Just finished Dirtbag Billionaire by Yvon Chouinard — and wow, it hit home.

His story of building Patagonia while staying true to his love of the outdoors mirrors a lot of the internal tension I’ve felt as a builder. We’re one of the nation’s largest concrete contractors — and a huge consumer of cement, one of the most carbon-intensive materials on earth.

It’s hard to square that with my family composting our food waste at home or trying to make small sustainable choices. But we do it anyway. Because even small actions matter.

What really inspired me, though, was how Chouinard didn’t just talk about purpose. He restructured Patagonia into a charitable trust to ensure the profits go toward protecting the planet. He literally built his legacy into his mission.

That kind of integrity, putting values over comfort, and mission over ownership, feels like a challenge to all of us who build things for a living.

How do you reconcile growth with impact?