minn kim

Building something, big or small, takes tremendous effort. It takes an act of radical trust.

Courage is not a feeling, but an action. In a culture increasingly defined by consumption, finger-pointing, and overwhelming complacency, an earnest spiritual practice feels like a quiet provocation. Shoving aside the fear of self-conscious reflection, I’m sharing how the act of building is to take up courage. If this heartens even just one person to act, then this fulfilled its intention.

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A few years ago, I experienced a devastating death of a loved one I had not imagined. Only months prior, I had started a company with my best friend, fallen in love, rallied a small but tight-knit community of friends committed to making San Francisco home post-COVID. Yet within 48 hours, my entire life turned upside down.

Our modern culture is expert at deconstruction—we expose, we judge, we dismantle. This loss held a unique sharpness, and I felt fear, anger, and the creeping soft nihilism of our age. Summoning courage became a deliberate choice to construct meaning when the world felt intent on dismantling everything I held sacred.

What courage really looks like

Courage is not the absence of fear, but the decision to act despite it. It is easier to critique, to mock, to rationalize, to sit on the sidelines.

Instead, a tremendous fortitude arises from showing up when cynicism says it’s not worth it. It is building the company when smart people say the problem is too complex or the market not big enough. It is making choices with the highest integrity of intent even when doubt whispers no one will understand.

Building anything of significance requires us to see beyond current limitations. It insists we hold two seemingly contradictory truths: the world is deeply imperfect, and we have the capacity to repair it. That kind of courage demands vulnerability, grace, and an almost audacious belief that our small and big actions can transform our personal and collective flourishing.

Faith is the quiet backbone of courage

Every act of building is an act of faith because true courage stands in opposition to apathy. When we build — be it a relationship, a company, a movement, a song — we are practicing the most profound spiritual discipline. The Jesuit tradition of the Suscipe prayer breathes courage into existence. It says “Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will…To you I return it…Do with it what you will.”

In offering everything, we commit to everything. Courage isn’t proven by how deeply we ponder it, but how faithfully we live it out.

The deliberate unclenching of our white-knuckled grip on the illusion of control over the outcomes invites us to face reality and offer our entire selves to become instruments of meaningful action. While fear often coaxes us to settle for the certainty of pessimism, courage compels us to work toward solutions that don’t yet exist. It is steadfast, positive action in the face of uncertainty.

Architects of hope

Hope is not blind optimism. It’s a disciplined commitment to the possibility of transformation. The heartbeat of Lent is to confront the gap between our ideals and our choices—and then doing something about it. When we strip away distractions and face ourselves for who we say we are versus how we want to live, we become a force of authentic renewal in a world hungry for hope.

There is practical inspiration all around:

• It’s building connection by listening deeply to someone you disagree with.
• It’s running for office to fix our neighborhoods.
• It’s using our talents to help others when disaster strikes.
• It’s extending forgiveness and being forgiven.
• It’s endeavoring the impossible to become possible.
• It’s committing to building a life together.

All of this nudges us toward a more “thick-skinned” way of being — a life lived in pursuit of meaningful relationships, purpose-driven work, and moral sincerity that doesn’t flinch at difficulty.

SF is good for taking up courage

I’ve lived in San Francisco for 7 years now. I feel a responsibility to make something only I can and to create genuine possibility for others. I am lucky I get to do it daily and enable big ambitions of the extraordinary.

This city is for builders. Its neighborhoods whisper how to steer the future while revealing the giants upon whose shoulders we stand. If your spirit dares to create something that outlasts you, this may be one of the greatest places to get started.

We build for all that is good and worth fighting for.