Today I felt something I haven’t felt in a while: conflicted.
We just onboarded a new teammate—an incredibly capable accountant from Mexico who moved to Canada two years ago with his wife and three kids in search of a better life. He’s smart, qualified, humble. The kind of person any business owner would be lucky to work with.
Meanwhile, I’m actively trying to leave the very country he came to for opportunity.
So yeah. I’m conflicted.
When Someone’s Best Day Meets Your Exit Plan
Here’s this guy—moving to Canada for stability, safety, and a shot at something better.
And here I am—incorporating in the U.S., planning time in Spain, and slowly removing myself from our business in Calgary so I can go build something more meaningful elsewhere.
It’s not that Canada has nothing to offer. It’s that I no longer believe it’s the best place to create lasting value. And that matters because I don’t just want to run a business—I want to invest in people.
What I’m Really After
At 47, I’ve made money. I’ve lost money. I’ve experienced growth, gut punches, recessions, and restarts.
And if I zoom out far enough, I’ve realized:
The highest and best use of my life is to invest in others.
Not in the abstract. Not as a slogan. But literally:
- Helping our new accountant build his own bookkeeping firm
- Helping one of our site supervisors scale his labor company
- Giving the people on my team the confidence and clarity to go from average to great
Not because I’m some hero. But because this is the only thing that actually matters.
When It’s Not About the ROI Anymore
I used to think in spreadsheets. Profit margins. Revenue targets. Asset valuations.
Now? I think in impact arcs. In life transformations. In what would happen if I didn’t show up.
And that’s what makes today’s tension so real.
Because I’m watching this talented new teammate begin his journey in a country I’m slowly untethering from.
I’m not better than him. He’s not behind me.
We’re just at different spots in the same search:
How can I use what I’ve been given to create something meaningful?
The Throughline: Service
- As a husband → I serve my wife.
- As a father → I serve my five kids.
- As a business owner → I serve my team.
That’s the whole game.
Everything else—status, possessions, comfort—is a distraction dressed up in productivity.
And on days when the doubt creeps in—Am I entitled? Am I running from something instead of toward something?—I remind myself:
The goal isn’t more. The goal is better.
Better use of my time.
Better investment in others.
Better outcomes for the people around me.
The Faith Layer
I believe nothing in my life has surprised God. Not the wins. Not the losses. Not the grind.
Every card I’ve been dealt—good or bad—has passed through His hands.
And maybe the reason I’m here today, working with someone who left his country while I’m leaving mine, is to remember this:
Everything is relative. But purpose isn’t.
Wherever we are, whatever we have, how we show up matters most.
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