Time Is Running Out
(Are You Building What Matters?)
What Marcus Aurelius Knew About Success That Most Entrepreneurs Ignore
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 that new service? Raising rates? Implementing a marketing plan?
Did you do it? Or has another year slipped by?
I see it all the time—business owners trapped in the “someday” cycle, waiting for the perfect moment. That moment? It doesn’t exist.
I learned this lesson early in my home health agency days. I hired a Director of Nurses who interviewed well and had good references. What I didn’t know at first was that she had quite a temper. It started small—a harsh word here, a snide comment there. I ignored it, hoping each incident was just a bad day. But the incidents kept coming.
Her anger didn’t work with our culture. We believed in treating people with kindness, assuming good intentions rather than imputing bad motives. Still, I hesitated to make a change. When I finally did let her go, my staff was disappointed—not in the decision, but in how long I had let things go.
That experience taught me: time is short. When it’s time to make a move, make the move.
The Cost of Waiting
Marcus Aurelius warned, “Stop letting yourself be pulled in all directions.” Yet most business owners do exactly that—letting distractions steal time from what matters.
I had a friend who ran a successful consulting business. She saw an opportunity to create a specialized training program for healthcare administrators. The concept was solid, the need was clear, and she had both the expertise and the connections to make it work. But she kept fine-tuning the program, tweaking the materials, wanting everything to be perfect before launch.
A year later, two national companies had introduced similar programs. The opportunity wasn’t gone, but it had changed. Instead of leading, she was now competing.
That’s how time works. When you hesitate, sometimes someone else moves in.
The Illusion of “More Time”
“Remember that you are a mortal being,” Marcus Aurelius wrote. “You don’t have infinite days ahead of you.”
- Avoiding difficult decisions
- Postponing necessary changes
- Delaying important conversations
One client delayed raising her rates for years after she knew she should. Even though she was overworked and underpaid, she was afraid of losing clients. It took working through a lot of “baggage” before she did raise her rates. And when she did, she didn’t lose a single client. Another client had a system—raising rates for new clients every six months while gradually increasing for existing ones.
One approach kept her stressed. The other created stability and financial security.
The Reality of Time
Marcus Aurelius wrote, “Don’t act as if you had a thousand years to live.”
- Today’s procrastination becomes tomorrow’s potential crisis
- The opportunities you assume will wait often won’t
- The problems you avoid don’t usually disappear—they’re more likely to grow worse
Successful business owners aren’t necessarily the most talented. They’re the ones who understand time is short—and act.
Making Time Matter
“Life is short—the fruit of this life is a good character and acts for the common good.”
Here’s what this looks like in practice:
Be Honest with Yourself
- What have you been postponing?
- What opportunities are slipping away?
- What problems are you ignoring?
Create Urgency Without Panic
- Set clear deadlines for important changes
- Make decisions with long-term impact
- Stop waiting for perfect conditions
Build What Matters
- Focus on actions that create lasting value
- Cut tasks that just fill time
- Make choices your future self will thank you for
The Time Is Now
The business owners you admire didn’t get there by waiting. They acted—often before they felt ready, usually before conditions were perfect.
Marcus Aurelius wrote, “Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.”
Same goes for business: Stop debating what a good business should be. Build one.
Look at your business:
- What changes have you been postponing?
- What growth have you been delaying?
- What decisions have you been avoiding?
You don’t find success by waiting for perfect conditions—you find it by taking purposeful action now. Every day you wait is a day you can’t get back. Before you move on today, take five minutes. Identify one thing you’ve been putting off—and take the first step.
What’s your next move?
