Four business owners.
Four different industries.
Four ways to fumble the gold already in their hands.
This week wasn’t about motivation.
It was about mirrors.
Monday: I gave away a million-dollar pricing screen.
Not metaphorically. Literally.
I built the tool before it became the industry standard… and handed it out for free because “that’s how FX trading in my market works.”
Someone else took the same concept, charged for it…and built a monster.
I had the gold.
But I chased the crumbs.
Tuesday: “That’s not how it’s done.”
Five words that killed an entire business.
A prospect refused to charge upfront because “the industry doesn’t do that.”
His competitor did.
He’s gone.
His competitor is thriving.
Industry “Rules of How We Do Things” aren’t real.
Consequences are.
Wednesday: Bruce feared ‘missing out’ — so he missed everything.
Doctors and lawyers were his dream clients.
Paid on time.
Referred constantly.
Valued his work.
So naturally… he marketed to everyone except them.
The cybersecurity business today?
Dead or he chooses not to talk about it anymore.
Not because of competition — because Bruce was terrified of “missing out.”
Thursday: 50,000 people a day. Only seeing ticket sales.
My festival friend is standing on a goldmine and didn’t even know it existed.
Two questions — thirty seconds — and the whole business model changed.
He didn’t need new customers.
He needed new eyes.
Do you see the pattern yet?
This isn’t four separate problems.
It’s one disease with four symptoms:
- When you’re drowning in the business, you can’t see the water.
- You follow rules nobody wrote.
- You chase the wrong customers because of fear.
- You give away assets because you don’t recognise them as assets.
- You miss obvious revenue because you’re trapped inside your own assumptions.
These entrepreneurs weren’t stupid.
They weren’t lazy.
They weren’t inexperienced.
They were simply inside the jar—unable to read their own label.
That’s why the smartest CEOs have advisors.
Why real entrepreneurs join masterminds.
Why billionaires still pay for perspective.
Not because they’re weak.
Because they understand the real risk:
The most expensive decision isn’t hiring outside perspective.
It’s running your business without it.
So here’s the only question that matters after a week of uncomfortable mirrors:
Who’s showing you what you can’t see?
Because if the answer is “nobody”…
you’re not building a business.
You’re just rearranging the furniture in a windowless, derelict workshop
—and wondering why it keeps getting hotter.
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P.S. I’m not the “systems,” “finance,” or “fix your processes” guy.
I help you fall in love with your business again—Because it finally gives you the life you want today
While setting you up to exit on your terms tomorrow.
Join my list for blunt insights and practical strategies to build a business that gives you your life back – and the power to walk away, when you’re ready, on your terms