First-person monologue by Chris Collins describing his transition from a public-servant (military/CIA) mentality to an entrepreneurial mindset. He argues that creating businesses that add genuine value is ethical, that making profit is not villainous, and that entrepreneurs can and should charge appropriately, set boundaries, and prioritize sustainable personal lifestyles rather than constant sacrifice.
Time on books that change my life. The business you're creating adds genuine value. And when you're creating something that adds genuine value, you don't have to feel guilty about it. You don't have to feel like you are a public servant anymore. You have to demon. You have to recognize that the value you are adding is a contribution. And that contribution comes with a certain contribution margin that you need to be willing to accept. You can charge more for your products, you can charge more for your time. You can literally cut your work hours down and force people to fit your schedule instead of flexing all the time to fit other people's schedule. And that was the complete opposite of what you thought when you started your own business. Exactly. I thought that, that I was still very much the public servant mentality. The military and CIA mentality of America first people first, mission first. Right. It was never about creating a lifestyle for myself that was also sustainable and convenient and comfortable. It was always about what's. What do I have to do to feed this beast? How did it change your perception of business? The number one thing it did is it showed me that, that there is a, if not biblical, there is a inherent benefit to business. Business is not evil. Business is not bad. Making profit is not villainous. It doesn't turn your customers into victims and you into an aggressor. All of that framing is just misunderstood and kind of miscommunicated media stuff that when you create a business that truly adds value to a subset of society, that subset of society is happy to pay you for the value that you offer.
