I always find this week to be one of my favorites of the year.
There’s something electric about the energy of pausing to reflect on the year that’s gone and setting intentions for the year to come.
But as you set your sights on 2025, you might want to be careful what you wish for.
After working with hundreds of entrepreneurs, I’ve noticed something fascinating: the happiest ones often aren’t running the biggest companies.
They’re the ones who have deliberately crafted businesses that generate healthy profits with minimal complexity. These founders have cracked the code on something profound – they’ve designed their businesses to serve their lives, rather than the other way around.
Here’s what’s really interesting: these founders are often netting around $1M annually, but with incredibly low operational drag. They’ve built machines that run without consuming every waking moment of their lives.
I used to think I needed $100M to be truly free. After my exit, I chased deal after deal, believing that more was always better. And I was far from alone. This is the number that comes up most often when I ask founders how much they need to feel financially free.
Now, I know, work, and play with a lot of 7, 8 and 9-figure founders. And one thing I know for certain is that more money does not necessarily translate into more fulfillment.
The fact is that the ones seemingly living their best lives are rarely the ones with the largest companies.
They’re skiing on random Wednesdays. They’re taking month-long trips to Europe with their families. They’re present for their kids’ soccer games and dance recitals. Not because they’re slacking off, but because they’ve intentionally designed their businesses and lives this way.
One founder I work with learned something profound this year. We spent a full day outlining his ideal life – from how he spent time working to how he showed up for his family. At the end of the exercise, he stared at the whiteboard in shock.
He was already living his dream life. He was just too busy putting pressure on himself to grow, build, and scale to realize it.
Let me be clear: these businesses don’t happen by accident. They require thoughtful design and often take years to build. But the path to getting there is surprisingly straightforward – if you’re willing to challenge conventional wisdom.
The venture capital world would have us believe that we need to scale at all costs. That success means raising money, burning through cash to grow, and hopefully landing a massive exit. Don’t get me wrong – if that’s what lights you up, go for it. But for many of us, that path leads away from what we actually want.
What if instead of scaling for scaling’s sake, we scaled for freedom?
This isn’t about thinking small. Quite the opposite. It’s about being brutally honest about what actually matters to you and then building everything around that vision. It’s about having the courage to say, “This is enough for me,” even when others might push you to want more.
The truth is, with intentional design and the right mindset, many of us need far less than we think to live our ideal lives. But it requires us to get crystal clear on what that ideal life actually looks like.
Over the last few years, I’ve changed my idea about what true wealth looks like.
People often ask me how much money is enough. I no longer think the answer is $100M. True wealth isn’t about having more – it’s about waking up each day and realizing that ‘more of this’ is all you truly want.
So, as you lean into 2025, start by asking yourself:
What would true freedom look like for you?
Is it the ability to travel spontaneously?
To never miss your kids’ events?
To pursue creative projects that light you up?
Then, work backward from there. Build systems that support that vision. Hire people who share your values. Create boundaries that protect your time and energy.
This isn’t about settling. It’s about being unapologetic in designing exactly the life you want to live.
The new rich aren’t measuring wealth by the size of their bank accounts – they’re measuring it by their freedom of time. Because at the end of the day, time is our only truly non-renewable resource.
So here’s my challenge to you:
Instead of asking, “How can I make more?” try asking, “How can I design my business to give me more freedom?” The answers might surprise you.
To your best year ever,
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