Is Your Business Really Living?
Marcus Aurelius on what existence isn’t “Just teach her daughter an exercise program and get out of there.” Those words changed a lot for me. I was working at a so-called nonprofit home health agency, caring for a patient who had suffered a massive stroke. She could only use one side of her body. She […]
Run Your Business Like It’s Your Last Day
Marcus Aurelius on practicing every day like it could be the one Bobby was the kind of doctor everyone wants to have. His patients loved him. His staff loved him. We loved working with him. Even in an age of rushed appointments and assembly-line medicine, he took time with his patients. He had a stellar […]
Doing Good Is Good Business
Marcus Aurelius on what business is for “I just want to go out to eat again.” When my patient first told me this, I could hear the longing in his voice. It had been over a decade since he’d been able to go to a restaurant. He wasn’t asking for a miracle. Just a simple, […]
A Business That Makes You Happy
Marcus Aurelius on what success is actually for You started your business for a reason. Freedom, maybe. The chance to work on your own terms, choose the projects that pull you in, spend more time with your family. Or financial security. Or the chance to make a real difference for the people you serve. Somewhere […]
The One Thing That’s Always in Your Control
Marcus Aurelius on where your power is Two business owners face the same problem. Their biggest client suddenly leaves. One panics. They scramble to replace the lost revenue, making rushed decisions that weaken the business further. They cut prices. They chase any client they can find. They spend sleepless nights stressing over what went wrong. […]
Acting with Intention
Marcus Aurelius on how to use the time you have Most owners I talk to assume they’ll always have more time. Time to scale (eventually). Time to launch the next thing (maybe next year). Time to figure it all out (once things slow down). They don’t. The owners who grow and the owners who stay […]
Win by Focusing
Sun Tzu on concentration as strategy “And if I concentrate while he divides, I can use my entire strength to attack a fraction of his.” — Sun Tzu You start a business eager to serve as many customers as possible. At first it seems like a smart move. More customers should mean more sales. As […]
Delegation Done Right
Sun Tzu on matching the work to the person “Do not charge people to do what they cannot do. Select them and give them responsibilities commensurate with their abilities.” — Sun Tzu Running a small business often feels like juggling a hundred tasks at once. You know you should delegate more. It’s hard. Maybe it’s […]
Managing Teams Through Constructive Conflict
Sun Tzu on when to engage and when to wait “He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.” — Sun Tzu You walk into your business and sense the unspoken tension. Two team members are barely speaking. Tasks are slipping. The mood feels off. You hope it’ll blow over. The […]
Building Unstoppable Momentum
Sun Tzu on how the flow gets strong “When torrential water tosses boulders, it is because of its momentum.” — Sun Tzu In a business, the heaviest obstacles aren’t usually moved by brute force. They’re moved by momentum. Like water gaining strength as it flows, momentum builds over time and starts to carry things that […]
Passing the Torch
Sun Tzu on choosing who runs the business next “The wrong person cannot be appointed to command. Lin Hsiang-ju, the Prime Minister of Chao, said: ‘Chao Kua is merely able to read his father’s books, and is as yet ignorant of correlating changing circumstances. Now Your Majesty, on account of his name, makes him the […]
Clarity or Chaos
Sun Tzu on what confusion costs you You know the feeling. The business is spinning its wheels. Everyone’s busy. Nothing moves forward. Instead of confidently working toward your goals, you’re putting out fires and reacting to the next thing in front of you. It’s exhausting. Most of the time it traces back to one thing: […]