A life consumed exclusively by your business is not a life worth living. Let me tell you about Harry. Harry was a deeply spiritual man. He wanted to have the time to be involved with his church’s philanthropic efforts, and he yearned to give what he could to create a better world and set an example for his young d...
On average, how much of your time is spent working in your business doing the day to day tactical work involved in producing, delivering or selling your product or service? For most business owners, when we first meet them, the answer is usually: ALL of it.
One of the things we really care about at EMyth is helping business owners Work On it, not just In it. By “it”, we mean the business. Most owners spend most of their time and energy In the business—involved in the day-to-day “doing it”—when the most powerful thing they can do as leaders is work On it—things like c...
Overwhelmed. Tired. Depressed. Stressed. This is how I felt having created a business that was a reflection of me without really knowing who I was and what I wanted from my life. I was tired, unhappy, in chaos and felt like my world was coming down around me. The world was in recession and I was caught in the eye ...
This is the season for planning for the new year and we’ve been talking a lot about it. If you haven’t started yet, it’s not too late to create your Annual Plan. We have a six step process to get you there. If you really want your business to look, act, feel and perform differently a year from now (Is there anyone...
Have you ever stepped back from your business for a few hours to think about what you want this company to give you? Maybe it's the dream you started with, the one that gave you the momentum and courage to quit a job and venture out on your own. Maybe it's the time and support you want to dedicate to your family a...
The day you decided to stop working for anyone but yourself was probably glorious. No one to tell you what to do and how to do it. Life suddenly had promise, imagining yourself spending every day doing the work you’re passionate about. Until… until the day you realized that instead of your boss dictating how you d...
John Lennon gave us, “Yes is the answer,” and I get what he means. He was talking about saying yes to love, embracing life, and seeing opportunities instead of limits—all important and valuable in building the kind of world we want to live in. But what about saying “No?” Is there a place for that, especially in yo...
It was about a year ago today that I was asked by Ilene Gail Frahm, our Board Chair, to become the next CEO of EMyth. The last year has been filled with an immense amount of learning and growth. My appreciation for every single person on our team in Ashland, Oregon has never been greater: they are all incredibly d...
I’m in the upstairs bathroom writing notes on my iPhone when it strikes me—the apparent irony of me sketching out notes for a blog post about work-life balance while in the middle of giving my daughters a bath. I left work hours ago but had hardly left my work behind me. And in that moment I felt so close to the m...
How do you inspire your people? You can feel they need something. You see them come into work with tired eyes and watch them half-listen during meetings. You know it’s on you to uplift them or bring them more meaning, something to get their head above water and remember why they took a job with your company in the...
You call your team together to roll out your strategy for the coming quarter. Everyone gathers around and all eyes are on you. You’ve spent at least forty hours over the last two weeks planning, modeling, forecasting, all in anticipation of this day. OK, take a deep breath, and begin your presentation. Five minute...
Turn a prickly pineapple into the perfect vacation piña colada At well-past closing time, you’re staring at an inbox full of emails. With only a day to go until your vacation, it seems like your “time-off” will be spent dodging phone calls from employees. Looks like the golden sand, palm trees, and blue ocean you’...
A few weeks back, an engaging and lovely video about the EMyth Approach to business was released on YouTube by Epipheo. It’s called How to Be an Entrepreneur.
Drs. Martin Elliot and Allan Goldman of Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, Bloomsbury, London, England are cardiac surgeons and Formula One racing fans. The good doctors know first-hand that the transfer of a patient from their operating room to the intensive care unit is a complicated and error-prone even...
Nothing is more important in realizing your dreams than self-discipline. Nothing.
A few years back I watched a movie called The Stepfather. Until the final five minutes of gore, it’s a wonderfully constructed psychological thriller. The title character is a man who is forever searching to fulfill his vision of the perfect family; the house in the suburbs, the dutiful child and loving spouse. He...