My ‘One Word’ this week is: WATCHING

What I didn’t fully appreciate in that moment was how closely my kids were watching

I still remember the night I came home and told my family I quit my corporate career on the spot.

I was 50. No next job. No safety net beyond what we’d built over 25 years.

I cried that night and said to myself, “What the hell did I just do today?”

And in the very same breath, I knew one thing with certainty: I wasn’t going back to corporate America.

My son was about to leave for college. The first thing he asked was simple and honest: “Can I still go?”

My daughter quietly went to her bedroom and brought down her back-to-school clothes. She was worried we’d need the money. That one hurt.

So I sat them both down and told them three things.

First: Mom and I had planned responsibly. We had enough saved to give me time to figure out what came next.

Second: I would never make a decision that put their futures at risk.

And third: Watch me figure out my next chapter.

Because whatever happened next would come with lessons worth seeing.

Here’s the truth I didn’t say out loud that night.

I had no idea what I was going to do next. I only knew what I wouldn’t do. I wasn’t going back.

I had one objective for my next act: How can I help others win?

Not long after, I woke up in the middle of the night with a thought that wouldn’t let go.

I had developed a simple ‘One Word’ identity framework in corporate America to craft identities for iconic brands. I tried it with my son during the college admissions process, because he didn’t yet know who he was.

It worked in a way I hadn’t expected. That’s when it hit me.

What if the same ‘One Word’ framework I used to build brand identities could help people understand their own identity?

That night, half awake, I said something out loud that scared me as much as it excited me:

“I’m going to transform one million lives ‘One Word’ at a time.”

I had no roadmap. Just discipline. And consistency.

Eight years in, the lesson my kids are learning still isn’t about arrival.

It’s about showing up every day and staying with the work.

They watch me speak on stages and listen closely to what resonates.

They watch effort without applause.

They watch me keep showing up when outcomes aren’t clear.

And the lesson they absorb isn’t “take big risks.”

It’s this: Consistency and discipline beat talent every day.

Hard work compounds. Purpose matters. And doing something meaningful is worth the discomfort.

Our kids are always watching. Not what we say. But how we respond when things feel uncertain.

Appreciate any thoughts if this resonates.