week 49: Peace that surpasses all understanding

nothing makes sense

thank you to over 11,000 of you who read this weekly and share with your friends and family for behind the scenes on building a million dollar business from scratch and beyond. i also include a personal note in the end so i am grateful that you let me do that without judgement.

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as a startup CEO, my goal is simply this:

don’t run out of money, hire and empower great people, and always be vision casting.

i learned that from Brian Halligan - ex-CEO of Hubspot in one of my interviews.

but to tell you the truth, it feels way harder in action that when saying it aloud.

why?

bcos i am about tell what i do on trips that most CEOs can’t even dream of doing.

as you are reading this, i am on mission trip with my family for full 7 days.

on these trips, i literally switch off my phone on the flight up and switch it on the flight down back down after 7 days.

why?

well because part of being a CEO is also to lead with example.

if i can’t take time off (and it never feels like i can) then how can the team feel the same?

do we have priorities that needs to be addressed now - yes

do we have sales follow up that needs to be done now - yes

do we have customer conversations that needs to happen now - yes

but it’s equally true that they can happen a week from now - when you think and plan it out.

for some reason a quote from Paul who wrote in the book of Philippians comes to mind.

picture this: Paul is in a prison cell, whose execution was about to happen anytime soon, is thinking of how to encourage others.

here’s what Paul said:

“Keep on rejoicing!  Let your gracious attitude be known to all people. The Lord is near: Never worry about anything. Instead, in every situation let your petitions be made known to God through prayers and requests, with thanksgiving. Then God’s peace, which goes far beyond anything we can imagine, will guard your hearts and minds in union with the Messiah Jesus.”

the irony of Paul in a prison cell telling everyone else that they should rejoice, be grateful and give thanks to God who gives you peace… is hopefully not lost on us.

Paul is thinking of not what is going to happen that day, but in the future.

Paul had a lot to whine about but instead he did the opposite.

the result: he had peace that surpasses all understanding.

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so on a personal note, that’s what i want for me and my family this week and i pray the same for you.

no matter what’s going on right now around you… you can slow down.

you can take a moment and reflect.

you can move things around to do the right things first.

you can have peace the surpasses all understanding.

the question we all have to ultimately answer is this.

what are we living for?

is it money, is it fame, is it peace, is it love…

no matter what your answer is, the question is worth spending time on and reflecting the motivations around the answer you choose.

leaderpoint: your heart is where your treasure is.