Recently I had the opportunity to sit down with Jason Freeman on the Awkwardly Awesome podcast. We covered a wide range of topics, from growing up in a small Midwest town to leading a second-generation hospitality company, and ultimately to why my wife and I helped start Acton Academy Sioux Falls.

What struck me after the conversation wasn’t any single insight or takeaway. It was how often the discussion circled back to one central idea: the tension between short-term comfort and long-term growth.

That tension shows up everywhere. In business. In parenting. In education. In the way communities either move forward or slowly drift into complacency.

And in Sioux Falls, a city that continues to grow and evolve, that tension feels especially relevant right now.

Small Town Roots and Early Lessons

I grew up in Mount Vernon, South Dakota. Like many small towns, it was the kind of place where work wasn’t just something adults did. It was something you absorbed by watching. You saw businesses run up close. You saw the consequences of effort, and the consequences of avoiding it.

My father was building what would eventually become KAJ Hospitality, and as a kid I had a front-row seat. I didn’t always realize what I was learning at the time, but the lessons were forming. Responsibility wasn’t theoretical. Ownership wasn’t a slogan. It was a lived reality.

In smaller communities, there’s less room to hide from the results of your decisions. That can be uncomfortable. But it’s also clarifying. You begin to understand that progress is rarely accidental.

That perspective has shaped how I view leadership today.

Leadership Is Ultimately About People

At KAJ Hospitality, we talk a lot about performance, financial discipline, and operational excellence. Those things matter. They always will. But over time I’ve come to believe that the most meaningful measure of leadership is not what you build financially, but what you help build in other people.

Businesses grow. Markets shift. Assets get bought and sold. But the mindset and capability you help develop in others has a much longer shelf life.

This idea has become even more real as I’ve moved deeper into leadership roles. Early in my career, success often felt tied to proving something. Later, it became more about stewardship. Now, more than ever, it feels tied to development. Creating environments where people can stretch beyond what they thought they were capable of.

That mindset doesn’t just apply to companies. It applies to communities. And it absolutely applies to education.

Why Education Became Personal

Several years ago, my wife and I began asking deeper questions about the kind of environment we wanted for our children. Not just academically, but as human beings.

We weren’t looking for perfection. We were looking for alignment.

We wanted them to develop discipline, curiosity, resilience, and ownership. We wanted them to understand that learning is not something you complete at age eighteen. It’s something you carry for life.

That search eventually led us to the Acton Academy model, a learner-driven approach that emphasizes real responsibility, goal setting, and personal accountability. In 2021, we helped bring Acton Academy to Sioux Falls.

It has been one of the most meaningful and challenging endeavors we’ve taken on.

A Different Kind of Learning Environment

Acton is intentionally different. Learners set goals. They reflect on progress. They experience the natural consequences of choices. Guides act more as facilitators than traditional instructors. Parents are deeply engaged in the journey.

At first, this can feel uncomfortable. It challenges familiar assumptions about what school is supposed to look like. But that discomfort is often where growth begins.

In many ways, Acton mirrors the real world more closely than traditional educational models. Life rarely hands us neatly structured assignments with predetermined outcomes. Instead, it asks us to navigate ambiguity, manage time, collaborate with others, and persist through setbacks.

Those are muscles that must be developed. And like any form of training, development requires intentional effort.

Sioux Falls at a Moment of Opportunity

Sioux Falls has experienced remarkable growth over the past decade. New businesses are forming. New families are relocating here. The energy is real. The momentum is visible.

But growth alone does not guarantee long-term success. Communities thrive when they invest not only in infrastructure and commerce, but in human development.

The question is not just how large we will become. It is who we are becoming.

Are we raising young people who are equipped to lead, create, and contribute?
Are we building cultures within our organizations that reward initiative and long-term thinking?
Are we willing to make decisions today that may feel harder in the short run but position us better for the future?

These are not abstract questions. They shape the trajectory of our city.

The Discipline of Long-Term Thinking

One of the themes that surfaced repeatedly in my conversation with Jason was the importance of perspective.

Short-term thinking is often seductive because it promises quick relief. Avoid the hard conversation. Delay the tough decision. Choose the easier path today and deal with the consequences later.

Long-term thinking requires a different posture. It asks us to accept temporary discomfort in pursuit of durable outcomes. It asks us to measure success over years, not weeks.

In business, this might mean investing in people before you see immediate returns.
In education, it might mean allowing learners to struggle through challenges rather than rescuing them too quickly.
In family life, it might mean prioritizing character development over convenience.

This approach is not always easy. But it is almost always worthwhile.

A Lightly Held but Deeply Felt Sense of Purpose

Underneath many of these decisions is a quieter layer of motivation. A belief that our work, our leadership, and our parenting are forms of stewardship. That we are entrusted with opportunities and responsibilities that extend beyond ourselves.

This perspective doesn’t require grand statements or perfect execution. It simply invites us to act with intentionality. To recognize that the environments we create today will shape the people who lead tomorrow.

For me, this sense of purpose has been a guiding influence in both business and education. It reminds us to keep the horizon in view even when the daily demands feel immediate and pressing.

An Invitation to Think Differently

My hope in sharing these reflections is not to suggest there is one right path. Sioux Falls is filled with thoughtful leaders, engaged parents, and committed entrepreneurs who care deeply about our community.

Rather, the invitation is to pause and consider where long-term thinking might create new possibilities.

What would change if we designed organizations around development instead of just efficiency?
What would change if we treated education as preparation for life rather than preparation for tests?
What would change if we viewed discomfort not as a signal to retreat, but as a sign that growth may be near?

These questions are worth exploring.

For those who are curious about the learner-driven approach at Acton Academy Sioux Falls, I encourage you to learn more. Visit our campus. Talk with our families. Observe a studio in action. Even if it ultimately isn’t the right fit for your family, the conversation itself can be valuable.

And for fellow business leaders and entrepreneurs, the challenge is similar. Continue building. Continue investing in people. Continue choosing the long game.

Communities are shaped by the cumulative effect of those decisions.

I’m grateful to Jason Freeman and the Awkwardly Awesome podcast for the opportunity to reflect on these themes. Conversations like these remind me how interconnected our roles really are. Parent. Leader. Builder. Neighbor.

Each of us has a part to play in the story Sioux Falls is writing.

Want to hear the full conversation? Watch here: Youtube Link or Listen here: Podcast Link

Request your free info kit here: https://actonacademysiouxfalls.org/free-info-kit

Learn about Learner-Driven Education - https://actonacademysiouxfalls.org/post/learner-driven-education-sioux-falls