Love-based leadership: A radical response to 2026

My eldest daughter graduates from high school this year. She’s working part-time, applying to universities, and studying hard—developing into a confident, brilliant young woman. And yet, when she looks toward the future, she isn’t excited. She is fearful.

She is worried about AI—in fact, she hates it. She worries about its environmental impact, its toll on her generation’s ability to learn, and the threat it poses to their future careers. She is worried about the looming instability in Europe; our government has already advised us to stock food and survival kits. She is worried about climate change and the very state of our planet.

It is a heavy burden for a 17-year-old. Recently, she turned to me and said, “Mom, it’s really difficult to have a positive mindset.”

She’s right. But a mindset is exactly that—a choice. And it’s a choice I’ve dedicated the last four years of my life to understanding.

Finding Meaning in the Challenge

I am reminded of Viktor E. Frankl, a Holocaust survivor and author of Man’s Search for Meaning. He famously wrote:

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”

AI is challenging us to remember what it truly means to be human. Instead of asking how it might replace us, we must ask: How can we use it for good? How can we use it to enhance our potential rather than diminish it? Humanity is defined by our imperfections, our capacity for connection, our love, and our gratitude. These are things a machine cannot replicate.

A New Paradigm: Love-Based Leadership

I am currently in Berlin, where I recently attended a session with spiritual teacher and peacemaker Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. A room full of business leaders asked him these very questions about AI and the future of leadership. His answer—one I am hearing echoed at other conferences and gatherings I've attended and will be attending — is love-based leadership.

The only way to counter polarization, war, and uncertainty is not through more fear, but through peace. The future of leadership isn't about top-down control; it’s about creating a movement—a powerful collective of people who believe in doing good and recognizing our common humanity.

Embodying the Change

To be a leader of peace and sustainability, we must do more than talk about these values; we must embody them. If we are continually stressed and fearful, we lose our ability to innovate, connect, and see the bigger picture, attributes that are so necessary to solve the challenges we face.

This is why personal grounding practices—mindfulness, meditation, positive intelligence, breathwork or gratitude—are no longer "optional" luxuries. They are essential tools that keep us sane, open-minded, and healthy. Now, more than ever, we need to stay anchored.

A Call to Action for 2026

Let’s make 2026 a year of hope and inspiration.

The future of leadership starts with our mindset and the choices we make today. We can live by our values.

Let’s choose our own future and find like-minded communities to build it with. We cannot afford to sit back and let those with lesser intentions determine what is in store for us.

Let us be the leaders who show the next generation that hope is not just a feeling, but a powerful, intentional choice... and action.