What Your Business Says About You
Marcus Aurelius on what your work reflects back 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. I didn’t mind. In many ways the business was a reflection of […]
Time Is Running Out
Marcus Aurelius on the cost of waiting Marcus Aurelius wrote, “You could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do and say and think.” Think back a year. What did you tell yourself you’d get around to “soon”? Launching a new service. Raising rates. Building out a marketing plan. Did you do it? […]
Strength to Stand
Marcus Aurelius on what resilience actually is I heard the news during our Monday morning staff meeting at 8:30 AM. One of our biggest referral sources — gone, just like that. No warning. No negotiation. Just a polite, corporate explanation about “new priorities” and “value-based care.” I knew what it really meant. Hundreds of patients […]
Your Attention Is Being Stolen
Marcus Aurelius on what to do about it It was 8 PM and I was still at the office. I’d been busy all day. Jumping between patient visits, staff issues, Medicare documentation, and endless emails. My phone kept buzzing with notifications. My computer kept dinging with messages. I was exhausted and couldn’t point to anything […]
The Power of No
Marcus Aurelius on what less actually buys you Sometimes the hardest business lessons come from saying yes when you should have said no. I learned this expanding my home health agency into a new geographic area. On paper it looked perfect. The numbers worked. The need was there. That area eventually grew to represent half […]
The Morning Struggle
Marcus Aurelius on how the day starts Some mornings I get it right. I wake up early. Take time for gratitude and reading. Start my day centered and focused. Those days feel different. I’m moving with purpose instead of reacting. I make better decisions. I handle challenges with more patience. I feel more satisfied with […]
Doing Good Is Good Business
Marcus Aurelius on what business is for “I just want to go out to eat again.” When my patient first told me this, I could hear the longing in his voice. It had been over a decade since he’d been able to go to a restaurant. He wasn’t asking for a miracle. Just a simple, […]
When Doing the Right Thing Hurts
Marcus Aurelius on what integrity actually costs I remember staring at the spreadsheet, willing the numbers to change. It was clear. If we took this patient, we would lose a lot of money. We were a new business and every dollar mattered. A lot. Medicare wouldn’t come close to covering the cost of the care […]
The One Thing That’s Always in Your Control
Marcus Aurelius on where your power is Two business owners face the same problem. Their biggest client suddenly leaves. One panics. They scramble to replace the lost revenue, making rushed decisions that weaken the business further. They cut prices. They chase any client they can find. They spend sleepless nights stressing over what went wrong. […]
Win by Focusing
Sun Tzu on concentration as strategy “And if I concentrate while he divides, I can use my entire strength to attack a fraction of his.” — Sun Tzu You start a business eager to serve as many customers as possible. At first it seems like a smart move. More customers should mean more sales. As […]
Win Where Others Aren’t Competing
Sun Tzu on hitting where they aren’t looking “Go into emptiness, strike voids, bypass what he defends, hit him where he does not expect you. To be certain to take what you attack is to attack a place the enemy does not protect.” — Sun Tzu You lower your prices. Customers still choose the bigger […]
Building Unstoppable Momentum
Sun Tzu on how the flow gets strong “When torrential water tosses boulders, it is because of its momentum.” — Sun Tzu In a business, the heaviest obstacles aren’t usually moved by brute force. They’re moved by momentum. Like water gaining strength as it flows, momentum builds over time and starts to carry things that […]