You’re Chasing More Than You Need.
Dear Entrepreneurs & Business Owners,
When I see or hear about your goals, you almost always share tidy round numbers. Five million net this year. A hundred million in sales.
Where do the numbers come from? Why not three? Or sixty?
Most of you don't have an answer, because you haven't actually thought about it.
The number showed up dressed like ambition, and you've been chasing it ever since.
I have colleagues crushing it in business. Many are unhealthy, mentally or physically. Most have almost no close friends. They rarely show themselves a good time.
I routinely get asked for relationship and parenting advice from this crowd. They want to know my secret.
My secret is striving for sufficiency.
I aim for just enough in every area of my life. Enough money, enough work, enough time with my wife, my kids, my friends, and myself. You're chasing more than you need, and it’s costing you elsewhere.
Striving for or manifesting abundance is selfish and a waste of energy. You're spending finite resources — your presence, your energy, your attention — to acquire an infinite one you'll likely never finish using. The people closest to you are paying the bill.
You tell yourself it's for them, and it almost never is.
Having amazing relationships with my wife, kids, and friends isn’t easy, but it isn't rocket science either. I invest more of my time and energy in these people than my peers do, so of course I'm going to have better relationships. Just as they are going to make a few million dollars more than I do this year.
We're both getting exactly what we optimized for.
Many of you are operating as though your skills and opportunities will evaporate in five years. They won't.
I turn 50 this year, and from 28 years as a financial advisor, I can tell you that earning a good living gets easier as you go, not harder. Your skills, relationships, and reputation are compounding.
Money isn't the scarce resource; it’s the time with the people in your life right now.
Most of my clients have an eight-figure net worth, and the theme of most of our meetings is me trying to talk them into spending more of their money. They have way more than they need.
If you and your wife barely speak, if your kids shut their bedroom doors after dinner, if your weeks are stuffed with clients and empty of deep friendships, do you really need these extra clients and investors right now?
What will they get you that you don't already have?
I'm not retiring — I love what I do, and I am just getting started. Some of you may want to stop at some point. I just think you might want to focus less on how much money you will have in twenty years and focus more on who you will be spending time with. I am not telling you to abandon your goals.
I just want you to think about what more will get you, and what it might be costing you.
I am just sharing what works for me.
