You didn’t start a business to become its employee.
Or a Facebook ads nerd.
Or an operator.
You started it for money, freedom, and impact.
Don’t forget that.
Why did you start your business?
Think back to when you first started—or even just considered it.
What did you want?
To master Amazon ads, Facebook ads, or the nuances of “Answer Engine Optimization”?
I doubt it.
You wanted freedom. Wealth. Impact.
Your current reality
Fast-forward to today.
You’re buried in tactics—researching products, planning ad campaigns, managing your team, staying on top of accounting and taxes.
You’re busy. It feels productive.
Yet something feels off.
You wonder, Is this really what I wanted?
The hidden cost
If you keep running your business in this trance of constant activity, you’ll lose something along the way:
Your life.
You’re playing the game—and winning.
But you’re tracking the wrong scoreboard.
Years, even decades, can pass without getting what you actually wanted from your business.
Despite working harder, you’ll make less money.
You’ll chase prestige, skills, and goals disconnected from why you started in the first place.
You’ll spend money—and pass on profits—to support those goals instead of your real ones: freedom, money, and impact.
You’ll forget that your business exists to serve you.
Recommit and choose again
Exit the trance.
Don’t be like entrepreneurs who dreamed of big lives and settled for learning Slack shortcuts.
What would change if you kept your original vision alive every day?
Fewer products.
Fewer people.
Fewer agencies.
Fewer channels.
You’d cut the non-essential so the essential could thrive.
You’d build a business that serves you.
Step back right now. Remember why you started.
Choose one activity to cut—and one to double down on.
You’ll be closer to the life you originally wanted.
Create the business you really want
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—Matt