When I first started on my adventure into entrepreneurship, I thought the amount of money I made was the most important goal.

But, as I’ve gotten older, I realize that just isn’t me.

Sure, I’ll take all the money I can get BUT that is no longer the north star for me.

I’m not trying to build the biggest thing. I’m trying to build the calmest thing that still pays well.

That’s why the framework underneath everything I’m doing is run through what I learned in the Paul Jarvis “Company of One” book I read a few years back.

It’s a philosophy that has now become my operating system.

Here are the five principles I’m using to build…

We usually measure success by headcount or revenue graphs that go up and to the right. But Company of One argues that the real prize is autonomy.

Jarvis tells a story about an accountant friend. This guy hits his financial target by August, packs up his laptop, and spends the rest of the year rock climbing. He doesn’t push for more clients because more clients equal more headaches he doesn’t need.

He figured out his version of “enough.”

The lesson? Stop trying to build an empire if all you really want is your time back. The byproduct of success should be freedom, not a heart attack at 55.

Here’s the part most people skip. They think staying small is risky.

Actually, the opposite is true. Chasing growth for the sake of growth is one of the quickest ways to build a trap instead of a business.

I’d rather be small, profitable, and stress-free than huge and panicking. I’m building this thing to survive recessions, not just impress people on LinkedIn.

I screwed this up plenty of times before it clicked. I used to build the business and hope my life would fit into the cracks left over.

The smarter play? Work backward.

James Clear (the Atomic Habits guy) nailed this. He didn’t ask, “How big can I get?” He asked, “How do I want to spend my days?”

He realized he wanted to write, not manage a massive team. So, he built a business model that didn’t require him to be a manager.

Don’t let the business dictate your life. Figure out the life you want, then build the machine that funds it.

Most businesses act like pickup artists at a bar.

They’re constantly looking for the next conquest, completely ignoring the great people they’re already talking to.

It’s not good business.

Instead of blowing your budget on ads to find strangers, teach the people you already have. Share what you know. Be useful. When people trust you, they do the selling for you.

I know. It sounds harsh. But hear me out.

I quit bowling and softball to make room for music because I was “passionate” about it.

Did it pay the bills? not really… a few small ones maybe.

In fact, following that passion almost bankrupted me and burned me out in the process.

The philosophy here flips the script:

You don’t start with passion. You start with a skill. As you get better, you gain confidence. As you gain confidence, you start to love the work.

Don’t wait for lightning to strike, just start getting good at something useful.

Lit – “My Own Worst Enemy”

You’ve definitely heard this one. It’s the anthem of bad decisions and Sunday morning regrets.

But strip away the party scenes, and it’s actually a perfect metaphor for what we’re talking about today. The lyrics say it all:

When it comes to business, the competition usually isn’t what kills you. The market isn’t what kills you. You kill you.

We sabotage ourselves by chasing growth we can’t handle, saying yes to clients we hate, and burning the candle at both ends. We are our own worst enemies.

The hardest part isn’t the work. It’s the focus.

I spent months spinning my wheels, overthinking my own business. I wasn’t exactly stuck, but I needed clarity and some serious guardrails to lock it all in.

So, I did what I always do: I built a system to fix it.

I created a specific set of AI prompts to act as a mirror.

I fed it my resume, my hobbies, and my random skills, and I forced it to tell me exactly what my “Unfair Advantage” was.

Then, I made it stress-test my ideas to see if they were actually profitable.

Finally, I had it build me a roadmap to show the fastest way to $100k based everything it knew about me.

It took me months to figure this out. With these prompts, it now takes only 20 minutes.

I’m packaging those exact prompts as The Gen eXit Launch Codes.

It includes the three tools I used to find my focus:

I’m letting these go for $7. That’s less than a good IPA. Next week, when it launches, the price jumps to $17.

If you’re ready to stop guessing and start building, grab them now.

You can keep reading posts and watching YouTube videos about business, or you can spend 20 minutes actually designing one.

I’ve already done the heavy lifting with these prompts. The rest is on you.