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Building a business that serves you (instead of being a slave to it)

Writer's picture: John BrandtJohn Brandt

I'm writing this email on my phone as my chick drives down I-95 South towards Miami in the beautiful and sunny Florida.


That will make more sense in a second…


The other day I saw a tweet (I forget from who), about Tej Dosa’s recent Musing newsletter. (I don’t know Tej personally, but he has my respect as a copywriter and biz owner.)


Anyway, here’s what Tej said, which inspired the tweet:


“If I become a GOAT at copywriting, but failed to learn the art of living fully, then I kind of wasted my life, didn’t I?"


Agreed 1000% Tej.


Here’s the thang:


In “hustle culture” of which Money Twitter is the main kool-aid drinker, everyone glorifies hustling.


You think you have to spend every waking second of your day building your biz. Improving your skills. Networking with other biz owners. The list goes on — and only grows and compounds, never granting you a second to take a breath and enjoy your life.


I don’t want a business like this. Which is part of the reason I don’t—and never will—consider myself a guru. Of course, like Tej I want to improve my copy chops. I want to help my clients make more money than they ever thought possible when they started their business. And I want the same thing for myself too.


But not at the expense of my life.


Case in point:


At the time of writing this (which you won’t read for a couple of weeks), I’m on my way to Florida.


My girl and I are going camping. I’m going to disconnect completely from my phone, business, and clients.


And while I did work *some* of this road trip, I spent most of the time driving and hanging out with my girl. After writing this email, I’m not gonna work for 5 straight days.


I’m able to do this because I built a business that serves my lifestyle. Not the other way around.


But too many people fall into the latter category.


Which brings me back to Tej’s point:


If you spend every waking second of your day in “business mode,” give yourself a break.


You won’t succeed, build a legacy, or look back on your life without regrets if you don’t fully enjoy your life.


Right now. At this very moment. Not when you achieve some far off goal (and then immediately set a new, even more far off goal).


Living your life fully means enjoying it as much as possible. And even if you like your business, you still need a break away from it.


On a related note:


My girl and I have traveled a bunch since we got together. We’ve been to Chicago, Colorado, Mexico, Vegas, Myrtle Beach, and probably a few others that are slipping my mind.


In almost every case, I worked as little as possible while traveling. I still do the bare minimum — or work when there’s not much else to do (this email being an example, as we’ve been driving for 12 or so hours at this point). But bare minimum.


And you know what?


My business always grows when I come back. Whether I land a new client, add some “skill points” to my copywriting ranking, or by some other obscure means.


But you must start before you’re ready. Taking time off from your biz is a skill just like any others. I have friends with successful careers, but are allergic to even taking a half-day off. I feel sorry for them. And I hope you don’t go down the same route.


Yes, money is important. Yes, growth is important.


But your time’s more valuable than both of these combined. And our clocks keep ticking no matter how we spend our time.


Rant over.


I’m going to enjoy some sunlight, music, and good vibes with my girl.


In the meantime…


If you wanna stop becoming a slave to your business, book a call. I’ll take your email workload off your plate. And taking a break will be 1000x easier when we see consistent results coming in from email.


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