Do the Hard Things draws on your 50-plus years of success, failure, and reinvention to show how discipline, resilience, and values-driven choices can help people build lives worth living. How did your experiences as an entrepreneur, investor, and business leader shape the philosophy behind this book?

Over the course of my career, particularly through my work in sales and the many professional and business groups I’ve been involved with, I’ve met people from all walks of life. One thing I’ve observed is that the founders of successful businesses are often willing to work hard and make sacrifices to build something meaningful. But with each successive generation, that willingness can sometimes diminish. There’s a reason so many family businesses struggle to survive into the third generation.

I’m not suggesting that everyone needs to work 60-hour weeks or sacrifice everything else in their lives. But I do believe that success requires making difficult choices and being willing to make sacrifices when necessary. If you never have to step outside your comfort zone or give something up to achieve a meaningful goal, you may not be pushing yourself hard enough. That lesson, drawn from decades of experience, is at the heart of Do the Hard Things.

Why do you believe modern society has become increasingly focused on convenience, and what might we lose when we consistently avoid discomfort?

I often think about our great-grandparents and the generations that followed them. Many served in the First and Second World Wars and made extraordinary sacrifices for their countries and for future generations. When I look at society today, I sometimes wonder how much that sense of collective responsibility has changed.

Increasingly, it seems that we elect governments based on what they can do for us, even when that means borrowing from the future, rather than asking how we can contribute to something greater than ourselves. I think we’ve lost some of the emphasis on sacrifice, service, and doing things for the common good. And this isn’t just an American or Canadian issue; I see it across much of North America and Europe.

I also see it in the experiences of immigrants who come to the United States and Canada. Many make tremendous sacrifices to build better lives for themselves and their families. They’re willing to work hard, take risks, and go without things that others might take for granted. When I compare that determination with the expectations I sometimes see in younger generations, it concerns me. I believe we risk losing our sense of gratitude, resilience, and personal responsibility when we expect everything to come easily.

What is the difference between choosing meaningful difficulty and simply making life harder than it needs to be?

I think it comes down to awareness and intention. The goal isn’t to make life difficult just for the sake of it. It’s to recognize which challenges are worth taking on because they help us grow, strengthen our families, or make the world a better place.

I believe we should focus our efforts on things that have a meaningful purpose and lasting value. That means being strategic about where we invest our time and energy, rather than simply working harder or staying busy. I call it strategic effort, not blind work. The important question is whether the difficult things we’re choosing to do are moving us toward something that truly matters.

What advice would you give someone who has spent years prioritizing professional success but now wants to invest more intentionally in health, family, and personal fulfillment?

I would start by asking them to define what success really means to them. We’re accustomed to setting goals and measuring results in business, but we don’t always apply that same discipline to our health, our families, or our personal lives.

In my own life, I set specific goals in different areas. For fitness, for example, I’m focused on improving my VO₂ max and becoming healthier. With my family, I want to instill strong values and establish a consistent rhythm around those values in our daily lives. I believe it’s important to be intentional about what we want to achieve and to make a genuine effort to get there.

Ultimately, doing the hard things isn’t just about working longer hours, making more money, or building a successful business. It’s about identifying what matters most, setting meaningful goals, and being willing to put in the effort to achieve them. Success should be measured not only by what we accomplish professionally, but also by the kind of people we become, the relationships we build, and the lives we lead.