I recently had the honor of interviewing Kevin Hern on The Principled Entrepreneur. It was a fascinating conversation about his life journey—from humble beginnings in Atkins, Arkansas, hauling hay and barely scraping by, to owning multiple McDonald’s franchises in Oklahoma. We talked about the valleys and the mountaintops along the way, and honestly, I could have listened for hours. But one story stood out above the rest. Kevin had saved for years to own a McDonald’s franchise. He operated a hog farm, managed multiple McDonald’s locations, and worked 18–20 hour days in Little Rock. When he finally bought his first franchise, it took every dollar he had. Every. Single. One . That decision left him living in an apartment with no bed and no furniture—sleeping directly on the cold floor each night. One evening, it got so cold that he went to Walmart and bought an inflatable mattress, hoping that just getting off the floor would help him stay warm. Not exactly the picture most people have of a McDonald’s franchise owner. I asked him, “Did you ever think about giving up?” “Of course,” he said. “Why didn’t you?” I asked. “Because I didn’t want to go back.” That answer says everything. Congressman Hern knew what it was like to have nothing. He understood that quitting wouldn’t make things better—it would only take him backward. His vision was more powerful than the cold nights. His conviction was stronger than his circumstances. And his willingness to sacrifice pushed him to grow, to endure, and to keep going. That’s the lesson for all of us. Sacrifice is necessary to accomplish any meaningful dream. You have to decide how badly you want it. What are you willing to give up today to get where you want to be tomorrow? A year from now? Five years from now? This isn’t a sprint—it’s a marathon. Pace yourself, but be willing to give up to go up. Kevin made up his mind that he wasn’t going back. He paid the price daily so his future could be brighter. And today, after years of sacrifice, he has the opportunity to serve where he’s called—serving the American people and preserving the American Dream he lived out himself.

I’ve always been drawn to a good investment., Like many of you, I want my dollar to make a dollar — preferably five. I enjoy studying real estate deals, listening to financial minds talk about the next opportunity, and trying to position myself wisely. But over time I’ve realized there is one investment that has outperformed every property, stock, or business move I’ve ever made — the investment in myself. It has never failed me. When I decide to grow, when I give my time to learning, when I spend money on education, when I put myself in rooms with people who are ahead of me, the return always comes back greater. Not always immediately, but consistently. Growth has a way of compounding just like interest. The person you become starts creating opportunities the old version of you could have never stepped into. A great example of this is Tony Robbins. Before the stages, the books, and the global influence, he was flat broke. A friend invited him to attend a seminar hosted by Jim Rohn. Tony didn’t have the money, but he went anyway, and that decision redirected his life. After the seminar he walked up to Jim and asked how he could learn more. Jim told him the next course was $1,200 — an impossible number for Tony at the time. He went from bank to bank asking for a loan and was turned down again and again until one woman heard the sincerity in his voice and believed in his future enough to personally loan him the money. That moment wasn’t really about $1,200. It was about a decision. A decision to step into a new identity, to surround himself with people operating at a higher level, and to refuse to stay where he was. From that point forward he consumed everything he could learn. He studied patterns, read constantly, and never stopped growing. His life took off because he made the single investment that changes everything. His story is not unique. You will find the same thread in the lives of high performers everywhere. People who decide to invest in themselves begin to experience a return that touches every part of their life — their business, their leadership, their relationships, even the way they think.

Michael Jordan didn’t make his high school varsity team. He wasn’t good enough. That’s what his coaches told him when he was cut as a sophomore. Michael was crushed. He wanted badly to prove that he belonged and that he could help his team win. When he went home and told his mother, she listened with compassion, but she didn’t accept defeat with him. She asked him a simple question: What are you going to do about it? That question forced Michael to look inward. He began thinking about the way he played the game, the function behind his performance, and the form he wanted to become. So he went to work. He practiced every day. He focused on his footwork. He studied every movement in his shot. He ran dribbling drills until the basketball felt like an extension of his hand. He didn’t chase attention or approval. He chased improvement. By the following year, Michael wasn’t just on the team. He had reshaped himself into a different player. Over time, that commitment would turn him into one of the most dominant athletes the game has ever seen. Michael understood something many people miss. If you want a different outcome, you have to change what you’re doing consistently. Form follows function. He applied that lesson over and over again throughout his career. So let me ask you, what form do you want to take? Do you want to be good enough to make the team but stay on the bench? Do you want to be in the game as a role player? Or do you want to be the person everyone trusts when the pressure is highest? Many people admire greatness, but few are willing to live the discipline required to achieve it. They picture the form they want to become but never commit to the habits, structure, and courage necessary to get there. Stephen Covey said it this way, “Structure follows purpose.” The problem is that many people have never answered the question, what is my purpose? Because of that, they drift through careers and opportunities, hoping something external will finally give them meaning.

Excellence wins. It’s a simple idea. It rolls off the tongue so easily that it feels like anyone could do it. Like it should be effortless. Like you could just decide to live it out every single day. But anyone who has actually tried knows the truth— the weight behind those two words is heavy. Excellence sounds simple, but it demands tenacity. It requires discipline. And most days, it feels almost impossible to recreate. This idea was championed by Horst Schulze, former President and CEO of the Ritz-Carlton and author of Excellence Wins. His belief ran completely counter to how most companies operate today. Horst believed excellence isn’t something you turn on when it’s convenient. It’s not reserved for big moments or high-dollar transactions. It’s lived out in everything you do—from the smallest task to the greatest responsibility. He famously coined the phrase: “Ladies and Gentlemen serving Ladies and Gentlemen.” The point wasn’t branding. It was identity. He wanted his employees to understand that they mattered just as much as the guest. That service didn’t diminish their worth—it elevated their purpose. Excellence meant serving others with dignity, care, and intention… as ladies and gentlemen. Excellence must be embodied. Every detail. Every interaction. Every day. That same philosophy showed up in sports when British Cycling coach Dave Brailsford took over a struggling team in the early 2000s. In the previous hundred years, British cycling had won just one Olympic gold medal. Brailsford didn’t chase miracles. He chased margins. He focused on getting 1% better every single day—how they washed their hands, how bikes were transported, the dust inside the van, how helmets were worn, even the pillows the athletes slept on. Small improvements. Done consistently. The result? Eight out of ten gold medals in the 2008 Olympics. Nine out of ten in 2012. Excellence didn’t show up all at once. It was built daily. And that’s the reminder for us. Excellence doesn’t require perfection every day.

I didn’t eat real food for five days. No, I wasn’t kidnapped. I didn’t get lost in the woods. I chose not to eat. I know that sounds wild in today’s world—when food is on every corner, our refrigerators are full, and most of us even have an extra freezer just to hold the overflow. With all of that abundance, why would anyone choose to go without? Part of it was for health. I needed to get clean to feel clean. But there was also a spiritual component to it. I won’t go into all the details, but the experience taught me something important. Most of us look at pain the wrong way. No one enjoys a sore back, a lingering illness, or the discomfort that comes with pushing yourself—but pain is part of life and business. The real issue isn’t if we experience pain. It’s what we do when it shows up. Do we ask, What can I learn from this? Or do we fixate on the problem and miss the growth happening right in front of us? We lose so many opportunities to grow because we’re too focused on escaping the pain instead of reflecting on how it can make us better. Think about it this way—would the joy of the mountaintop feel the same if you never had to walk through the valley? Of course not. The struggle is what makes the view worth it. That’s what I experienced during my five-day fast. I felt real discomfort. I wanted to quit. And at any moment, I could have reached out and grabbed whatever I wanted. Instead, I trained my mind and leaned into the pain. I learned that pain doesn’t have to defeat you. You can turn pain into gain. This week, when you experience pain, disappointment, or even failure—don’t run from it. Lean into it. Learn from it. Ask yourself what needs to change and how this moment can make you better. It might just be one more step closer to success. Be Principled, Caleb