Marcus Aurelius on what to do with all the input
You’re about to launch something. You’re excited. Confident. Until the opinions start rolling in.
“Are you sure people will pay for that?”
“I wouldn’t do it that way.”
“Maybe you should rethink it…”
And just like that, your momentum stalls.
How many business decisions have you hesitated on because of other people’s opinions? Pricing your services. Choosing your niche. Marketing the way you want to. Saying no to an opportunity that didn’t fit your vision.
If you second-guess every move because someone else “wouldn’t do it that way,” you’ll never run your business. You’ll run a patchwork of other people’s ideas.
Marcus Aurelius wrote:
“To be like the rock that waves keep crashing over. It stands unmoved, and the raging of the sea falls still around it.”
Your business is the rock. The waves are the endless opinions, trends, and unsolicited advice that threaten to pull you off course. If you don’t learn to filter feedback strategically, you’ll either drown in indecision or get swept in the wrong direction.
Everyone has an opinion. Not every opinion deserves your attention.
We’re drowning in feedback. Social media. Well-meaning friends. Clients. Competitors. Everyone has something to say about how you should run your business.
Some of it is useful. Most of it is noise.
Social media makes everyone feel like an expert. Just because someone has strong opinions about business doesn’t mean they have a successful one.
Clients and peers project their own experiences onto you. They see your choices through their lens, not yours.
Advice overload leads to decision fatigue. The more conflicting opinions you hear, the harder it gets to make any decision at all.
If you let too many external voices shape your business, you’ll serve everyone except yourself.
When too much advice kills a good idea
Sarah built her boutique fitness studio over five years, running packed HIIT classes three times a day. Her 7am session had a consistent waitlist. Watching long-term clients move away sparked an idea. An online membership with pre-recorded sessions, form-check videos, and a private community for member support.
The plan was solid. The price point — $97 monthly — reflected the personalized attention she’d provide.
Then she started asking for input.
A fellow gym owner told her people wouldn’t pay for online fitness anymore because of free YouTube workouts.
One of her most loyal clients said the monthly price seemed steep compared to $12.99 fitness apps.
A business coach who didn’t understand the boutique model told her she was thinking too small. She should scrap the online membership entirely and build a full-scale coaching program instead.
A competitor laughed and said, “Everyone’s doing this now. You’re too late.”
Each new opinion chipped away at her confidence. She started second-guessing. Should she change the pricing? Should she abandon the pre-recorded model and do live coaching instead? Was the whole idea even worth pursuing?
The momentum faded. She kept tweaking, adjusting, overthinking. Months passed. The program never launched.
Her studio continues to thrive. But every time she sees another coach successfully running an online program, she remembers the business she talked herself out of building.
The flip side
Take my friend David.
David had a vision. A program to help kids with ADHD succeed in school. He was so convinced it would work that he went all in. He raised a lot of money. He quit his job. He worked tirelessly to bring it to life.
When it was finally ready, nothing. The people he thought would be excited didn’t get it. Schools weren’t interested. Parents weren’t signing up. The idea that had seemed so obvious to him flopped.
He never asked anyone if they actually wanted it. He never tested his messaging. He never made adjustments along the way. He was so sure it would work that he never stopped to check his assumptions.
Since then he’s learned from that failure and gone on to build an eight-figure business. It all started with a massive misstep that could have been avoided if he had sought out the right input.
You don’t need blinders. You need a filter.
What it looks like when the filter works
Jonathan launched his phone-based therapy practice in 2006. The professional pushback was immediate. Colleagues at conferences questioned the very concept. “You can’t build therapeutic alliance without being in the same room,” they insisted. Phone therapy seemed absurd in an industry built on face-to-face connections.
Jonathan paid attention to a different signal. During years of traditional practice, he’d noticed clients often opened up more during phone sessions when weather kept them home. No office environment to navigate. No anxiety about facial expressions. Just focused conversation.
He started small. Three phone-only clients. They loved doing sessions while walking through parks, sitting in parked cars during lunch breaks, or from their own comfortable spaces. No commute. No waiting room. No scheduling conflicts.
When video platforms became standard years later, he added them as an option. Today, 70% of his clients still choose phone sessions. He built what his clients needed, not what his colleagues thought would work.
What decision are you sitting on?
What decision have you been holding because of conflicting feedback?
Write it down. Ask:
Does this person have experience solving the specific problem I’m trying to solve?
Is their business model similar to what I’m building?
Are they sharing what worked for them, or what they’re afraid won’t work for me?
Does their feedback line up with what my target audience actually wants?
Set a timer for ten minutes. Take one concrete step. Send an email. Outline a plan. Make a call. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of progress.
The waves of opinion won’t stop. You get to decide whether you stand firm in your vision or let each new wave push you somewhere different.
What’s your next move?
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.