
Spinning Gold into Hay
“That’s a palace?” my daughters exclaimed. Their eyes were declaring what their mouths were too polite to say. That’s complete ***t. So they weren’t impressed
End Burnout — Fall in Love with Your Business. Full Access and all calls $997. Get Your Spot

“That’s a palace?” my daughters exclaimed. Their eyes were declaring what their mouths were too polite to say. That’s complete ***t. So they weren’t impressed

“Wisdom is worth more than silver; it makes you much richer than gold. Wisdom is more valuable than precious jewels; nothing you want compares with

I have been out of touch for a week or so. Not because I am blowing you all off but just to step back and

Friday was fun. I organised an afternoon lunch and then happy hour with over a dozen business owners and service providers. We didn’t have an

“I learned more from a 3 minute record than I ever learned in school” Bruce Springsteen – “No Retreat, No Surrender” In the mid 80s

You know what’s funny about my business? The wide variety of industries and situations I get called into that differ significantly on the surface but

Last day of FAQ week. And this one is the question that separates the owners who end up with options from those who end up

Day 2 of FAQ week. Today’s question hits a nerve with almost every owner I talk to. “You talk about building a business that runs

It’s a holiday week all across the globe with bank holidays in the West and US, Eid here in the Mideast, and Pentecost both last

I recently met a business owner generating nine figures in revenue. Multiple suitors circling. The kind of interest most owners dream about. And none of

Paul and David both started logistics companies around the same time. Both built them to roughly $8 million in revenue with teams of about 30

Yesterday I told you about the blind man and the Pharisees and how the experts who were supposed to see most clearly were the ones

In the Gospel of John there’s a scene that has always stuck with me. Jesus encounters a man who has been blind since birth and

Yesterday I ran an intimate M&A deep dive breakfast with eight professionals who all touch mergers and acquisitions from different angles and what came out

Last night I attended a hosted dinner featuring Gaston Hochar, the third-generation family owner of Chateau Musar, one of Lebanon’s most iconic wineries.Twenty-four of us

Met a guy called Adam at the gym this week. We got talking between sets and he mentioned he’d recently exited a cybersecurity firm here

Over the weekend one of my email subscribers asked if he could get in on the Pioneer deal because he didn’t have time to sign

She nailed it. So I agreed to having Mitch Martina Cleaning Company come to our house for a deep cleaning of the apartment even though

The other day I took my youngest to a new café while we waited for her sister to finish school. When we sat down the

Monday’s business growth cohort call for Fall in Love with Your Business Again went somewhere I didn’t plan. What was supposed to be a walkthrough

A carpet cleaner in Baltimore charges double what everyone else charges. He has a waiting list. His competitors slash prices to win jobs and wonder

The Answer Changed the Wine Industry. A few years ago when I was working as a Value Builder Advisor with John Warrillow’s Built to Sell

Today is St George’s Day. My namesake and patron saint. Legend has him on a horse slaying a dragon. Well forget the dragon because the

Who do you think won my business? Met a wealth advisor at a networking event a while back. Seemed sharp. We agreed to grab a

Before leaving for RAK with the family, I sat down and made sure three different client milestones were completed and delivered, so that nothing left

Before heading to Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) with the family for a couple of days I had to stay home for the LG technicians to

A digital agency owner I’ll call David lost a pitch last year to a competitor who charged nearly double his price. Same scope. Same deliverables.

There’s a documentary called Jiro Dreams of Sushi about a man named Jiro Ono who runs a ten-seat sushi restaurant in a Tokyo subway station.

After my post of Sophia on a horse, I received the following email. Hi George, I went to that polo club on Monday. My daughter

You didn’t miss the exit.
You just kept telling yourself it wasn’t time yet.
Until suddenly… it was too late.
Most business owners don’t crash and burn.
They slowly wear down—working harder, earning less, and watching the business slip away while they keep saying:
“Just a bit longer.”
This post isn’t about planning.
It’s about what happens when you don’t..

You’ve sacrificed.
Pushed through setbacks.
Bled for the business.
But when it’s time to walk away—will it live on without you?
Or will it die the second you step back?
Most business owners don’t have an exit.
They have a slow death.
This week brought a powerful reminder of what real triumph looks like—
And what happens when you don’t build for it.

When I was 12, I snuck a pocket radio into church so I could listen to the Cubs game during Holy Thursday service.
My mom busted me.
I sat through the whole thing—and didn’t understand a word of it.
Now? I don’t miss a second.
And somewhere in that shift…
There’s a powerful lesson most business owners are still missing.

Your business is profitable.
Maybe even 7 or 8 figures.
But here’s a tough question:
What happens if you disappear for 30 days?
Does the business keep growing?
Or does it fall apart?
There’s a simple test I call Freedom Math—and most founders don’t like their score.
If you’re thinking about selling your business “someday,”
This is the equation you need to solve first.

You’ve built a 7- or 8-figure business.
Profitable. Growing.
But when it’s time to exit?
Most owners don’t get the deal they want.
Many don’t get a deal at all.
Not because the business isn’t successful…
But because it doesn’t work without them.
If you’re banking on a future sale—this is your wake-up call.
The #1 question buyers ask isn’t about your story.
It’s about their risk.

His company hit $10M in revenue.
And then… a car accident.
In one moment, it was all gone.
Not because the business failed.
But because it couldn’t survive without him.
This isn’t a dramatic story. It’s a common one.
And the lesson he learned the hard way?
I’m giving it to you right here.
If your business still depends on you…
You need to read this.

She came to the event knowing no one there could help her.
She showed up anyway.
Another guy skipped it because “only 5 people” were attending.
Guess who walked away with a powerful new connection?
This isn’t a post about networking.
It’s about what really creates leverage in business—
and why some people miss it entirely.
I break it down here.

He’s planning to attend a networking event.
But find out only 5 people will be there.
Meanwhile, he’s packing 100 business cards, ready to hand them out.
Is this event a total waste of time…
or the room that changes everything?
Most people would skip it, scanning the web for a “better” event.
But what if what you really needed was already in the room?
Not more people.
Just the right ones.