They don’t count the life cost. Write down: • Your total income, including all bonuses and commissions Now write down: • Hours worked each week • Commute time • Travel away from family • After-hours calls and texts • Mental load you carry home • Dinners missed • Weekends and gatherings half present • Stress that follows you into bed Add all of it up. Every single hour. This BLEW MY MIND 🤯 I was always on call, always expected to answer a text (no matter what time at night), always required to travel for meetings, on top of the 60 hours a week the job required. Now divide your total income by every hour the job actually takes from your life. Your freedom. Your choices. That number is your real hourly wage. (Much lower than I would have ever thought.) For a lot of high earners, this is the first uncomfortable moment. The paycheck is big, but the hours are bigger. And the total effective $ per hour is less than you thought. 💭

Have you ever caught yourself thinking this? “I’m doing what I’m supposed to do, so why does it feel so draining?” That question matters, because most men are not lazy. They are responsible. They show up. They carry weight. When work loses its lift, it is usually not because the load is wrong, but because the lens is off. Here is the hope. Your work is not meaningless, and your effort is not invisible. Scripture gives us the anchor. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” Colossians 3:23 NIV This changes everything. It narrows the focus. One audience. One purpose. When God becomes the one you work for, joy has room to return. Not because the task changes, but because the meaning does. Here is the reframe. Joy does not come from loving your job. It comes from knowing your work matters. When your effort is offered to God, even routine tasks become purposeful. Excellence stops being exhausting and starts becoming worship. Faithfulness replaces frustration. Consistency builds quiet confidence. So carry this question into today. Who am I really working for right now? Here is today’s active stillness challenge. Take five quiet minutes. No phone. No noise. Sit still. Breathe slow. Ask God one direct question. “How do You want me to show up in my work today?” Then listen. After that stillness, move with intention. Choose one. A fifteen minute walk, letting your mind reset before the workday. Or five slow sets of pushups and squats, focusing on control and gratitude. Or ten minutes of stretching, releasing tension and reclaiming energy. Let the movement lock the mindset into your body. As you finish today, pray this in your own words. God, remind me that my work matters. Help me work with joy, focus, and excellence today. Align my effort with Your purpose and steady my heart when the work feels heavy. Amen. This is not about loving every task. It is about working with joy because your work has meaning.

Have you ever caught yourself thinking this? “I just need to get through this season, then I’ll have more space and time for God.” That thought usually shows up when life feels full but hollow. Work is taking a toll. Responsibilities are stacking. From the outside it looks productive, but internally something feels off and empty. Faith gets pushed to the margins, not out of rebellion, not on purpose, but out of postponement. So what is really happening when God keeps getting pushed to “later?” Often it is not a lack of belief. It is a quiet assumption that everything else must be handled first. As if peace, clarity, and provision come after control instead of before surrender. This raises an honest question. What if our priority order is the problem? Jesus was clear about this. “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33 NIV Notice what comes first. Not success. Not security. Not getting life organized. Seeking. Alignment. Trust. The promise is not that everything becomes easy. The promise is that everything falls into its proper place. Many of us live upside down. We chase provision and assume peace shows up later. God invites us to reverse that order. Seek Him first, and let clarity, strength, and direction follow. And seeking the kingdom does not mean ignoring responsibility. It means refusing to let responsibility replace devotion. It means inviting God into the very center of your decisions, your schedule, and your ambition. If you feel like you are doing everything but still feel empty, it may be because you have been building a life with God added instead of God centered. So pause and ask yourself this. What am I seeking first when no one is watching? Here is today’s active stillness challenge. Find five quiet minutes. No phone. No input. Sit or stand somewhere calm. Slow your breathing. Ask God one simple question. “What does seeking You first look like in my life right now?”

If you’re here, chances are you’ve felt it before. That quiet sense of not quite fitting the mold. That nudge to take a different path, even when it doesn’t make sense to everyone else. That tension between what’s expected of us and what we feel God calling us toward. This space, Right Here, exists for that exact reason. This isn’t a place to impress anyone. It's not about cliche motivation or pretending we have it all figured out. It’s a room for men who think differently. Who feel early. Who know what they should do, but don’t want to walk it alone. Here’s how we keep this space solid: • We’re honest • We’re respectful • We’re present • We speak from our own experience • We leave people better than we found them Let’s get this started 👇 Introduce yourself below: 1. Where you’re from 2. What made you realize you might be a “black sheep” 3. What season of life or decision you’re currently navigating No pressure to overshare. Just be real. This community will only be as powerful as we choose to make it. Glad we’re here. We’re not early. We’re not late. We’re right on time. Let’s walk this road together. 🤝

Have you ever caught yourself thinking this? “There just aren’t enough hours in the day to do what I’m supposed to do.” That thought usually shows up when the day is already heavy. Work is pulling you one way. Family is pulling another. Your own health and faith quietly falling to the bottom of the list. You are not careless or disorganized. You are actually carrying a lot.. But what is really going on when time always feels scarce? Most men do not lack time. They lack margin. They are saying yes to too many good things and leaving no room for the best things. Time pressure is often a signal, not a failure. It reveals where priorities are misaligned and where boundaries are missing. Which leads to an uncomfortable question. Are you asking God to give you more time, or are you inviting Him to reorder what already fills your day? Scripture puts it plainly. “Be very careful, then, how you live, not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”Ephesians 5:15–16 NIV Notice what this does not say. It does not promise extra hours. It does not suggest hustling harder. It calls for wisdom. Intentional living. Choosing what matters when everything feels urgent. Jesus was never rushed, yet He was always on mission. He rested. He withdrew. He said no. And because of that, He always had time for what the Father asked of Him. Presence came before productivity. If you feel constantly behind, it may not be because you are failing. It may be because you are trying to be everything for everyone without first anchoring yourself to what God is actually asking of you. So before you rush into the rest of today, pause and ask yourself this.What am I spending time on that God never asked me to carry? Here is today’s active stillness challenge. Find five quiet minutes. No phone. No noise. No multitasking. Sit somewhere calm. Breathe slowly. Ask God one honest question. “What deserves my time today, and what can wait?” Do not argue with the answer. Just receive it.