What Your Business Says About You
(And Why It Matters More Than You Think)
What Marcus Aurelius Knew About Success That Most Entrepreneurs Ignore
In the early years of running my home health agency, I poured everything into it. Long days, late nights, weekends spent handling paperwork and managing the endless moving parts of the business. It was demanding, but I didn’t mind. In many ways, that business was a reflection of me—driven, relentless, and deeply committed to the people it served.
I was proud of that.
But one night, as I sat at my kitchen table, surrounded by unfinished charts and unpaid claims, I felt completely exhausted. The business I had built was demanding more than I had left to give. It wasn’t because we weren’t successful. It wasn’t because I didn’t love my clients. It was because, without realizing it, I had created a business that mirrored my own tendencies—pushing harder, saying yes to everything, running on sheer willpower.
It reflected my values. But it also reflected my blind spots.
That night, I realized that my business wasn’t just a reflection of what I believed in. It was a reflection of my habits, my decisions, and the way I ran my life.
Marcus Aurelius put it this way:
“If you do the job in a principled way—with diligence, energy, and patience—if you keep yourself free of distractions and keep the spirit inside you undamaged, as if you might have to give it back at any moment… then your life will be happy. No one can prevent that.”
The same is true in business. Your work is a reflection of how you approach it. If you build it with diligence, patience, and clarity, it will serve you well. If you build it with overwork, avoidance, or misalignment, it will magnify those same struggles.
Which is why the question isn’t just, Is my business successful?—it’s What is my business reflecting back to me?
When Your Patterns Become Your Prison
Your business is more than a company, it’s a reflection of you. It mirrors your strengths, your priorities, and, often, your biggest blind spots. Whether you realize it or not, the way you price your services, interact with clients, and structure your workload all reveal something deeper.
Marcus Aurelius wrote:
“The things you think about determine the quality of your mind. Your soul takes on the color of your thoughts.”
I see these patterns now in my coaching practice. A brilliant therapist was struggling with cash flow, not because his practice wasn’t busy, but because he had almost $40,000 in unbilled/unpaid sessions. He felt “awkward” about money conversations, so he avoided sending invoices (sometimes for weeks). When we dug deeper, we discovered this pattern in every aspect of his business—underpricing his services, avoiding late payment discussions, even hesitating to raise rates with long-term clients.
The solution wasn’t just implementing better billing systems. It was addressing the underlying pattern. We started small—practicing money conversations, setting up automatic billing reminders, creating clear payment policies. It took six months to work through the backlog, and he had to write off some accounts he could have collected if he’d handled them promptly. But he learned a valuable lesson about the real cost of avoiding difficult conversations.
A business doesn’t just show what you believe—it shows:
- How you make decisions (proactive vs. reactive, strategic vs. impulsive).
- Where you default under pressure (do you overcommit? underprice? avoid conflict?).
- What patterns you unconsciously reinforce (attracting difficult clients, staying in constant hustle mode, avoiding marketing).
The Price of Playing Small
These patterns create costs that go far beyond the obvious:
- Being too available leads to shallow work and difficult relationships
- Avoiding difficult conversations creates long-term resentment
- People-pleasing attracts clients who will take advantage
- Perfectionism prevents scaling and delegation
I’ve struggled with this myself. For years, I tried to market my business in ways that felt safe and comfortable. The first time I was a guest on a podcast, I thought I was going to die. The first time I posted a video on social, I sounded like a robot—and not a very interesting one at that. But I’ve persisted. While I still wouldn’t say I ‘love’ being visible, I show up because I know if I don’t, I can’t serve my community and fulfill my calling. It’s still a challenge sometimes, but I’ve learned to push through it.
Marcus Aurelius reminds us: “You have power over your mind—not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”
Many business owners blame external factors—clients, the market, industry standards—when in reality, their struggles are often the result of internal patterns they haven’t recognized.
Breaking Free from Old Patterns
The changes that matter most often start small:
Notice Your Early Warning Signs
- Do you procrastinate on certain tasks consistently?
- Are there conversations you always avoid?
- Do you see the same problems with different clients?
Examine Your Systems
- Are your processes built around growth or avoidance?
- Do your boundaries reflect your values or your fears?
- Does your schedule support sustainable work?
Check Your Patterns
- How do you respond to pressure?
- What types of clients do you attract?
- Where do you compromise most easily?
One of my clients, a consultant, transformed her practice by recognizing how her people-pleasing tendencies were shaping her business. She created a new client intake process with clear criteria and firm boundaries. She started saying no to both projects and people that weren’t a good fit. She started loving her business again.
If you struggle with boundaries (like many service professionals do), I highly recommend reading The Book of Boundaries by Melissa Urban. It’s my favorite book for learning how to set and maintain healthy limits.
Building Something Better
The most successful service businesses aren’t just profitable, they’re sustainable reflections of their owners’ best qualities. When you build with intention, work becomes more energizing and less draining.
In my own practice, this meant:
- Creating clear boundaries around when I’m available
- Building systems that don’t depend on constant oversight
- Setting expectations early with new clients
- Making decisions based on long-term sustainability, not short-term pressure
My clients were fine with these changes. And I enjoy my business me more than ever because I’ve eliminated many of the draining elements.
Your Business Is Talking—Are You Listening?
Your business will always reflect who you are. Every frustration, every recurring problem, every pattern that drains your energy is trying to tell you something important about how you’re operating.
The question isn’t whether you have patterns that need changing—we all do. The question is: are you brave enough to look at them honestly and do something about it?
Take a hard look at your business today. What patterns do you see? What are they telling you? And most importantly—what are you going to do about it?
The answers might make you uncomfortable. Good. That’s where real change begins.
