Jay Binder

@ryandeiss You're right. Success doesn't always mean slaying a dragon.

@JayBinderMM I agree. That’s why I chose scale. Definitely not right for everyone, though.

I have a friend who runs a $2M business. He’s got great margins, low stress, and takes home more in a month than most people earn in a year. He came to me asking how to scale to $10M and prep for an exit. I could’ve opened by rattling off tactics, but instead I asked him, “Are you sure you want to scale?” He thought I was joking. Why wouldn't he want more revenue? More impact? More legacy? But I had to explain that scale is also a TRADEOFF. So I walked him through The $10M Tradeoff Test... …5 questions that tell you if you're really ready to scale or not: 1. The Loyalty Tax Are you willing to outgrow your founding team? The team that got you here likely can't take you there. His COO was his college roommate. He paused at this one. 2. The Time Toll Can you accept missing moments at home? Real danger happens when you start to like being the hero. I did. Almost cost me everything. His wife had been making comments lately. He got quiet. 3. The Profit Dip Can you stomach earning less to grow more? From $2M to $6M is “No Man's Land.” All the expenses of a $10M business without the revenue. Everyone thinks you're crushing it. Only your bank account knows the truth. He'd have to cut his own pay in half. 4. The Culture Collapse Will you trade startup fun for scalable structure? Your early team will say you “sold out.” They'll be right. He loved his culture. This one stung. 5. The Founder's Dilemma Can you lead while knowing you're an imposter? You'll fire people for underperformance while secretly knowing YOU are underperforming too. But you're not allowed to fire yourself. …My friend sat there for a long time. Then he said, “I don't think I'm ready.” And to be COMPLETELY HONEST… that was the right answer. Scale isn't for everyone. And that's okay. He's still running his $2M business, and he’s still happy. But if you ARE ready to pay the price, buckle up. When you come out the other side, you’ll have both a bigger business AND a better one.

@aymanalabdul 100%. No matter what fad advice CEOs get about being vulnerable, a scared captain makes a scared ship. It's just a fact. That's why I developed a hacked version of Eastern philosophy - to deal with the internal pressure while my company was scaling at 30% CAGR (and it still is).

The CEO is the loneliest job You often can't talk about the company's biggest problems with your employees Your spouse gets nervous when you tell them company issues That's why all great CEOs should have people they trust that they can talk with in confidence about challenges

Success is 1% planning and 99% adherence. Most people can plan. Few can stick. That’s why resolutions die by February.

@DearS_o_n Hedonism

what's the fastest way a young man can ruin his life?

@aymanalabdul I think there's a balance here. People want to achieve a shared dream that they feel is theirs as well.

I give my team zero autonomy. But tons of freedom I'm the final decision maker My executives are stewards of MY vision, not creators of their own

Falling down isn't failure. Staying down is.

Opportunities are always disguised as problems.

Failure doesn’t define you. The meaning you give it does.

The real enemy isn’t the crowd saying you can’t do it. It’s the voice in your head that agrees with them.

The graveyard of dreams is filled with people waiting to be sure.

The future isn’t scary. Your imagination of it is.

@will_the_ai_guy @TheRealBradLea Unfortunately, even if you used to use an em dash — now you can't. In all seriousness though, it does suck because I used to use them.

The only time it’s “too late” is after you’re gone. Until then—go all in.

That's what I thought, until I kept hurting my back regardless of form coached and monitored by a serious expert. In the end I had to ditch these exact two exercises. Some might get away with it, but that doesn't mean the risk isn't signififcant when 60% of people over 40 have disc degeneration.

@FitFounder Got a lot of respect for you Dan, you post a lot of good content. Strongly disagree with you on this take. Injury risk is lower than playing soccer look up the statistics. Use the right equipment and take time to get your setup and form right.

2 exercises I've stopped doing at 45: 1) Back squats 2) Conventional deadlifts The risk-to-reward is too high, and there are plenty of safer exercises I can do instead.

@onlyselfexists Yeah that's the thing, we know there isn't an I or a we, but knowledge is an illusion so it ends up circular whenwever we use words.

@JayBinderMM But who is the we? Where is this entity transcending ego?

Who/what HAS an ego?

Becoming a meth addict was all on me. Building a $500m company was all on me. The difference wasn’t chance. It was ownership. You can't fix what you don't own.

@david_perell Define "write". I'd say no but I use it to assist.

Do you write with AI?