The Daily Grind with Matt Clarke

Tissue Boxes Don't Make Good Shoes

Written by Matt Clarke | May 11, 2026

One of the richest men in the world hadn’t been seen in years. The man who once dated Katharine Hepburn, broke air speed records, and built a media empire had retreated into a darkened penthouse suite at the Desert Inn in Las Vegas. Fingernails grown inches long. Tissue boxes on his feet instead of shoes. A fleet of aides who were forbidden to look him directly in the eye. Howard Hughes was worth billions and he was completely, utterly alone.

Here’s the brutal irony — Hughes spent the first half of his life building a spectacular image: Aviator, Filmmaker, Mogul. He needed the world to see what he had and what he’d done. The second half of his life, he spent hiding from every single person he’d ever tried to impress.

The image consumed the man. There was nothing left underneath it.

"... answer those who brag about having a spectacular ministry rather than having a sincere heart." (Corinthians 5:12) 

Paul had seen people like Howard Hughes in the church at Corinth. Leaders who bragged about the size of their ministry. Men who measured spiritual credibility by what people could see — the crowds, the influence, the platform. The Corinthians had been seduced by show. By the guys who looked the part, talked loud, and moved crowds. Paul, on the other hand, was writing from prison. He had scars on his back and very few people showed up to stand with him. Not exactly a spectacular image. But his heart? Sincere.

Are you building something spectacular, or something sincere?

Howard Hughes had it backwards. He built the spectacular but hollowed out his heart. And when the world finally stopped watching, there was nothing left inside that penthouse but fear, obsession, and a man who hadn’t let anyone close enough to tell him the truth in decades.

You can die rich and utterly unknown to the people who lived right next to you. That’s not success. That’s a tragedy.

The people in your life — your team, your spouse, your kids, your employees — they don’t need your platform, they need your presence. They don’t need you to be impressive, they need you to be real. Tissue boxes don't make good shoes, and a pretty image does not make a sincere heart.   
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