The Positive ROI of Pain

Jake Luehrs
October 04, 2025

ONE QUESTION

Is your thinking useful or just repetitive jargon that you use to make yourself feel better?

ONE THING TO PONDER

The price that people pay to be admired is fascinating.

ONE PERSPECTIVE

The hardest days in life aren't just painful, they are your gateway to something special, something significant.

The gateway to something you couldn't access through comfort.

The gateway to wisdom you can't buy, borrow, or Google.

Not a single person has made it through life without pain.

The differentiator in our direction is the perspective that pain provides.

Is the perspective that it’s the tuition we pay for wisdom….

…or is it the reason to exercise being a victim for attention?

While the emotions may be acute in the moment, the wisdom you gain in those moments lasts a lifetime.

The Paradox That Sets You Free

Here's something that will mess with your mind in the best way:

Two contradictory truths can exist simultaneously.
- You can be devastated AND grow.
- You can be broken AND become stronger.
- You can be in the worst moment of your life AND standing at the threshold of your greatest transformation.

Transformation is a decision we make in the darkest moments, not when we’re on cruise control.

In every hardship, you'll likely feel both sides of the list I've laid out. That's ok.

‘I wish it was easier’ is something I don’t agree with any longer.

This isn’t toxic positivity. It’s no cliche of ‘in every challenge there is an opportunity…’

This is the raw reality of human transformation:

We don't evolve in the light. We evolve in the dark, with dirt under our fingernails,

It's a messy, zigzagging journey where you feel everything, question everything, and slowly—painfully slowly—start to see what this darkness was preparing you for.

The Dangers of Flying Solo

I consider myself extraordinarily fortunate.

When my world fell apart, when my three biggest fears showed up simultaneously, when I didn't know if I'd make it to the other side—I had people who stood in the storm with me.

Not people who fixed it. Not people who made it easier. Not people who told me what I wanted to hear.

It’s the people who saw my potential when I couldn't see anything but darkness.
The people who gave me hope when despair was suffocating me.
The people who loved me when I wasn't particularly lovable.

Here's what I know with absolute certainty: You cannot do this alone, at least not effectively. I don’t care how strong you think you are….

Not to mention by the way, the people that want to be there for us, if we don’t let them in, we’re stealing one of the greatest purposes we are here for, to serve each other.

But we have to be willing to extract the wisdom.

We have to choose transformation over destruction. And we have to let people walk through it with us.

If you don’t have that community, start with me. If you have that community, let them know the impact they've made on you!

The only path is through. Start walking.

Onward and upward!

PS - Share this with anyone you can think of that has done great things but may be struggling!

LEAD & LEARN : WEEKLY PICK

PODCAST

Matthew McConaughey - The Art of Living a Courageous Life

Modern Wisdom

This podcast is worth the listen…plus you have two guys that have great voices…easy like Sunday morning type voices. This was more of a conversation, a life conversation, rather than an interview. And it spans the spectrum of topics that are useful in living true to yourself, with direction and intent, for the betterment of you and those around you. Highly Recommend!