Do you have the courage to heal and actually change the world?

This year, the young daughter of dear family friends had just moved to the beautiful Asheville River Arts District in North Carolina to build a flourishing creative life but soon thereafter hurricane Helene descended and washed away her dreams, along with entire communities all along the Southeastern United States;

A mere week later, the "kids" of another family friend moved from DC to their newly purchased home in Tampa Bay, Florida only to have to flee for their lives as another monstrous hurricane, Milton, possessing one of the lowest barometric storm pressures ever recorded on Earth, spun up in the Gulf, yet again, and delivered another devastating blow to areas of Florida's Gulf Coast already reeling from Helene and prior climate-related onslaughts;

And, as if all this weren't terrifying enough, the Federal government publicly acknowledged that FEMA doesn't have enough money in its coffers to continue providing aid and assistance for the rest of the hurricane season this year.

What's worse—savage hurricanes, wildfires, floods, droughts and extreme temperatures aren't the only things weighing heavy on our hearts. So is the threat of even more suffering in the war in Ukraine, the brutal escalation of war in the Middle East, the casual geopolitical flirtation with nuclear war, the disruption of supply chains, the utter chaos and devastation in Haiti, the streams of entire families crossing the treacherous, impenetrable expanse known as the Darien Gap in the hopes of finding a better life in the United States, the hate and fear aimed at undocumented immigrants, the cancerous opioid crisis, the rampant racism and discrimination in our society, the predatory behavior of those in power, the contemptible misbehavior of so-called "public servants" at all levels of government, the dehumanizing march of AI, the severe economic disparities in our Country and on, and on, and...

Argh!!!!

It's maddening.

It makes my heart sink.

So much suffering. So much injustice.

Are we supposed to look away and pretend like this moment in history is about pink ponies and rainbows, and that everything is more than fine and dandy, as evidenced by the glowing September jobs report, maybe?

But, if this current moment in history is indeed fraught, how are we as small business leaders supposed to show up and do our work in the face of such unrelenting tsunamis of change and still hope to thrive?

Is there such thing as thriving as more and more of our neighbors struggle to survive?

How can we fix this?

Is that even possible? Haven't many have tried to fix things only to make things even worse?

Maybe we should speak of healing, instead of fixing.

But how would we even begin?

Well, as a card-carrying optimist, I dare tell you—with every ounce of audacity I can muster—that healing is indeed possible; that you and I can heal, and together we can heal the world.

Actually, we must.

Which is why I also hereby invite you to try.

I invite you to take action in two ways:

1. By joining me and your fellow Huddlers at a very special Morning Huddle, live and in-person, at Noelle Jackson's amazing tech incubator known as "The Hub" in Downtown Miami. We will broadcast on Zoom, as usual, but you must Huddle in-person in order to participate in the powerful discussion and activities. Healing happens together and this is your chance to let the healing start working its magic on YOU. And it's FREE.
2. Secondly, I invite you to support the work that I'm doing by becoming a supporting member of my STRIVER Confidential community. If you do, you'll soon receive a very special STRIVER Book Club invitation to read and discuss, "What It Takes to Heal: How Transforming Ourselves Can Change the World," by Prentis Hemphill.

This remarkable book by this remarkable author has one of the most honest and wise prescriptions I've ever come across to help us navigate these very troubled times while never losing sight of what's possible for ourselves, our families, our businesses, our communities and our world.

In fact, don't just read this book, study it, question it, practice it and discuss it with us so that its ideas can get under your skin, flow into your bloodstream, and reach the cockles of your heart. It is from there, and only from there, that true healing can radiate outwards to our larger world.

Without healing ourselves, I dare say, we will remain hopelessly exposed to the whirlwind of challenges heading our way.

Too few are talking about this.

Please join me in leading the way.