Builders

Growth usually doesn’t feel exciting in the moment. It feels uncomfortable. Unfamiliar. Maybe even a little intimidating. But the people and experiences that challenge you are often the ones that help you grow the most. Comfort protects your ego. Challenge expands who you can become. .@TomBrady

The smartest person in the room isn’t always the one talking the most or winning every argument. A lot of the time, it’s the one who knows when to listen, when to pause, and how to treat people with basic respect even when they disagree.

Leadership isn’t about titles or big speeches—it shows up in what you choose to do when no one’s really keeping score. Building something that wasn’t there yesterday. Standing up for someone who can’t. Bringing people together who stopped talking. That’s what actually moves things forward.

Martin Luther King III is getting at something a lot of people already feel: disagreement is normal, but constant political warfare just keeps us stuck. You don’t have to agree on everything to work toward solutions. The bigger question is whether leaders are more focused on solving problems or just beating the "other side."

A lot of the challenges we’re dealing with now don’t really stay contained within one country or one group. They spill over, connect, and affect people in different places at the same time. That’s why the idea of shared human identity matters—not as something abstract, but as a practical way to think about problems that require cooperation to solve.

I was invited by my high school to speak about my father’s experience as a survivor of the Dachau concentration camp. This was the first time in 40 years that I had gone back to Lee High School! Standing in a theater filled with students and teachers, I shared a message that has only grown more important with time: the need to see the humanity in one another. My father held onto that belief throughout his life, even after surviving the unimaginable horrors of the Holocaust. This Jewish American Heritage Month, I am reminded that his story is not about the past but about what we choose to do now so that such darkness won’t repeat itself. More so, we have an imperative to live every day with purpose, and to bring light to the world, in memory of all those who have suffered before us. We are all connected, and we all share a responsibility to be builders and never lose sight of our shared humanity. Thank you Lee High School for having me. It meant more than I can say. #BeABuilder #JewishAmericanHeritageMonth

Hate is learned. Which means it can also be unlearned. In a time where outrage is constantly rewarded, Mandela’s words feel especially relevant. The way we talk to each other, react online, and treat people outside our own circles shapes more than we realize.

Most meaningful work doesn’t happen because people see everything the same way. It happens because they’re still able to find a way to engage with each other when they don’t.

It’s easy to mistake restraint for softness, especially in moments when everything feels loud and reactive. But civility isn’t about lowering standards for truth or conviction—it’s about refusing to let disagreement turn into dehumanization. Strength isn’t always the loudest voice in the room. Sometimes it’s the discipline to stay engaged without tearing things apart.

There’s something powerful about how people expand our perspective without trying. Every person sees the world a little differently, and when we’re open to that, it stretches how we think and what we understand. Familiarity is comfortable, but difference is what makes life feel bigger. What’s a perspective that’s stayed with you?

It’s easy to stay in conversations where everyone already agrees with you. What’s harder—and more important—is staying curious when someone sees the world completely differently. Not every conversation will change your mind. Some may frustrate you. But shutting people out guarantees we stop learning from each other altogether.

On Mother’s Day, it’s worth remembering that some of the most important things we carry into the world were first taught at home. Acceptance. Tolerance. Bravery. Compassion. Not just nice ideas, but values that shape how we treat people, handle differences, and show up when life gets hard.

With Mother’s Day coming up, E. M. Forster’s quote speaks to the power of moms to lead with empathy, connection, and care—even in divided times.

George W. Bush and Michelle Obama’s friendship resonates with so many people because it challenges the idea that political disagreement has to mean personal hatred. Their differences are real, but so is their ability to laugh, connect, and treat each other like human beings first. At a time when so much of politics feels like a loyalty test, moments like this remind people that respect across differences is still possible.

The loudest voices online can make it feel like we’re worlds apart. But day-to-day, most people are trying to figure out the same things: family, purpose, stability, connection. Sometimes we have more in common than the algorithms want us to believe.

Our country agrees on more than we think, but our leaders still can’t seem to act on it. Decades after former President George W. Bush warned about the rise of “-isms,” the same problems remain, and in many ways, they are getting worse as people drift further apart. We need to come together as Builders to hold our elected officials accountable and focus on getting real work done. It’s been long enough. @BuildersMvt

We tend to think better conversations come from saying more, but a lot of the time it’s the opposite. When everything turns into talking over each other, nobody really hears anything—just reactions bouncing around. The shift happens when people dial it down enough to actually take in what’s being said, not just wait for their turn to respond. It’s less about lowering the volume of disagreement, and more about not letting it drown out understanding.

Disagreement can either sharpen thinking or shut it down. Lately, it’s often the second. We don’t need to agree more. We need to stop treating every difference like a dead end.

The same the “dark side” and the “other side” are not.

Sharon McMahon shared a profound truth from her commencement speech that you never got to hear at Utah Valley University. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the state of the world, but at the end of the day we are the architects of the future. Instead of dwelling on what we were handed, let’s focus on the craftsmanship of what we’re creating We don't have to agree on how we got here to agree on where we want to go. Let's choose to leave behind a world that is stronger, kinder, and more united than we found it. See her full speech here: bit.ly/4emNxn0