I’m working with a business owner who wants to grow his company without burning himself out. I asked him, “If you were giving yourself advice based on last year, what would you tell yourself to keep doing — and what would you tell yourself to stop doing?” That’s when he stopped talking about tasks and started talking about patterns. 

That led me to ask, “If everything went right over the next few years, what would success look like for you — in the business and at home — and what do you not want it to cost you?"

What really matters to him goes beyond growth and making more money. It’s building a business strong enough to hand to his kids one day — if they want it — but not at the cost of being there for the everyday moments with his kids, compromising his health, or sacrificing the relationships that matter most right now.