Victoria “Rori” Hope Nwaeze is an entrepreneurial operator and strategic growth leader with multi-industry experience spanning restaurants, real estate acquisitions, and emerging consumer markets. With a foundation in economics and a strong track record in operational turnarounds, she specializes in scaling high-potential businesses through refined systems, elevated hospitality, and deliberate culture-building.
Rori currently leads operations and growth for Chef Point — the nationally recognized, family-owned restaurant founded inside a North Texas gas station and featured by CNN, Food Network, NPR, and CNBC. She drives revenue through product innovation, brand expansion, and operational efficiency, while developing leaders and strong communication frameworks throughout the organization. Her focus blends top-line marketing momentum with bottom-line accountability, including revamped catering strategy, acquisition-driven expansion, and hospitality-driven guest engagement.
Prior to hospitality leadership, she worked in acquisitions and asset management in the real estate sector, creating investor materials, evaluating opportunities, and supporting deal execution. In the cannabis industry, she operated in a fast-changing regulatory landscape for both a major California delivery network and a top-tier brand — building experience in business development, legal agreements, and startup-pace adaptability.
A builder at heart, Rori thrives where structure meets creativity — in environments that require decisive leadership, operational discipline, and storytelling that connects product to community. She is passionate about growing great workplaces where people are seen, supported, and successful.
Rori’s long-term vision is a portfolio of hospitality and service-based businesses that elevate everyday life through great design, unforgettable experiences, and human-centered leadership. With a global point of view and a deep belief in ownership, she is actively pursuing expansion markets in Texas, California, and beyond.
You Can Be Right or You Can Be Happy from How to Stay in Love by James J. Sexton
A divorce lawyer who’s spent his career ending marriages shares what he’s learned about how to keep one.
“Two of the most troubling expressions in the divorce trade are ‘soulmate’ and ‘fifty-fifty.’ So long as you’re getting what you need, why must it be half? Who gives a damn if it’s even? It’s what you need that matters.”
“I deal with people caught up in calculating what they believe they’re entitled to based on what their ex is getting. They’re keeping a tally — external and internal. Blame, fault, and righteousness become zero-sum games: the more one party possesses, the less the other has.”
“I once represented a mother hell-bent on sticking it to her ex, giving him as little time as possible with their kids. She was more interested in being right — in proving her position had merit — than in what was truly right for her children.”
“Healthy couples, by contrast, know how to disagree: they’re not so worried about being right, or more right. Being right is often precisely the obstacle to resolution.”
“Even in good relationships, it’s easy to keep an internal scoresheet. He leaves his socks everywhere, finishes the milk, comes home late — you’re up 3–0, right? But if things are solid, you’ll admit that his positives — supportive, monogamous, reliable — far outweigh the negatives. Yet many couples act as though every negative counts for twenty-five points and every positive counts for half.”
“In marriages heading toward divorce, there’s often an insane, narcissistic need to be right every single time, or to get even. It’s exhausting for everyone.”
“There’s an easier way: when your partner says, ‘I’m sorry I did [something stupid],’ instead of pointing out how stupid it was, try saying, ‘I’m sorry too.’ Nine times out of ten, it disarms your partner. What follows — genuine apology, empathy, and balance — are the cornerstones of a healthy relationship.”
“What I do professionally has taught me that good relationships require deep compromise, to the point that even important values are sometimes sacrificed.”
“It’s natural to want to win the argument, to have your perspective validated. But when it comes to the person you love, you can concede once in a while.”
“Which is more important: winning the argument, or winning at the larger game of love and companionship?”
when things go wrong, they… a) find a way. make it work. b) get frustrated. but adapt. c) stress. overthink. spiral. d) shut down. blame others. disappear.
when plans change… a) they roll with it. life happens. b) they’re a little annoyed. but move on. c) they guilt-trip. make you feel bad. d) they take it personally. shut you out.
when they’re upset… a) they talk about it. ask for what they need. b) they need a minute. but they come back. c) they sulk. make you guess what’s wrong. d) they explode. make it everyone’s problem.
their energy is… a) steady. you know what to expect. b) mostly stable. some ups and downs. c) unpredictable. mood swings. d) draining. exhausting.
respectful & reciprocal.
when you open up, they… a) listen. make space for you. b) give advice. maybe too quickly. c) change the subject. d) make it about them.
when they’re wrong… a) they own it. no problem. b) they get defensive. but come around. c) they justify. twist things. d) they never admit it. ever.
how do they handle conflict? a) direct. calm. willing to work through it. b) a little uncomfortable. but they try. c) passive-aggressive. cold. d) avoidant. or explosive. no in-between.
when you need them… a) they show up. every time. b) mostly. but only if it’s convenient. c) they say they will. then don’t. d) they disappear.
responsive.
do they laugh easily? a) all the time. even at themselves. b) sometimes. depends on the mood. c) rarely. d) never.
do they make you feel safe? a) yes. being around them feels good. b) mostly. but they have their moments. c) not really. d) no.
do they change when they need to? a) yes. they reflect. grow. evolve. b) sometimes. but only if pushed. c) they say they will. but don’t. d) no. they stay the same. always.
mostly a’s: emotionally solid. reliable. easy to be around. handles life well. someone you can count on.
mostly b’s: mostly mature. but some rough edges. can be rigid. can be reactive. but they try.
mostly c’s: a little stuck. caught in old patterns. defensive. unaware. avoids tough conversations. makes life harder than it needs to be.
mostly d’s: hard to be around. heavy energy. unpredictable. exhausting. they take. rarely give. walking on eggshells is normal.
memories tied to beats. feelings wrapped in lyrics.
Came Too Far – Fridayy, Maverick City Music
Do you mind I pray for you?
Okay, let me pray for you
Gran bondye, bondye lavi a
Men gason’m mwen pote ba ou, Franson
Mwen konnen zye’w deja sou li
que yeux sur lui-même en dépit de tout
Mon Dieu, que la protection divine
You cannot cease us
Grand Bon Dieu, toute force qui parvient de Dieu, toute puissance qui parvient de Dieu
Do you mind if I pray for you?
Okay, let me pray for you.
Great God, God of life,
Here is my son, I bring him to you, Franson.
I know your eyes are already on him.
May his eyes be on himself despite everything.
My God, may divine protection be upon us.
You cannot stop us.
Great Good God, all strength comes from God, all power comes from God.
Barcelona – Chris Patrick
As an entrepreneur, you 24/7. I don’t got the time to use sick days Ain’t seen the sun in bout 6 days Ain’t had no fun since my grandmama died Only time I have fun’s when a hits made Only time I’m in love when a check clear Only time I pick up is for big plays Finna get paid
Put the DND on the phones Need the whips that I want to own Want my dream house in Barcelona Give my all till my heart is gone Can’t be pussy up on the road Im the rookie that want the throne I’m trying to get rich Tired of living like this
choosing the path That gon bring me salvation Cut off people, held down by relations Staying here ain’t no way im escaping Gave up years Just to change where im placed at
So damn close that a nigga could taste it Surgical with the verse like a face lift Vertical elevation takes patience With the time I got left I can’t waste it
I know what it’s like to starve I know what it’s like to wanna be there folks But you can’t because times is hard can’t save everyone round me I know cause I tried before Prioritize mine for sure I gotta be locked for sure
Underground Kings – Drake
Bridge over troubled water
ice in my muddy water.
Sometimes I need that romance Sometimes I need that pole dance Sometimes I need that nigga That’s gon’ tell me that he don’t dance Tell me lies, make it sound good Do me like the men from my town would
#1: First, Manage Thyself Before managing others, you must first manage your own productivity, discipline, and focus. The performance of those around you often reflects your own. As an executive, your standards, time management, and self-leadership will directly impact the team’s ability to deliver. Prioritize improving yourself to lift the overall capability of the organization.
#2: Do What You’re Made For Instead of striving to fix every weakness, focus on your natural strengths. Identify the skills where you truly excel, then refine them to the highest level. Maximize your impact by channeling energy toward areas where you can be uniquely effective. Address weaknesses only when they hinder the full realization of your strengths.
#3: Work How You Work Best (and Let Others Do the Same) Understand and respect your most productive working style, and ensure that you operate within it consistently. Whether it’s early mornings or deep work in isolation, structure your day to support your personal peak performance. Similarly, empower others by allowing them to work in the way that brings out their best results.
#4: Count Your Time, and Make It Count Your time is the most valuable asset you manage. Track it, measure it, and use it deliberately. Consolidate time into blocks for deep, uninterrupted focus, and maintain discipline in guarding against distractions. Whether leading meetings or strategizing, ensure that every moment drives progress towards your most critical goals.
#5: Prepare Better Meetings Meetings should be efficient, purposeful, and outcomes-driven. Always have a clear agenda, know the objective, and invest more time preparing than the meeting itself takes. Without proper structure, meetings waste valuable time. A well-prepared meeting fosters decision-making, clarity, and actionable next steps, while cutting down unnecessary discussions.
#6: Don’t Make a Hundred Decisions When One Will Do Avoid getting caught in decision fatigue. Instead of reacting to every small decision, focus on identifying the broader patterns that drive the most important outcomes. Find solutions that address multiple situations at once, and create decision frameworks that can be applied consistently, streamlining your leadership efforts.
#7: Find Your One Big Distinctive Impact Leadership isn’t about doing everything—it’s about making one or two truly significant contributions. Identify where you can make the greatest, lasting impact, and focus your resources there. This could be a strategic decision or an initiative that fundamentally changes the course of the organization.
#8: Stop What You Would Not Start A key aspect of prioritization is knowing when to stop. If you wouldn’t start a project or continue an initiative today, then consider whether it’s still worth pursuing. Free up time, energy, and resources by eliminating or delegating tasks that no longer align with your core objectives or growth strategy.
#9: Run Lean Complex organizations can become burdened with internal inefficiencies. Simplify your structure by focusing on key roles filled by highly capable individuals. Give them meaningful responsibilities and autonomy to execute. A lean, high-performing team achieves far more than a large team where talent is diluted and energy is wasted on internal friction.
#10: Be Useful Beyond success and survival, the most important question is: How are you being useful? Maximize your contribution by focusing on what adds real value—to the organization, to people, and to the world. Keep your work grounded in practical, tangible outcomes that make a difference, regardless of the scale of the role.
Image description: A hand is holding a tarot card, Two of Swords by Pamela Colman Smith from the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot. Behind the card is green grass and the edge of a wooden fence. In the card, a person dressed in gray with a blindfold on and yellow shoes is seated on a concrete block holding two large swords, crossed over their chest. There is water behind them, and a crescent moon.
I’ve been asked twice in the last several weeks how I work with and think about synchronicity. The truth is I really don’t.
The prefix ‘synch’ suggests sameness in a way that feels at odds with my interest in difference. Difference as in philosopher Kelly Oliver’s notion of love:
“Love is…an ethics of otherness that thrives on the adventure of otherness [and] requires a commitment to the…nurturing of difference.”
I’m less interested in the accordance of rhythms, and more in what happens when two beats are playing at the same time and clashing.
So I haven’t been working much with the idea of synchronicity. But I have been working with the idea of intensity, which feels related.
Intensity is the name we give for the tension that happens when contradictory forces confront one another, and no one dominates or submits.
Intensity yields potential. It’s a quality from which something miraculous can happen. Something never before seen. Something that could not have happened if one force took over and the other gave way.
(I’m drawing from—and oversimplifying—the work of philosopher Brian Massumi.)
Potential is an interesting thing, too. It has roots in words that mean “to stretch.” When I feel stretched in some way, I often say “it’s intense.”
I think these ideas can be useful when thinking about the intensity of big feelings.
Big feelings are often born from the confrontation of forces.
A need to be seen clashes with an unresponsive environment.
A force of degradation descends upon something indisputably precious.
These encounters often generate intense feelings.
I’ve been considering collaboration a lot lately too, and have found these ideas about intensity and potential useful. Collaboration is also a meeting of forces and—to the degree no one is dominating or submitting—can also be quite intense.
Collaboration involves doing work together, across and with difference.
Ideally space is made for all involved so that collaboration is like love; an adventure in otherness. Collaboration might even be a synonym for love, if we view love as an action.
This week in I pulled Two of Swords.
In the Thoth deck, Two of Swords is called Peace, which might seem a quintessential “other” of intensity.
In fact the card depicts the confrontation of forces—two swords crossing—and an intensity that occurs there.
The artist Freida Harris marked that point of intensity with a blue rose. An oddity. Something never before seen.
For Brian Massumi, potential exists in a realm where “what are normally opposites coexist, coalesce, and connect.” Intensity and potential are related.
At the point of tension where we bump up against difference there’s potential to stretch in new ways.
To bloom into something, other than what we have been.
Especially if we’re able to make room for the differences we encounter. Without anyone needing to dominate, or submit. I know I’m saying the same words over and over. It feels necessary.
I have an enduring desire to do deep work with others. I’ve been thinking a ton about intensity and potential, and about how these ideas relate to a relational value of collaboration.
This is visually represented by two swords in the shape of a cross signaling a choice between this way or that, but not both.
As I look at the card I start to wonder:
Am I thinking about collaboration in too binary a way?
I do tend to see certain ways of working as “truly” collaborative, and others as not.
Collaborative behavior might include factoring others’ wants and needs into decision-making processes, or being responsive to things that are shared.
Un-collaborative behavior would be things like unilateral decision-making, not taking responsibility for one’s actions, passivity or inaction.
I dissolve the collaborative/un-collaborative binary and begin to wonder if these varying modes of showing up are just different ways of working.
I start to notice that each way brings something unique. A contribution.
Inaction can be generative, for instance, or preservative. Like if you’re fermenting something.
Inaction can also be a space-making method; an invitation for those who aren’t used to taking up space to step into an opening. Or a way to let stirred up things settle.
I think there’s value in considering that people “show up” and collaborate in all kinds of ways. What if the person who can’t self-reflect and blames everyone for their problems is collaborating just as much as the one who seriously considers how their behavior affects others?
The first person’s contribution will likely clash with others’ needs for safety or accountability, but it contributes to the equation, nonetheless. The clash creates tension, and there’s potential there. If those involved can resist the urge to dominate or submit, there’s potential to move in ways they’re not used to.
I wonder if viewing the many ways humans show up in relationship as “collaborative” is a way to get past the familiar lamentation of others’ refusal to do whatever it is that we want them to do. What if we’re all collaborating in one way or another? We’re, co-laboring; working alongside one another. To live in the best way we know how.
Here are some questions I have:
What ways of collaborating do I want to stretch and grow into? What different styles of working in others might be supportive of (or hindering to) that growth?
What sorts of encounters—with oppositional forces or differences—might stimulate me to stretch in the directions I value, or to become other than what I have been?
I often struggle with difference which is why I think about it so much.
But I really want to honor all these weird ways of collaborating because we are all so different and that makes life exciting.
Plus I really do think love isthe nurturing of difference.
To reckon with, accept and respond to the differences we encounter is often intense. It brings up a lot. It requires stretching. It might hurt or feel scary. It can be exciting.
You’re reading the Offering for July 30, 2023. This Offering is for paying subscribers only but if you feel moved to share it you have my blessing to do so, and my thanks.
won’t you celebrate with me what i have shaped into a kind of life? i had no model. born in babylon both nonwhite and woman what did i see to be except myself? i made it up here on this bridge between starshine and clay, my one hand holding tight my other hand; come celebrate with me that everyday something has tried to kill me and has failed.
