It’s hard to believe that the last time I published an edition of this newsletter was back in December 2023. For a newsletter I originally intended to post daily, that’s not just a missed intention – it’s a complete departure from my commitment to you.
Before anything else, I owe you an explanation and an apology.
To those of you who signed up for this newsletter, especially those who found genuine value in the insights I’ve shared – I’m truly sorry for the radio silence. While not every edition promised miracles, each one represented a carefully crafted piece of the larger framework I’ve developed over three decades of solving real business problems. These strategies have helped transform the performance of over 250 businesses across industries throughout the U.S. and Canada, and you deserved consistency in receiving them.
I won’t offer lengthy excuses, but I do want to share the personal reason behind my absence – one that significantly impacted my family and required my complete attention away from all LinkedIn activities.
A Personal Chapter: My Son’s Journey Through Kidney Transplant
In early 2024, my oldest child, Gabriel, underwent a kidney transplant. He’s 14 now, but he’s lived with chronic kidney disease since birth. By late 2023, his condition had deteriorated to the point where he required daily blood dialysis just to survive.
The numbers tell part of the story: at the time of his transplant, one of Gabriel’s kidneys was the size of a newborn’s, the other no larger than an 18-month-old’s. Both were severely damaged due to formation issues and reflux complications we didn’t discover until he was 8 months old.
Doctors told us that many children with similar conditions need dialysis by age one and transplant surgery by eighteen months. Gabriel, through careful management and deliberate nutritional choices his mother and I made to preserve kidney function, made it to his teenage years. But we always knew this day would come.
The reality hit us gradually, then all at once.
Initially, we traveled to Miami three times per week for dialysis – each session becoming a 6-to-8 hour commitment when you factor in two hours of transportation each way. Later, we transitioned to home dialysis, where every night we’d hook Gabriel up for 8-to-10 hour treatments that ran through the night. I learned to administer injections and manage an extensive medication regimen. It was a massive disruption – logistically, emotionally, and energetically.
In February 2024, at age 13, Gabriel received his new kidney. I stayed by his side in the hospital day and night for a full week. Hospital accommodations weren’t exactly five-star, but I wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else.
Gabriel’s mother (my ex-wife) became his donor – her kidney was the better match, and wanting the best possible outcome for him, she stepped up without hesitation. Watching her make that selfless, life-changing decision reinforced everything I know about what truly matters.
Today, I’m proud to report that Gabriel is thriving. His recovery has been remarkable, and he’s shown incredible resilience throughout this entire journey. He’s taken everything in stride with a maturity that amazes me daily. I’m also deeply grateful to his mother for her extraordinary gift. Any parent reading this will understand when I say we’d have gladly taken his place – but we couldn’t. What we could do was be present, make hard decisions, and prioritize what mattered most.
Moving Forward: Lessons in Business and Life
During this period, I made a conscious choice to step back from several commitments, including my presence here on LinkedIn. I focused entirely on my son, my family, and the clients who had entrusted me with their business investments. It was the right decision then, and I’d make it again.
But here’s what this experience reinforced about business and leadership: the principles that helped us navigate Gabriel’s medical journey are the same ones that drive successful business transformation. Careful planning, decisive action when the moment demands it, resilience in the face of setbacks, and an unwavering focus on what truly creates value.
These aren’t just business platitudes, but survival skills I’ve now lived through on the most personal level possible.
What’s Next: Going Deeper Than Ever Before
As I return to regular publishing, I’m bringing a renewed perspective and an expanded mission to everything I share here. The frameworks and strategies that have transformed those 250+ businesses over three decades aren’t just about profit margins and operational efficiency – they’re about building resilient systems that can weather any storm and emerge stronger.
I’ll continue sharing actionable insights you can implement immediately in your business through this LinkedIn newsletter. But I’m also taking a significant step forward in how I serve the business community.
Over the past year, while navigating Gabriel’s journey, I’ve been quietly developing something I’m incredibly excited about: A dedicated business community for small and medium-sized business owners. This isn’t just another networking group, but a focused environment where I’ll be sharing my greatest insights and hardest-won lessons from the trenches of hundreds of businesses across every industry and geographic region you can imagine.
The reality is, some of the most transformative strategies I’ve developed – the ones that create real breakthroughs – require deeper exploration than what’s possible in a LinkedIn post or even a newsletter edition. They need context, implementation guidance, peer discussion, and ongoing support.
A Dual Approach: LinkedIn & Community
Here’s my commitment to you: This LinkedIn newsletter will remain a cornerstone of valuable content you can count on. You’ll continue getting practical insights, real-world case studies, and actionable strategies delivered regularly. But for those ready to go deeper, to really transform how you approach business challenges, I’m building something special.
This new membership community will give you access to:
- The complete frameworks behind every business transformation I’ve guided
- Real-time case studies from current client engagements (anonymized, of course)
- Direct access to lessons learned from failures and breakthroughs across hundreds of businesses
- A peer network of growth-minded business owners facing similar challenges
- Implementation support that goes far beyond what any newsletter can provide
Gabriel is doing wonderfully. His recovery continues to exceed expectations, and he’s returned to being the remarkable young man he’s always been. His mother’s recovery has been equally strong. We’re all healthy, grateful, and ready for what comes next.
I’m ready to be back, and I’m excited to share this journey with you, both here on LinkedIn and in the deeper work we’ll do together in the community I’m launching.
The Journey Continues
Stay tuned here for regular insights and updates. In the coming days, I’ll be sharing more details about this new community and how you can be part of something that could genuinely transform how you approach business ownership.
For now, welcome back to the newsletter. Let’s build something meaningful together, starting right here, and going as deep as you’re ready to go.
Thank you for your patience, your understanding, and for being part of this community. The next edition will be published this week, and we’ll return to a more regular and frequent publishing schedule. And yes, there’s much more coming soon.
