What I Brought Back With Me

There was a stretch of time when I stepped away from my work completely.

After six years of hospitals, treatments and hope, we lost our daughter London in 2023. I didn’t have it in me to advise anyone on anything. So I stopped. I grieved. I took care of my family and let myself be a person instead of a business owner for a while.

When I came back, I didn’t come back the same.

What I let go of

I let go of the idea that a good business is always a growing one.

I’d spent years in an online business world where every conversation was about scaling, launching and hitting the next number. Some of that served me well. But a lot of it was built on the assumption that your life would politely stay out of the way.

Mine didn’t. Most people’s don’t.

What I brought back

I brought back one simple belief: we have a short time here, and the people in our lives are what matter.

That doesn’t mean I care less about the work. I love what I do. I think you can do great, ambitious work and still keep what you value at the center. But it means the business has to fit the life, and not the other way around.

That belief is the foundation of everything I’ve built since. It’s why Built to Flow looks at your whole life, not just your business. It’s why I talk about seasons instead of nonstop growth. And it’s why Cole and I made very specific choices about how our law firm would run before we ever opened the doors.

What I won’t trade anymore

A few things are non-negotiable for me now.

My family gets the best of me, not what’s left over. Lane and Lavender won’t remember the weeks I hit every goal. They’ll remember whether I was there.

I treat people as people first. Clients, our team, contractors and vendors. Everyone is carrying something you can’t see.

I make room for the parts of the work I love. If a business only brings you income and no joy, something needs to change.

And I let hard seasons be hard. I don’t rush myself or anyone I work with through them.

Why I’m telling you this

I share this because I think a lot of owners are quietly carrying something heavy while their business keeps asking for more. If that’s you, I want you to hear this from someone who’s been there: you’re allowed to build something that bends with your life.

It’s not the easy path. But it’s the one I’d choose again.