where abundance starts

Sheila is fourteen years old. She lives in one of the poorest places on earth. And she just got an offer to study in the United States.

We started the Ascend Academy with nothing. No funding. No infrastructure. Just a gut feeling and a few friends who said yes.

I’m telling you that story today because most leaders I know are missing a mission outside their business. They care — but are too busy building. And they bought into the myth that giving back is something you do after you’ve arrived.

That arrived state keeps moving back - like the horizon. Here’s what I know to be true — you don’t give because you finally have enough. You give because giving is how you stop believing you don’t. It trains you. It breaks the scarcity thinking that is running your decisions.

And the freedom you’re trying to build for someone like Sheila — you’re building it in yourself at the exact same time.

I arrived in Mozambique at age seven — it was my fourth country. My family had been refugees in Chile after my dad was imprisoned in a concentration camp, and when he got a job offer in a country that had just gotten its independence, we went.

It was a rough place — food shortages, civil war in the north, bombings in the city — but it was also the happiest place in the world for a kid. We roamed the streets, got in fights, went to the beach, took road trips to wild beautiful places. It was full of life, freedom and natural beauty.

Then I grew up, moved away, got an education — and that chapter faded into a distant memory. It became a story I told friends, not really part of my present. I was building a thriving career as a recording artist, fully consumed, and even when things were going well I never felt like I’d arrived.

Scarcity tends to be just part the entrepreneurial journey even when on paper things are going well. I was playing sports arenas and still felt the scarcity. The goal posts kept moving no matter what I achieved.

In that headspace philanthropy felt like something other people did — richer people, people who had finished building. I hadn’t finished, so it wasn’t my turn. Then a friend who was serving orphans changed my mind. I realized I had something to give now, not someday.

That slowly became a lifestyle, and that lifestyle slowly transformed my scarcity thinking into something else entirely. I discovered that when you devote your time, talent and treasure to someone with less, you go from lacking to overflowing in all other areas as well.

Serving the less fortunate in places like Ukraine and Latin America became second nature - and my kids grew up going on these trips with us, giving them a generous character and also a great antidote against entitlement.

Years later that became the Ascend Academy — a few kids in one of the poorest neighborhoods on earth, a meal, computers, English lessons, character mentorship — with one goal: change the trajectory of an entire family line.

I can’t tell you how this mystery happens exactly, but a truly abundant life only happens when we acknowledge and serve those in need and scarcity. It’s not just abundance in love, gratitude and meaning - it’s actually abundance of possibility and resources. They just show up out of nowhere to fill the space you want to fill. I’ve seen this spiritual principle happen time and time again.

I’m working on an episode on this but for now - please enjoy a quick 2 minute video that will speak louder than a thousand words.

In the spirit of abundance, I’m looking for partners, angels and donors to grow this work, and have a specific list of needs I believe we’ll meet from the generosity of the people who read my newsletter.

If you’re moved to compassion in action. Just respond to this email and we’ll talk.

Enjoy