Stop Complaining, Start Leading
Marcus Aurelius on what complaining costs Most people think venting relieves stress. What if it does the opposite? What if every complaint is chipping away at your energy, focus, and ability to solve problems? Marcus Aurelius understood this: “That’s what you’re doing when you complain: hacking and destroying.” Modern psychology confirms what the emperor knew […]
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 […]
Is Your Business Really Living?
Marcus Aurelius on what existence isn’t “Just teach her daughter an exercise program and get out of there.” Those words changed a lot for me. I was working at a so-called nonprofit home health agency, caring for a patient who had suffered a massive stroke. She could only use one side of her body. She […]
Run Your Business Like It’s Your Last Day
Marcus Aurelius on practicing every day like it could be the one Bobby was the kind of doctor everyone wants to have. His patients loved him. His staff loved him. We loved working with him. Even in an age of rushed appointments and assembly-line medicine, he took time with his patients. He had a stellar […]
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 […]
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 […]
Delegation Done Right
Sun Tzu on matching the work to the person “Do not charge people to do what they cannot do. Select them and give them responsibilities commensurate with their abilities.” — Sun Tzu Running a small business often feels like juggling a hundred tasks at once. You know you should delegate more. It’s hard. Maybe it’s […]