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 stuck are usually separated by one thing: how much time they spend on what actually matters.
Marcus Aurelius put it this way:
“Do not act as if you were going to live ten thousand years. Death hangs over you. While you live, while it is in your power, be good.”
He wasn’t only talking about life. He was talking about how you use your time. Most people act like the supply is unlimited. They put off decisions, delay action, wait for the perfect moment. There’s no perfect moment.
In a business, time wasted isn’t just time lost. It’s opportunity lost.
Why most owners struggle to make real progress
Most businesses don’t fail because their owners take too many risks. They fail because their owners spend too much time on the wrong things. Work that feels productive but doesn’t actually create progress.
The owner stays busy with the work that feels important but isn’t. They hesitate on the decisions that would change the trajectory. They fill their days with low-impact activity instead of building something that lasts.
It isn’t just about making bad choices. It’s about making the wrong kind of choices. An owner can work tirelessly, decision after decision, and if those choices don’t create real momentum, they’re treading water. Eventually they sink.
Markets shift. Customers change. Competitors move faster. Every hour spent on something that doesn’t matter is an hour you took from something that could have.
Imagine five years
Imagine you knew, with certainty, that you had five years to take this business as far as it could go.
Not five years to run it. Five years to build it into something that matters. Five years to do all the work you’re ever going to do on the lives you touch through it. Five years to make all the financial progress you’re ever going to make through this business. Five years to put the systems in place that let it grow beyond you.
Would you still put off hiring that key person? Would you spend months tweaking the website instead of getting in front of customers? Would you stay buried in small tasks while ignoring the moves that change the trajectory?
Or would you act with intention?
That’s the shift Marcus Aurelius was pointing at. Not panic. Not rush. Deliberate action. A commitment to doing what actually matters while you still can.
The trap: mistaking activity for progress
Service professionals are especially prone to this one.
The consultant who spends months perfecting a new program and never actually markets it.
The coach who endlessly tweaks her website and branding while avoiding the real conversations with potential clients.
The therapist who spends hours in low-revenue, high-drain sessions with clients she isn’t the right fit for, instead of building a practice around the work she does best.
The accountant who drowns in admin work instead of hiring help and getting back to high-value client relationships.
Same problem under all of it. They mistake being busy for building something that lasts.
The owners who actually succeed — the ones who create both impact and financial stability — treat their time like the one thing they can’t afford to waste. They decide. They move forward even when they don’t have all the answers.
A simple way to cut through it
If you’re caught in overthinking or overwhelm:
Write down three things you’ve been spending time on that aren’t important. The distractions. The busywork. The things that feel urgent but don’t move the business forward.
Then write down three things you’ve been putting off that would make a real difference. The big decisions. The key investments. The hard calls you keep avoiding.
Shift your focus from the first list to the second.
Use the time
One day, your business will be gone. That’s not pessimism. It’s a fact.
The only question is whether you’ll look back knowing you spent your time on what mattered, or whether you’ll wish you hadn’t wasted it.
You don’t have ten thousand years.
In five years you’ll either have built something that matters or you’ll wish you had. If acting with intention isn’t already your habit, this is the moment to start.
About the Author
Ron Tester is a physical therapist with thirty years in the field. He built, grew, and operated a multidisciplinary home health company employing PTs, OTs, and SLPs through a successful exit. He now coaches outpatient PT, OT, and SLP clinic owners on operating at the owner level. Certified Executive Coach and Book Yourself® Solid Coach. Learn more at https://rontestercoaching.com/about.