Life is short.

In 2022, I faced a health crisis that completely changed my view of myself and the world.

I had to step down from the AI startup I’d cofounded almost 10 years earlier. Suddenly, my identity vanished. I felt I had lost everything.

But from challenge comes growth. A Japanese proverb says, “Fall down seven times, stand up eight.” Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius wrote, “What stands in the way becomes the way.” Across time and geography, people have long understood this fundamental idea.

I realized I had not been focusing my time and attention on what matters most to me. On what would make me the fullest version of myself.

I realized I had enormous untapped potential, as a leader and as a person.

Ultimately, I realized that life is short–we have precious little time on this pale blue dot. Let’s grow and make the most of it.