Free Time: Lose the Busywork, Love Your Business

avoid chasing the hungry ghosts of money, fame, power, and control, what I call the Four Horsemen of the Business Ambition Apocalypse.

what Good to Great author Jim Collins calls “return on luck.”

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, author of the seminal book Flow, describes this state as effortless

Only 40 percent of small businesses are profitable. Of the remaining 60 percent, half break even, and half are losing money.

I started restructuring my business systems from the inside out, with clearly articulated operating principles so my team knew the logic of why and how I did things, a Manager Manual with full documentation on how to run every aspect of the business, and I expanded into what I call a Delightfully Tiny Team of three part-time people, four including

Start by creating a two-hour Founder Time block on your calendar that recurs weekly, during a time of day when you are most energetic. As they say in personal finance, “pay yourself first.” Do not look for small segments sandwiched between others’ requests; reserve windows that suit you best. During that window, you can tackle strategies from this

Business coach Jerry Colonna asks the powerful question, “How are you complicit in creating the conditions you say you don’t want?”

my weekly(ish) newsletter, and writing this book.

Remaining at the center of everything, with all the most important knowledge only in your mind, puts your business at risk.