I’d been highly-recruited in high school, mostly because my best friend Alan was destined to be an Olympian so we went to Stanford together. But, what the coaches hadn’t noticed was just how slow of a swimmer I was.

One day, my coach called me into his office and he laid into me as he thought I was slacking, “I need you to maximize your HP!” He could tell I had no idea what he was talking about. “Your Horse Power!” He continued, “You are not going to make this team unless you figure out how you harness all the energy you have for every single workout and game. You’re the mule that lays down, nearly dead, at sunset after plowing the fields each day."

While I was tempted to quit, I maximized my HP that year and even became a starter on the junior varsity team. I also learned during my freshman year in Silicon Valley that HP represented the most powerful and valuable tech company in the area that had deep Stanford roots. Hewlett-Packard. One of my favorite mentors, Barbara Waugh, worked there.

A couple years after I graduated from both undergrad and business school at Stanford, I started showing up at a variety of 12-step program meetings and was introduced to a new meaning of HP: “Higher Power.” My Higher Power, often called God, was the spirit or good intention that would help free me from my addictions. As someone who’d lived a willful life harnessing my horsepower, surrendering to a Higher Power was a whole new concept that has become a foundational part of my adulthood.

But, more recently, I’ve discovered a new kind of HP. I was giving a speech earlier this year in New Mexico as people have been curious about MEA’s intention to create campuses in the Santa Fe area. Someone asked me what qualities I needed to further develop to grow MEA’s presence in this area. I reflected for a few seconds and, then, said, “The two personal qualities that I hope to grow here are Humility and Patience as I believe that anyone, especially an outsider like myself who hasn’t always practiced these skills, doing business in New Mexico needs to hone these character traits.”

It’s amazing what tumbles out of your mouth if you turn off your editor. Ever since then, I’ve come to realize that in the Land of Enchantment (where I’m celebrating Christmas today), my HP is humility and patience, two qualities that Jesus role modeled, whether you’re a Christian or not.

What are two qualities (they don’t have to start with the letters H or P) that you will role model in 2022?

I hope you enjoy your “Christmas presence” with this lovely Brother David video on Blessings.