Rising from the Ashes

A Message of Strength, Focus, and Hope this Weekend

To all those facing unimaginable loss and devastation from the wildfires ravaging Los Angeles, please know that our heart aches with you. For thousands of families (across the economic spectrum), this is a time of profound pain, fear, and uncertainty—a time when it feels like everything you’ve built, everything you’ve known, has been stripped away. Moments like this remind us all that no matter how much material wealth we accumulate, external forces can wipe the balance sheet clean within a moment’s notice and bring us temporarily (or perpetually) to our primordial instincts.

In moments of crisis, our primordial instincts—those deep, ancient drives that have guided humanity since the dawn of time—take center stage. These instincts, like the fight-or-flight response, the drive for self-preservation, and the urge to protect loved ones, the craving for social bonding, and the avoidance of facing our deepest fears, are hardwired into our very being. They are a testament to our resilience and survival as a species. However, while these instincts serve us in immediate survival situations, they can also trap us in cycles of fear, reaction, and limitation if left unchecked. The key is not to suppress these instincts but to acknowledge them as the foundation upon which we can build something far greater.

True Wealth Lies Within You

True wealth transformation lies in our ability to harness these primordial instincts and elevate them through the use of our higher-order intellectual faculties. Our uniquely human mental muscles (that grow or atrophy daily like any other muscle cell). By directing our will, we can choose where to focus our energy, overriding reaction with intention. Through reasoning, we can analyze our circumstances and make decisions rooted in clarity, not fear. With perception, we can shift how we see challenges, turning obstacles into opportunities. Imagination allows us to envision a better future (versus imagining how this is the end of everything we worked hard for in the past), while memory gives us the wisdom of experience, and intuition helps guide us with an inner knowing when we can’t see through the literal and figurative smoke and fog of the fire. These uniquely human capacities are our true wealth, enabling us to rise above instinctual reactions and create meaning, resilience, and a purposeful path forward. This is where were find the shred of hope, a core of sustainable resilience that no fire can consume or destroy.

When the external world crumbles, we are reminded of a truth as old as humanity itself: our true wealth does not come from things we own but from the power within us. This power comes from the two decisions we make when we ignore or leverage our higher-order intellectual faculties.

• Decision 1: Where We Direct Our Thought Energy (The Will)
  Amid chaos, our greatest asset is our focus. We cannot control the flames, but we can control our thoughts. Where we direct our mind determines the quality of our lives moving forward. Will you choose to see this as an ending or as a beginning? In this crucible of crisis, you have the power to harness your thoughts and redirect them toward rebuilding, toward hope, toward the next step.

• Decision 2: The Ability to Create Meaning from Pain
  Meaning is the alchemy of the human spirit. It is the difference between despair and determination. The narrative you choose today—right now—will shape your future. Will this be the story of defeat or the story of your rise? What if, as painful as it feels, this is the first chapter of a life more resilient, more intentional, more prepared, more grateful, and more meaningful than before?

The Phoenix Within You

Like the mythical phoenix rising from the ashes, you too have the power to transform. Fires may destroy homes, memories, displace communities, and structures, but they cannot destroy the breath of life within you or the spirit of the communities you belong to unless you collectively choose that outcome. And while grief and loss must be honored and fully felt, they are not the final word, and you have the power of one that can magnetically attract more to rise above their primordial instincts in the aftermath to create the groundswell that has served humanity since our inception. Underneath the rubble lies a seed of gratitude, however small, waiting to grow. That shred of gratitude—whether for the safety of loved ones, the kindness of strangers, or the promise of tomorrow—can become the foundation of something new and unshakable.

Your family and your community are watching. In your resilience, they will find strength. In your ability to embrace gratitude amidst pain, they will find hope. By choosing to rise (or to help someone else back to their feet), you give permission to those around you to do the same.

With Love and Belief in You

Please know that you are not alone. I believe in your strength, your courage, and your ability to lead by example, even when everything feels broken. You have within you an extraordinary fortitude—a fire of your own—that no external force can extinguish or you wouldn’t be a subscriber to this newsletter.

Let this moment, as horrific as it feels, be a reminder that your truest wealth is your inner power: the white-hot energy of your thoughts and the breath of life that still courses through you. Process the pain. Feel it fully. And then, when you’re ready, gather the embers of gratitude and rise.

I am with you, I am rooting for you, and I believe in your ability to rebuild—not just for yourself, but for those who look to you for light in the darkness.

Sending my deepest love, faith, and solidarity, to you and any of your loved ones impacted by the tragedy unfolding out west today!

~Chris J Snook