Brian Johnson (optimize +1) reflects on Paul Jarvis's book Company of One (subtitle: Why Staying Small is the Next Big Thing for Business), endorsing the idea of business minimalism over endless revenue growth. He warns about the toxicity of social comparison and envy—citing Socrates (“envy is the ulcer of the soul”) and Sonia Wybomirsky ("you can't be envious and happy at the same time")—and advises celebrating others and temporarily unplugging from social media to reduce envy and reconnect with what matters.
Chapters
Hi, this is Brian. Welcome Back to another optimize +1. The other day I was reading a great book called Company of One by Paul Jarvis. Subtitle why Staying Small is the Next Big Thing for Business Alexandra got it for me. Thank you darling. And Cal Newport says this about it. I quote, jarvis makes a compelling case for making your business better and instead of bigger. A must read, he says, for any entrepreneur who prioritizes a rich life over riches. End quote. It's a really fascinating book. We'll talk about it more in the future. For now, basic idea Our business culture is obsessed with infinite revenue growth. What if enough was enough and we focused on creating autonomy and meaning and perhaps thought about being better than a little more than simply getting bigger? After reading it, I thought another title for the book could have been Business Minimalism. Again, awesome. More soon. But that's not our focus for today. This is in the context of encouraging us to focus on what we want to create with our lives rather than mindlessly conforming to what everyone else is doing. Paul tells us about the toxicity of comparing ourselves to others. Of course, we've talked about this before. See the plus one on social comparison is toxic, for example. And today we're going to talk about what ancient wisdom has to say. Specifically, one of the wisest of them all, Socrates. You know what he tells us? He says that I quote, envy is the ulcer of the soul. Wow, that's worth a re reader. 3. Envy is the ulcer of the soul. Pretty true, huh? Again, science agrees. As Sonia Wybomirsky says, you can't be envious and happy at the same time. People who pay too much attention to social comparisons find themselves chronically vulnerable, threatened and insecure. End quote. Yep, envy is the ulcer of the soul. The antidote. Celebrate other people's successes and if you feel so inspired, consider unplugging from Social Media Inc. Long enough to cleanse your brain of all the envy inducing photoshopped portraits of Perfect and plug into Soul Media and PBC Public Benefit Corporation Whole nother chat long enough to remind yourself of all that's awesome about you and your life and all you're up to today.
