Why Dear Sam Exists


​Hello Reader,​

For the man called to build

Dear Sam began with a real man.

A friend. A client. A businessman carrying real weight.

Like a lot of men, he was trying to build something good - provide well, lead faithfully, grow the business, shoulder responsibility, and make something of the opportunity God had put in front of him.

And like a lot of men, he was also living in the tension that comes with that calling.

Because it is possible to gain ground in business while losing ground everywhere else.

It is possible to build revenue and lose peace.
To win deals and neglect your wife.
To grow the company and starve your soul.
To look strong from the outside while quietly drifting from your real assignment.

I know that tension because I have felt it too.

That is why Dear Sam exists.

This is a weekly letter for Christian businessmen who know they have been given something to build.

Men who want to exercise dominion under God, not for self-glory, but as faithful stewards.

Men who want to lead with courage, think clearly, make wise decisions, provide for their families, build profitable businesses, and leave behind something more meaningful than money alone.

Men who do not want to “succeed” in business by failing at life.

Every week, Dear Sam is my attempt to offer that kind of man a needed gut-check.

Sometimes that means encouragement.
Sometimes it means a hard truth.
Sometimes it means practical wisdom about leadership, stewardship, decision-making, endurance, fatherhood, ambition, rest, or the slow work of building something that lasts.

But the aim is always the same:

To help you build with strength, clarity, conviction, and integrity.

Not like a tyrant.
Not like a coward.
Not like a man intoxicated by growth and applause.
But like a builder under authority.

Because God has given men real work to do.

We are called to cultivate, to lead, to provide, to protect, to create order from chaos, and to multiply what has been entrusted to us.

That is dominion.

And if it is not submitted to God, it quickly turns into pride, neglect, and destruction.

Dear Sam exists to call men back to a better way.

A stronger way.
A saner way.
A more faithful way.

A way of building a business and a life that is pleasing to God.

A way of taking ground without losing your soul.
A way of building something that blesses your family instead of consuming it.
A way of working with ambition, but without worshiping ambition.
A way of building not just for this quarter, but for generations.

That is what I want for Sam.

And it's what I want for you, too.

If that's the kind of voice you want in your inbox, then welcome.


That's enough for this time. Remember, the drift of life rarely takes you where you'd choose to go. Go somewhere on purpose!

To thriving,

Zach Wise

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What is "Dear Sam", anyway? This column started with a real person — a friend and client named Sam. I write each issue with him in mind, and with you in mind, too.

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2108 North Street, Suite N., Sacramento, CA 95816

Dear Sam

Weekly encouragement and practical business wisdom for Christian business men who want to lead well, steward wisely, and build businesses that leave room for life.

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