Leading from Abundance

Some people don’t give up. I see these generative leaders as the Energizer Bunnies of leadership.

They keep going because they’ve made a quiet commitment: to face the abyss of the unknown, to trust the unseen, to believe in the enough‑ness of what they and others bring, and to lead as if goodness isn’t a finite resource.

These are the leaders, founders, creators, and visionaries who continue to show up through downturns, near misses, and dry seasons. They’ve discovered something essential: abundance isn’t an outcome metric. It’s a mindset—a way of being.

Robin Wall Kimmerer reminds us in The Serviceberry that “hoarding won’t save us … all flourishing is mutual.” Her description of the serviceberry’s gift economy—where berries feed birds and bees so the bush thrives—illustrates how abundance radiates outward in cycles of generosity and relationship.

Scarcity mindset whispers, “You’re behind. You need to get ahead. That was your only shot.” It feeds urgency, jealousy, envy, and fear. It hoards ideas, steals time, and treats someone else’s win as your loss.

But leaders who endure—those who create with substance and lead with soul—move to a different rhythm.

They know what’s meant for them won’t miss them.

They know another’s brilliance doesn’t threaten their own.

They trust that generosity isn’t risky—it’s regenerative.

I think of Patagonia’s founder Yvon Chouinard, who gave away his company to a trust and nonprofit focused on climate—choosing impact over personal gain.

I think of Jacinda Ardern, who led New Zealand with empathy, taking a personal pay cut alongside her ministers during crisis, modeling shared sacrifice as a form of care. 

I think of Dr. Vivek Murthy, who frames loneliness as a public health crisis, calling on leaders to center connection and belonging, not just efficiency.

That’s abundance in action. A belief that success isn’t a race or a ladder. It’s a shared field—one we cultivate together.

To lead from abundance is to trust the mission when results lag.

To keep building when the outcome is uncertain.

To believe that what you give will return—not always in kind, but always in time.

Yes, the terrain is tough. Yes, there are real challenges and even losses. But those who lead with heart, who pour their voice, craft, and care into their work, uncover something deeper: the well doesn’t run dry. It expands. Especially when drawn from with love.

Kimmerer invites us into a vision “in which wealth means having enough to share,” one where “the currency of exchange is gratitude and the infinitely renewable resource of kindness.” That’s the radical posture of the abundant leader.

So to the leaders who keep going: I see you.

You’re not naive. You’re committed.

And your faith in what’s possible may be one of the most radical forms of leadership we have left.

—

“The Man Watching” (excerpt)

By Rainer Maria Rilke, trans. Robert Bly

What we choose to fight is so tiny!

What fights with us is so great.

If only we would let ourselves be dominated

as things do by some immense storm,

we would become strong too, and not need names.

When we win it’s with small things,

and the triumph itself makes us small.

What is extraordinary and eternal

does not want to be bent by us.

I mean the Angel, who appeared

to the wrestlers of the Old Testament:

when the wrestlers’ sinews

grew long like metal strings,

he felt them under his fingers

like chords of deep music.

Whoever was beaten by this Angel

(who often simply declined the fight),

went away proud and strengthened

and great from that harsh hand,

that kneaded him as if to change his shape.

Winning does not tempt that man.

This is how he grows: by being defeated, decisively,

by constantly greater beings.