Love

This weekend we celebrated two very different holidays, Valentine’s Day and Presidents Day.

One is about love.

The other is about leadership.

And the more I thought about it, the more I realized… you can’t really have great leadership without love.

I write about leadership all the time, discipline, standards, ownership, character. But I probably don’t write enough about love. And not the Hallmark version. I’m talking about the kind of love that costs you something.

I’ve been reading The Almanack of Naval Ravikant, which is a collection of insights from Naval. Naval is the co-founder of AngelList and an early investor in companies like Twitter and Uber. He’s a deep thinker, part philosopher, part capitalist.

The book is divided into two parts: Wealth and Happiness.

That alone tells you something.

Most people chase the first half of that book their entire lives and never get around to the second.

Naval talks a lot about happiness being a choice, that you can train your mind toward peace the same way you train your body toward strength. He believes happiness isn’t something you find “out there.” It’s something you decide.

But one idea really hit me.

He says you can’t be truly happy if you don’t love something more than you love yourself.

Let that sink in.

In a culture that constantly tells us to “put yourself first,” Naval is basically saying the opposite. Happiness doesn’t come from obsessing over yourself. It comes from devotion.

For some of us, that happens naturally when we have kids. The second that baby is born, you’d walk through fire without hesitation. You don’t have to manufacture that feeling, it just shows up.

But what if you don’t have kids? Or not yet?

Naval says it doesn’t have to be a person. It can be your country. Your faith. Your craft. Your mission. Your team. Your animals. Your God.

But here’s the key, it has to be something you’re willing to sacrifice for.

Because love without sacrifice is just preference.

The sweet spot is when you care so deeply about something that you willingly give up comfort for it.

That’s where meaning lives.

And if we tie this into Presidents Day, think about the leaders we admire most. They weren’t comfortable. They weren’t self-focused. They weren’t comfortable.

They loved something bigger than themselves, freedom, liberty, service, country, enough to risk reputation, wealth, even their lives.

That kind of love creates courage.

And that kind of courage creates leadership.

Valentine’s Day is a great reminder to express love. Flowers, cards, chocolate, wine. But it’s also a reminder to examine your devotions.

What do you love enough to sacrifice for?

So yes, love yourself. Take care of yourself. Build wealth. Build strength. Build discipline.

But make sure you’re building it in service of something bigger than you.

Because success without love becomes hollow.

This week, don’t just ask who loves you.

Ask wha

t you love enough to fight for.