During those 6 months, Earl and I talked and texted multiple times a day. Sometimes on the weekends.

On Saturdays, Earl would always start the call with, “I won’t keep you too long. We gotta enjoy life.”

And then he would keep me long. I didn’t mind.

It wasn’t lost on me that I was learning from someone who had been incarcerated for 20+ years and went on to build a million dollar business.

Earl was born and raised in San Francisco’s Sunnydale projects. He built his first trucking business from the ground up, with his own money. And then he paused that lucrative business to build Performing Solutions Trucking School, so that folks transitioning from incarceration could have a real career like him.

Since launching in 2021, Earl has trained over 400 people. He knows every single person’s name, where they’re employed and what neighborhood they live in. I know this because we’d jokingly butt heads about it.

Me: “I need the info from your brain in a spreadsheet.”

Earl: “I gotta get Sabrina her data.”

When you meet Earl, you’ll see how passionate he is. He has a clear vision and holds steady to it. What you won’t see is how hard he’s fought to build what he’s built. Just last year, he was threatened with eviction from his 1/2 acre parking lot (the developers make more money with it being vacant.) And now, just a year later, he operates on 3 acres and is opening a fourth location. He’s relaunched the social enterprise, employing truck drivers on the rode. And has expanded to new cities. He’s an entrepreneur through and through — the man in the arena, marred by dust, who keeps fighting and who knows it’s not the critic who counts.

This year, we launched Built Here Family Meal — our entrepreneur supper club that’s hosted at local restaurants (understory! Sobre Mesa!) It’s been a beautiful thing for me personally — bringing me back to my food roots and the opportunity to share a meal without an agenda.

I thought I’d use this space as an extension of these dinners. Sit down with entrepreneurs, share their wisdom, the everyday highs & lows, and their favorite local lunch spots.

Entrepreneur: Earl Grays, Performing Solutions Trucking

Lunch Spot: Everett & Jones BBQ (126 Broadway)

Favorite items on the menu: beef sausages + ribs (there was much internal debate)

Meal that reminds him of home: Soul food for family gatherings (oxtails, greens, potato salad, yams) and vegetables, fish and poultry for every day dinners.

Travel recommendation: Nassau - a peaceful & beautiful island, “you can see your feet in the water”; good food & good people

Advice to folks going through his program: “Be positively aggressive. Stay focused. Stay driven.”

Advice to other entrepreneurs: “Don’t chase your bread. Chase your vision.”

As always, thanks for reading.

-Sabrina

My parents had thick Sri Lankan accents and our neighbors weren’t especially inviting. But talking about basketball was the great equalizer.

I learned that sports had the ability to bridge the cultural divide.

Watching basketball made me feel American. And it connected me to my parents who talked about playing netball in Sri Lanka. My sis and I would wake up every morning and shoot around before school. We watched Love & Basketball a zillion time, had posters of the Dream Team on our wall and waited in line for four hours to meet Lisa Leslie.

When I got to the Bay, I scored an internship with the Warriors. This was the We Believe years with Baron Davis. Most importantly for me, Derek Fisher was a Warrior now. (I know, I know.. feel free to make fun of me in the comments. I stand by DFish.) I worked for the Warriors for three seasons and it was transformational. The Warriors embodied my love of Oakland. Fans were committed, and hopeful and joyful. And the Warriors Foundation showed up in the community. When I was running The Town Kitchen, we got to collab on lunches for the refurbished basketball courts at the Arroyo Viejo Rec Center. One of my proudest moments was seeing The Town Kitchen logo next to the Warriors logo.

Never in a million years did I think this little immigrant kid would partner with an NBA team.

During the 2018 Warriors championship, our kitchen was at the Kaiser Rooftop Garden. All of our youth employees got a clear view of the championship parade. They were cheering from the top of their lungs. And I just knew it was a moment that would stay with them.

So when the Knicks won this year, I felt it. For the city. For the kids in New York.

And of course, I went on a little Jalen Brunson rabbit hole. And I discovered that Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, and Josh Hart all played together at Villanova. Won an NCAA championship together in 2016.

And the journey to the Knicks championship was a 10-year vision.

This brings me back to entrepreneurship. Running a business is a HUSTLE. And like athletes, our small businesses wear their hearts on their sleeve. They embody the spirit and culture of Oakland.

You feel that spirit watching the World Cup matches. The Town is very much alive, people in the streets representing jerseys from every country. And of course, yesterday’s Team Mexico game was everything. Yes, heartbreaking, but in the most beautiful way. They fought until the very end.

I have this same feeling with Oakland entrepreneurs. They give it everything. They are exhausted. But with 30 seconds left on the clock, they dig deep and show up. We’re quick to celebrate the championships, the businesses who are successful. But we rarely acknowledge the storms they weathered to get there.

If we want to build cities with sustainable businesses, great jobs and real mobility for all, we have to invest in entrepreneurs for the long-term. 5 years. 10 years. Let’s go.

This month, I’m sharing a meal with a few Oakland entrepreneurs to talk about their long-term visions and weathering the storm. First up is Earl Grays & Performing Solutions Trucking. Earl was incarcerated for over 20 years and built his trucking school from the ground up.

I’ll share more about Earl’s journey, as well as his favorites from Everett & Jones next week. Stay tuned!

As we kick off the second half of the year, I’m incredibly proud of what Built Here has accomplished. It’s not perfect. It’s often messy. But it’s grounded in love and we just keep building.

Since our launch in Jan 2025, we’ve:

• had 372 attendees at in-person events

• supported 183 Oakland entrepreneurs (28% justice-impacted) with wellness, coaching + technical assistance

• delivered 110 coaching hours over 2 coaching cohorts

• launched coworking, happy hours and our quarterly supper club, Built Here Family Meal, at Understory and Sobre Mesa

• and perhaps our proudest moment, debuted the Oakland Entrepreneur Retreat (where Mayor Barbara Lee spoke!) and in partnership with the Oakland Roots, Golden State Valkyries, Commercial Bank of CA, The Lark Hotel, City of Oakland Innovation Team, Human Interest, Uptown Downtown CBD, Oakland Fund, EBCF, Lotus Financial and Port of Oakland.

Here’s to our 10 year vision

To support 200 under-resourced entrepreneurs to $3M+ in revenue, including 50 justice-impacted entrepreneurs — generating $1B collectively and 1,100 jobs for returning citizens.

I’d love to hear from you! Please comment or email me! sabrina@built-here.org

-Sabrina

Here’s a tip from someone who often eats questionable things from their fridge. You can tell if it’s a bad egg by putting it in a pint of water. Bad eggs floats to the top, good eggs sink. (Also, I’ve learned the hard way to never test the milk. Just let it go. The experience will haunt you.)

So yeah, my eggs floated real quick. But, I did something that I don’t normally do! I asked my neighbors if I could have two eggs.

And they said, “Yes! Come on over.”

Those eggs made my day. Maybe my week. Because I realized..

There’s a feeling that comes with helping others.

There’s also a feeling that comes with knowing that others want to help us.

This brings me to the debrief convo that I had with Kysha and Craig. We were sitting at Zocalo Cafe and debriefing Built Here’s “Human First” AI event at Oakland Museum.

As business owners and startup founders, we’re always thinking about ROI and measuring success… number of attendees (71 checked in), engagement (40+ folks stayed until end), conversion to follow-up meetings (we'll see!).

Kysha then asked, “But how did the event feel? How did it feel in our bodies and in our hearts?”

Immediately, we all said, “good!”

Craig: “We got to see business owners take a breath, eat some delicious food, resource one another.”

Kysha: “We all felt this energy in the room… folks feeling less alone and empowered to keep moving.”

And I asked, “What’s the ROI of feeling less alone?”

Craig: “It’s knowing that nobody gets to the top without help.”

And that’s it. Entrepreneurs are stubborn. I am stubborn. The “old me” would say, “I don’t want to burden others so I don’t ask for help.”

The “future me” is saying, “Helping people feels good. They can save money on weed and just help me!”

• Old Me: “I have high standards and people aren’t gonna do it right.”

• Future Me: “Woman. You have had this project on your to-do list for months. Don’t let perfection get in the way. Also, you’re surrounded by talented people who are way smarter than you and can execute way better.”

• Old Me: “I can do it though.”

• Future Me: “You can’t. You are stunting your growth. Nobody gets to the top without help.”

That’s all to say, it’s not easy asking for help. Even Issa Rae can’t do it. But here’s why else we should:

#1: Asking for help keeps us healthy.

Entrepreneurship is a lonely sport. And that loneliness impacts our performance — from productivity to the patience we have with customers + employees.

And while I care about business performance, I care more about the health of our entrepreneurs. Investing in innovation means investing in our innovators. Loneliness can impact our immediate health. “Loneliness triggers inflammatory responses in the body, impacting our brain function and potentially accelerating age-related cognitive decline (Finley & Schaefer, 2023).”

The antidote to entrepreneur loneliness is that feeling that comes with borrowing those two eggs. The feeling of knowing someone wants to help you.

#2: Staying connected builds wealth (and happiness!)

A study from World Economic Forum found that friendships that cut across class lines are a key indicator of economic mobility. “Poor children who grew up with wealthy friends had, on average, 20% higher incomes later in life than other poor kids.”

I wish the study also highlighted the positive impact that “wealthy friends” get from being in community with “poor kids.” Wealth isn’t just financial, it’s our physical and spiritual health too. The happiest folks have overcome challenges, maintain perspective, and feel a sense of agency.

Intentional community — one where we ask things of one another — is what builds wealth. Spiritual, financial and physical wealth.

#3: When we lean on each other, we win together.

I don’t actually have a data point for this, yet. But I know there is a world where we win together. I can see it. And I could use your help — what does “winning together” look like for you? What data should we be tracking?

Let me know in the comments :)

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This week, we’re wrapping up our pilot cohort. I’m incredibly grateful to the businesses for believing in Built Here, helping us as we build our systems and for seeing the value in us helping them.

MY ASK: If you’re not an entrepreneur, think about how you can help just one of these businesses below. Reply to this email and I’ll connect you.

Food & Drink

Café 15 | Cafe Noir | drink thicc | Ikenga Wines

Media & Artists

AC Multimedia Production | Bri James | Edmond Richardson (listen to Edmond’s story on the Uncuffed Podcast here!)

Client Services

Jay West Physical Therapy | Lotus Financial Solutions | Otter Squad | Redemption Fitness

Startup

Cosechay

For those of you who came out to the Human First event on June 26th — THANK YOU! Attendees said they walked away with new AI solutions, new sales contracts & new friendships!

We also started the convo about responsible AI. Definitely more to come. We’ll have a more low-key Oakland meetup next month (stay tuned!) where we’ll talk AI + loneliness.

If you’re interested in starting the convo now… I just read this article, A.I. Is About to Solve Loneliness. That’s a Problem. Would love to grab coffee and talk more!

As always, thank you for reading this. It means a lot.

With love & gratitude,

Sabrina

I feel light today. I feel grateful, and excited. But Tuesday morning (a mere two days ago), I was exhausted, questioning every life decision and wondering if I could escape my current life by time traveling to another dimension.

“If we are bold, love strikes away the chains of fear from our soul.”

This Maya Angelou quote was the prompt for my Tuesday morning journal session. (Btw.. are you a journaler? I’ve been working to build a practice. Please share your tips! )

My 8am response to Ms. Angelou:

“It’s hard to live boldly. It’s fucking exhausting. I think it’s because we care so much. And we feel things so deeply. Caring deeply is the burden of living boldly.”

But then I kept thinking about the second half of the quote, “love strikes away the chains of fear from our soul.” And it reminded me that caring deeply doesn’t have to be a burden, it can be what connects us. It can be what fuels us as a collective.

By 11am, I had a meeting with Kysha and Craig and I was reminded how deeply they also care for entrepreneurs and economic mobility. (As do you! Thank you for reading, btw.) Love is action. Love is relational. By sharing with them that I was exhausted (and wondering if the space/time continuum is the answer), I allowed myself to be loved. They demanded I eat something, then they mobilized their networks and fought for our collective boldness.

“If we are bold, love strikes away the chains of fear from our soul.”

Lessons from our Ancestors

Today, especially, is a celebration of ancestral wisdom. I asked Kysha and Craig to share some learnings from their ancestors.

Craig: “This is the legacy that my parents instilled in me:

Society does not limit or define me. Only I can do that. And at the end of my days remember the lessons of the Nuremberg Trials: I am ultimately the only person responsibly for my actions / agency. Following orders does not absolve me of my personal accountability.”

Kysha: I think my ancestors would want a softer, healthier life for me. They worked hard, struggled and died sooner than they should have. I think they would love to see through me, a life that is supported, joy-filled, soft and without stress.”

Did this resonate with you? Have any ancestral wisdom to share? Let us know!

Leave a comment

And if you’re in the Bay, join us for Human First — next Thursday, June 26th at the Oakland Museum. Come for community, convos & hugs!

AI as “ancestral intelligence”

Who do our ancestors want us know as we build out AI?

What does Responsible AI look like for Oakland?

As always, thank you for reading and supporting us. I’m so grateful to be in community with you.

Read more

And then on Sunday, I borrowed my mom's Hyundai to take my pup to the woods. I came home, parked it on my block and by 5pm, someone had broken the window and jammed the ignition trying to steal it.

Before you say "wtf Oakland" and "bipped huh" and "hyundai's are really easy to steal" (lol they are), you should know this is actually a feel good story.

Oakland is wild at times. And sometimes it can feel a way. But the people of Oakland are all heart. And they show up:

Aziza sitting next to me for hours while I waited on hold with insurance.

Bouapha and Bri driving me around town.

Camille & Ecat offering rides and hugs.

My neighbor Maiji (who was released from being incarcerated a year ago and who I don't really know outside of saying hey in the morning) going to Pick&Pull (twice) and organizing everything for my mom's car.

And Zakiya reminding me, "You're not alone. You're never alone."

This world is bananas. And yet, we still show up and look out for each other. My shitty weekend made me feel loved. And it made me wonder..

What's possible when we feel more connected than alone?

I asked three entrepreneurs who I admire deeply - Minni, Mike & Kysha - to share their journeys with loneliness.

Because entrepreneurs are our everyday heroes who build community and culture and cool shit. They build with limited resources — through pandemics and recessions and tariffs.

And we gotta remind them that we got their backs.

What makes entrepreneurship feel so lonely?

Minni: No one really sees the invisible labor.. the emotional weight of holding the vision when the bank account is gasping, when the line is out the door but you're out of cups, or when you're sweeping the floor at midnight wondering if any of this will matter. It's lonely because the stakes are so personal.

Mike: The vision you have fits only in your head. You know you have support but you're the main driver. People are looking to you to make things happen.

Kysha: We tie work to other people and community. It doesn't mean it's a good community or bad community. And it's not just in modern times, in ancient times too. When we think of people doing work in the field, or on the farm. And in the industrial revolution, with all the people who worked in a factory. As an entrepreneur, we're all of a sudden by ourselves. You have only yourself to trust.

When do you feel most alone?

Minni: When I'm making decisions that I hope are smart but can't yet prove.. It's the quiet, high stakes chess match in your own head that no one else is playing with you.

Mike: When things are hard.

Kysha: I think I feel most alone when I'm coming up with something new -- there are so many ideas swirling around in my mind. It's scary because you're like.. is this right? Is this what someone wants? Will people get it? Will it sell?

When do you not feel alone?

Minni: When someone gets it.. like really gets it. I feel not alone when I remember I'm part of something bigger -- that my work builds community, not just smoothies.

Mike: When you know that everything you're going through, someone else is going through it too. It doesn't ease your stress but you think, "if they can do it, I can do it too."

Kysha: Whenever I'm in a gathered space or have done the gathering.

What strategies remind you that you're connected?

Minni: I try to "romanticize" my journey. I light a candle. I play some music. I reread thank you notes, and words of encouragement. I call another entrepreneur and trade war stories. I remind myself that feeling lonely doesn't mean I am alone. It just means I'm doing something brave.

Mike: Reminding myself that there is always someone that's gonna support me and my vision.. even if it's my mama.

Kysha: Having a business bestie and an accountability partner. The business bestie is the person you can go out with and celebrate or cry together, all that stuff. The accountability partner is someone you're checking in with. You know what you're supposed to be doing. Reminding yourself it's not just you in the world.. you're beholden to someone and someone is beholden to you.

Thanks for reading! And share some love for Minni, Mike and Kysha in the comments.

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P.S - Pre-order Mike’s Collage issue here or subscribe to our Substack as a Forever member & we’ll send it over as a special gift.

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My job as Student Support Specialist meant I checked in with thirty students every day for 2 years. For the 18 year-olds, I "professionally nagged" them through their City College Associate's degree. I'd sit in the back of every class and one minute after class started, I'd text them, "where you at."

them: "pulling up now" (they were not actually pulling up now. they were most definitely still in bed.)

My nagging did work though and eventually they arrived on time. By the second year, they'd even text me thirty minutes before class and ask what I wanted from Starbucks. (Getting an 18-year-old "out of bed" to "grabbing me coffee" before class might still be my life's greatest accomplishment.)

The lifers -- five men in their 40s and 50s -- were always fifteen minutes early to class. They were calm and humble in the face of community college chaos. They regularly signed up for my 8am check-ins before class. To be real, I benefited from these exchanges more than them. For the 15 minutes of college readiness that I provided, I got 42 minutes of wisdom -- stories about navigating pain, but also about humanity, faith and friendship. I also got 3 minutes where they called an 18-year-old and reminded them to get out of bed and not disappoint me.

I'm now realizing how much these conversations have shaped me. That the journey that I witnessed then and journeys from lifers that I hear now, are the stories of liberation. It is something to witness -- a human spirit that has navigated the depths of darkness and still chooses light. It is this spirit and wisdom that we need now more than ever. It's this spirit that allows us to build movements in the face of exhaustion and grief.

Since January, I've been working to get Built Here Oakland off the ground. The project is in partnership with EOBA's Clean Mile Careers program and Performing Solutions and supports 15 entrepreneurs with records on a path to being sustainable truck owners.

Through EOBA, I met Gerald "Gerry" Cypert (as well as Earl Grays of Performing Solutions and Mr. Charles of Lifers Leaving a Legacy) — after hours of conversations that I wished I’d recorded, I finally recorded one.

Here's what I know.. Gerry served 28 years for 1st degree murder, will sit with you while you talk about grief, knows a lot about women's health, studies astrology and is always open to nuanced conversations about race, gender roles and inclusion.

Like all of us, he's many things.

You can watch this video to learn about Gerry's childhood and incarceration (the clip is 18 mins)

Some highlights.....

"Do you have any idea the drama that comes with 80 lbs of meth a week?”

"At first juvenile hall is scary... didn't take long before I actually liked it. There was stability in juvenile hall. Closest thing to normalcy I ever had. If I did good, staff treated me good. If I did good at home, who knows what the fuck would happen."

On doing good & loving ourselves

"Given my life experience, I have learned for sure that the only way for a person to feel good about themselves is for them to do good things. You're not gonna care about yourself, if you're not doing things that nourish other people. It's not about us, individually. It's about us, collectively.. And I've lived it. I've lived the life where I looked out for myself, and I stepped on other people, and I didn't care what happened to anybody else. And I felt horrible about myself. Because every decision I made was a selfish piece of crap decision. When you make decisions that are harmful, that are hurtful, that are selfish, you feel like a harmful, hurtful, selfish person. You can be a powerful person in that space, but you're a powerful person who doesn't like themselves, who doesn't like anybody else, and whose life is essentially meaningless. Because we're all going to be in the ground one day with nothing."

On principles and power

"You know, I've been to prison twice. So, the first time I was 23 and I absorbed all the prison culture stuff. The principles and the rules. And the second time I went to prison, I had a sentence of 63 years to life, and I saw things differently. Prison principles didn't hold the same appeal to me. I saw through the facade. This is fake power. This is not actual power. The power of life and death over powerless people is not power."

On our path

"I was on a little bit of a spiritual path and a teacher appeared in my dream. She put her hand on me and said, "It's going to be alright. Just do your best and everything's going to work out." I felt this warmth and confidence and that has guided me since. And it's proven to be true. I went to a different facility and became a certified addiction treatment counselor. These things are meant to be and it's my responsibility to embrace whatever changes come."

On agency

"Agency is being able to navigate yourself regardless of the changing landscape. It's like being a football player. You go out, you play football. If it's muddy, if it's raining, if it's snowing, it doesn't matter. You're a football player. That's agency. I'm going to handle my fucking business. I'm going to do my damn best right now. I'm going to engage in life fully."

Did Gerry’s advice resonate with you? We’d love to hear more!

Leave a comment

Thank you for reading!

Sabrina

PS - Are you a paid subscriber? Sign up and we’ll send you the Built Here 30 Day Focus Tracker!

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Midway between elaborately describing the chicken salad sandwich, my brain just stopped. I remember thinking… “Hmm... why are my words not wording?”

I’ll spare you the rest of the details.

I can now tell this story in a light-hearted way. Because I have so many entrepreneur friends with similar stories. Running a company is fucking WILD. And burning out as an entrepreneur is actually pretty normal. But I wish it wasn’t. So that’s why we created BUILT HERE… to support the folks who take on risks and do the thing.

Burning out over chicken salad led to these questions:

• How do we build companies for the long haul?

• How do we do maintain our inspiration and fulfillment as entrepreneurs?

• What’s the science behind a great week?

Eventually, I decided to get my coaching certificate and read up on neuroplasticity. I’m still a newbie but it’s been a game changer. Here are some notes:

• We are always learning. Our brains will form new neural connections for the rest of our lives. (This means our brains will adapt when faced with chronic illness too!)

• Our brains can store as much info as 20,000 iPhones.

• Mindfulness and meditation can induce neuroplasticity.. especially related to attention, memory, and emotion regulation.

Here’s what I think is the science of a great week… finding the balance between relaxation, control and flow.

I love working. I also love not working. I think this is the key to life. Loving what we do everyday, and also knowing when to slow down, not work and just look up at the stars.

Here’s how these stages look for me.

Relaxation: meditation, dancing, time outdoors, time with friends & family, reading

Control: Executing on clear business & personal goals. (Also, challenging work outs.) I’d argue that work isn’t as immediately fun but the feeling of accomplishment is crucial.

Flow: Losing myself in creation. I’m in flow when I’m facilitating, writing, drawing & doing cooking projects. Also when I’m connecting with folks about big ideas or personal stories.

What about you? What’s your relaxation, control & flow?

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DAY IN MY LIFE..

This was my Tuesday.. definitely a balanced day!

6amish- wake up / 20 minute meditation / sit outside and drink my homemade cappuccino | relaxation

7:15 am- drive to Joaquin Miller / sing along to Selfish Soul (thanks Revaz!) / throw pinecones in the woods for Nova to fetch | relaxation

9am - Talk about real shit & small business needs with Betty Aynalem. The convo filled my cup.. No surprise, her LinkedIn quote is a Maya Angelou quote - “Be certain that you do not die without having done something wonderful for humanity.” | flow

10am - Follow up on partnership emails | control

10:30am - Call with Ariana of Western Regional Minority Supplier Development Council | control

11am - Clean up data + update board meeting deck | control (but realized I should have left more time for cleaning up my data)

Noon - Board Meeting for Entrepreneur Guaranteed Income (EGI) Fund, with Kysha, Leila & Ben (Emma wasn’t there bc she’s having a baby!!!) | control

1pm - Warm up roasted chicken for lunch. Realize I didn’t eat breakfast | relaxation

1:20pm - Field trip to PetFood Express, Pineapple Whips on Seminary & check in call with sis | control + relaxation

2:20pm - Coaching Ops | control

3pm - Content Expert Session for BUILT HERE - Branding & Marketing session with the wonderful Ari! | flow

4:30pm - Clean up data | control

6pm - Dinner at MAMA with Mahfam & Cathy | relaxation

9pm - Check in with sis, emails & map out Wednesday | control

10pm - Catch up with the fabulous Camille, borrowed bell hooks’ all about love, read a few chapters | relaxation

fall asleep around midnight

Thanks for reading!

The tears come. And I’m just walking through the airport and crying. Crying & walking. A totally normal thing to do.

I’ve sat with grief a lot in the last decade. I lost a good friend to cancer. I lost a partner of 7 years to cancer. And my sister, Tara, has progressive MS.

I used to think that grief dissipates over time. But it actually just settles. It’s like the snow in a snow globe. It settles and you notice it less. Until something or someone shakes it. And then you are in the storm and it is painful again and your only option is to ride it out.

But what has surprised me about grief is the other side of it. The beauty of it. Rumi says this better than I can:

“Grief can be the garden of compassion. If you keep your heart open through everything, your pain can become your greatest ally in your life’s search for love and wisdom.”

I am a better human because of grief. I take less for granted. I live more purposefully. I love more fully.

This morning, I was at Oakstop, holding office hours for Built Here entrepreneurs and was joined by Gerry Cypert. Gerry is working on a business that supports youth in juvenile justice. Admittedly, I had a call coming up and was a tad distracted. But Gerry’s a counselor and youth advocate and he has that skill where he sits and waits patiently. So I told him about ugly crying in the airport, the grief I was navigating with Tara and how maybe I’ll just write this article.

He pulled a chair closer. And I immediately felt better.

More and more, I think that humanity is about holding each others pain. Seeing each other and not looking away.

Which brings me to questions about collective grief.

• How do we keep our hearts open in the face of oppression?

• How do we fight for our humanity?

• How can grief empower instead of disable?

• How do we find agency?

I would love to hear your thoughts.

Leave a comment

From Gerry, “we should talk about it. We should travel through it. We should fight the desire to box everything up.”

With that, I’ll leave you with my final Rumi quote.

“Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. Walk humbly, now. You are not obligated to complete the work but neither are you free to abandon it.”

Thank for reading + thank you for caring about the world.

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P.S. - Meet Edmond! He’s part of Built Here’s inaugural coaching cohort and San Quentin’s Returning Filmmakers Fund. He was released from San Quentin a little over 90 days ago and officially became a papa this week! Welcome to the world, Luna Rue!

If you’d like to send over a gift, subscribe to our substack as a Forever member. We’ll send $100 of your $140 over to Luna!

Each month, we’ll be asking Built Here entrepreneurs & artists to reflect on what bring them joy and makes them uniquely human.

Thanks for reading as I kick us off :)

Sabrina edition. Best parts of being human - connection, inspiration & joy

staying at libreria casa bosques (a bookstore + boutique hotel + chocolatier!) tacos (el califa - first michelin taco stand ) cdmx street art. cappuccinos + cute manicures. doodling for pleasure. belly laughs with bri + bouapha + zakiya / my inability to take a proper group selfie. eating all the things at masala y maiz (while they played E-40!) + being moved/inspired/cared for by saqib keval (the most wonderful of humans who boldly fights for liberation and has always made me believe that i can do big things.)

final shot: my puppy. she wasn’t in mexico city but look at that face?! joy, in full form.

What’s an everyday thing that brought you joy last week? Would love to hear it!

Leave a comment

Thanks for reading + caring about the world. More to come.

-Sab

In the last 10 years, I’ve reflected a lot on caring less. I’ve thought about a clear separation of work life and personal life. But the thing is — at least for those of us that live in the United States — we ARE work. To be American is to believe & invest in capitalism. And we’re at a real crossroad right now.

Either we can build shit that matters. Or we can wait it out & see what this administration builds for us. My guess? We’ll see a new wave of poverty. We’ll see even more Americans working 3+ jobs who can’t get ahead and who are chronically sick.

Or we can build the new thing, together. We can reimagine what it means to be human and we can fight for it. We can invest in each other and in the entrepreneurs, artists and movement builders who get up and do the bold thing every day.

*Edit* I read the first paragraph out loud to my friend/Built Here entrepreneur & coach, Mike of MIDCIO, and he challenged me, “Yeah, this all sounds nicely written but how are YOU actually being bold & authentic? What’s different at 40?” So here goes.

• I commit to saying the REAL thing (no watering down for different audiences).

• I commit to being vulnerable/messy. I’m done with perfectionism.

• I commit to saying when I’m scared & lonely. I know we’re all going through it.

• I commit to TAKE MORE. (Love to Juma and the Oakland Fund crew for supporting me with this one. )

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#2. I’m doing it scared. (Advice from Built Here Lead Coach, Kysha Mitchell)

This time around, I thought it’d be easy. Why the f*^k did I think that? LOL. Completely, 100% wrong. Building shit is hard and scary. And I forgot that part of the territory is being rejected. Every single day.

“Hello! Let me tell you my bold vision for the world.

That's your vision?

Soo, you don't believe in my vision?

Nope.

That's great. Awesome. Great.”

Building things is scary at 30 and still scary at 40. But it’s also brave. I’m BRAVE. And my fear shows up differently now. At 30, I was scared to dream fully. I didn’t think I was worthy of my dreams. At 40, I’m scared not to dream fully. I’m also dreaming for those who don’t have the privilege and space to dream. Those who are just surviving.

The benefit of navigating intense grief in my thirties is that I know life is precious. It’s worth sacrificing for the things we believe in.

#3. I’m taking care of myself & the collective.

“Love is the whole thing.” One of my favorite Rumi quotes.

How do we build bold things when faced with grief and sorrow?

How do we build “in spite of”?

I’d love your thoughts on this.

Leave a comment

I think it’s by loving ourselves and healing. By loving each other and repairing when we can. By embracing belly laughs and joy. By telling people that we love them.

Taking care of myself also means being present and finding joy in the journey. Resting when I need to. Making time for loved ones. And letting those loved ones make fun of me when I’m acting a little too extra.

You read this whole thing! Damn. I’m beyond grateful.

Each week, we’ll be sharing stories from the entrepreneurs, artists and movement builders in the Built Here community.

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Let’s get to work.

Sabrina

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