From Control to Trust: When Strategic Minds Must Surrender
I was trained to plan. I spent my career evaluating markets, managing risk, optimizing return. Strategy was not just a skill—it was a worldview. There was comfort in logic, structure, and foresight. If I worked the plan, the plan would work. Or so I believed.
But life, as it turns out, doesn’t always follow a spreadsheet.
My heart attack in 2013 changed everything. It wasn’t on the calendar. It wasn’t part of the model. It didn’t care about my projections.
Suddenly, I was no longer the architect—I was the one lying on the table. And all I could do was breathe, trust, and let go.
The Illusion of Control
As an investment banker, strategic advisor and later a private equity investor, I lived in a world that rewarded control. Every decision was weighed. Every risk managed. Every outcome anticipated. Control wasn’t just a means to success—it was success.
But control, I’ve learned, is often an illusion. We cling to it because we’re afraid of chaos. We over-plan because we’re afraid of pain. And we believe that if we’re smart enough, disciplined enough, spiritual enough—we can bypass suffering.
We can’t.
Control gives the appearance of security, but it can’t guarantee peace. Only trust can do that.
The Shift to Trust
Trust didn’t come easily to me. It felt... inefficient. Unstructured. Like a hedge with no clear metrics.
But in the aftermath of the heart attack—and through years of reflection, prayer, and spiritual formation—I discovered a different kind of strategy:
Trust in God’s timing, not mine.
Trust in process over perfection.
Trust in surrender, not just striving.
This didn’t mean I stopped planning. It meant I began offering my plans, rather than worshipping them.
A Wisdom-Based Framework
Out of this personal shift came something unexpected: The Wisdom Ratio.
It’s not a rejection of planning or data—it’s a reordering of authority:
Data matters—but it can’t account for divine timing.
Intuition matters—but it must be tuned through prayer.
Faith matters most—because only faith anchors us when outcomes disappoint.
This framework didn’t arise from a whiteboard—it emerged from the ashes of control.
The Lesson for Strategic Thinkers
If you’re wired like I am—analytical, structured, visionary—you may feel torn when life doesn’t conform to the model. But here’s what I’ve come to believe:
Letting go of the plan is not weakness. It’s wisdom.
Because some things can’t be optimized—they must be surrendered.
Some days, the best strategy is to pause. To pray. To listen. To release.
Closing Reflection
I still love a good spreadsheet. I still track outcomes. I still plan—with care and conviction.
But I no longer build my life on those plans.
Now, I hold them lightly. I write them in pencil. And I listen for the whisper that reminds me:
“You are not the author of this story. But you are deeply loved by the One who is.”
