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Everyone's leaving the wrong thing on the table.
April Perry said something that's been rattling around in my head for weeks.
She was talking about how people always warn her about "leaving money on the table." Like it's the worst possible sin. Why not launch another product? Add a mastermind? Create a course?
Then she said this:
"If my family's financial needs are covered, the first thing I'll leave on the table is money."
The first thing.
Not the last resort. Not the unfortunate compromise. The first thing she's willing to walk away from.
That's backwards from everything we're taught. But the more I think about it, the more sense it makes.
Because here's what's true: Something's always on that table. You get to choose what.
I watch people make this choice every day. They just don't realize they're making it.
The startup founder who hasn't eaten a meal with his kids in 6 months? He didn't leave money on the table. He left family time on the table.
The consultant who says yes to every project, every call, and every opportunity? She grabbed every dollar, but left her sanity on the table.
The entrepreneur with twelve revenue streams and zero friends who want to spend time with him? He maximized revenue and left his relationships on the table.
They all grabbed the money. Every opportunity, penny, and dollar they could find.
But it's brutal to see what they left behind.
A friend of mine runs a small digital agency that he could easily triple in revenue if he wanted to. His clients are literally begging to give him more work, but instead, he takes every Friday off. He goes completely offline. Like his phone in a drawer offline.
His business friends think he's lost his mind. Why would you throttle your own growth? Why not hire people and scale? Why leave all that money sitting there?
But he's noticed something they haven't. While they're burned out at 40, he still loves what he does. While they're fantasizing about selling their companies to escape, he's building something he wants to keep forever.
The money on the table isn't going anywhere. It'll still be there tomorrow. Next month. Next year.
But your daughter's soccer season is happening right this very minute. And she might only play for a few years. Your health, marriage, and peace of mind aren't waiting around, hoping to be discovered. They're disappearing.
We've got it completely backwards. We protect our money like it's irreplaceable, even though it is. And we destroy the things we can't replace, and wonder why we're not happy in the end.
Money regenerates. Life doesn't.
Maybe leaving money on the table isn't giving up.
Maybe it's finally understanding what's valuable in this one life we all have.
What’s your take on today’s topic? Do you agree, disagree, or is there something I missed?
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This is probably more relevant for Americans - I think that a majority of Europeans have a slightly different attitude to life. As a Swede and having lived and worked in both Sweden and the UK, I have a feeling that over here we generally value a life-work balance mire than Americans. You've got one life, there's no replay!
I love this post, Justin. The subject line caught my attention but the lesson was the opposite of what I expected. I've taken every Friday off now for 2 years and have kept things pretty simple, too. But I often doubt myself. Could/should I be trying to capitalize more on what I do? This post helps me sit back a little and have the confidence to continue to leave some money on the table for the true love of what I do and the precious time for family and hobbies. Thank you!