Happy Friday, all! Happy Fourth of July weekend!!
As we wrapped up Pride Month, I’ve been thinking about authenticity—not just in who we are, but in how we build our businesses.
I love a good system. Give me a spreadsheet, workflow, checklist, or process, and I’m happy. Optimization has helped me serve clients well while still creating space for my life outside of work. But lately, I’ve been asking a harder question: When does optimization stop helping and start becoming avoidance?
A few years into my business, things looked great from the outside. My business was growing. I was writing for Forbes, speaking at conferences, serving clients, and saying yes to exciting opportunities. But personally, I was navigating some significant life changes, including a divorce.
At the time, I kept thinking, “If I can just get more organized, streamline one more process, or become a little more efficient, I’ll finally feel caught up.”
But I didn’t have an efficiency problem. I had a capacity problem.
No workflow was going to create the emotional energy I needed. No better calendar was going to heal burnout. No productivity hack was going to replace rest.
That’s a lesson I think many entrepreneurs need, especially those of us who have learned to prove our worth through achievement. For many LGBTQ+ folks, success can become a survival strategy. We work harder, accomplish more, and try to show that we are worthy of acceptance.
But Pride reminds us that our worth is not based on performance. And business can remind us of the same thing.
Sometimes the most powerful next step is not doing more. It’s simplifying. It’s removing what no longer fits. It’s asking whether everything on the to-do list actually belongs there.
Simplification can feel scary because it forces us to make decisions. It asks us to let go of things that may be good, but are no longer essential. Yet that is often where freedom lives.
This week, consider where you may be trying to optimize something that actually needs less attention, more honesty, or a stronger boundary.
You do not have to earn your worth through constant productivity. You are allowed to build a business that supports the person you are becoming.
Questions of the Week
- What part of your business are you trying hardest to optimize right now?
- Is that effort truly supporting your values, or helping you avoid a harder decision?
- What would simplification look like this week?
Tool of the Week
Try a simple “Subtract Before You Add” audit. Before adopting a new tool, strategy, offer, or workflow, write down one thing you can pause, simplify, delegate, or remove. Growth does not always require more. Sometimes it starts with creating space.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Best,
Brian