Alex’s second exchange with Claire picks up where Seeing Around Corners left off — and begins to question the virtue of exhaustion. When zeal blurs into vanity, even good work burns the wrong fuel.

Two bricklayers, one job, two visions. Most of us know how it feels to work hard and still wonder why it doesn’t feel like purpose. This post explores how calling begins—not with titles or promotions, but with the posture of the heart.

In their first exchange in a while, Alex and Claire circle a familiar edge of leadership — when foresight turns to fatigue. A modern conversation about control, calm, and the courage to stop rehearsing every possible disaster.

Sometimes the hardest part of change isn’t the cutting — it’s knowing where the pressure lies before you begin. A dead hickory on my farm reminded me that tension always tells a story: which way things want to go, what resists, and what’s ready to give. The trick isn’t to fight the lean, but to read it — and work with it.

Work can be messy and misaligned. But when we slow down long enough to understand what’s really happening, gifts begin to surface and people start to thrive. Sometimes the most important work we do is simply taking a longer look.

We’ve all walked into a mess — at work, at home, or in relationships. Real work isn’t more speed; it’s restoring and sustaining order. When order is kept, confidence grows, and with it the deeper meaning of work.

Work has always been part of being human. It’s more than a paycheck or a grind — it’s the way we shape, serve, and create in every role we hold. From office to home to community, every place you lean in carries dignity.