I Dropped Everything For a Soccer Match

In my last email I shared that I was offered last minute tickets to see the Team USA World Cup match.

I had meetings and obligations all over my calendar. And, for a moment, my “responsible brain” said there’s no way I can actually go. My clients will get angry at the sudden cancellation, I’ll fall behind during a critical stretch, excuse/excuse/excuse.

But, this was a once in a lifetime chance to see a World Cup match with my son…I dropped what I was doing and went to Seattle.

What actually happened: I reached out to my clients, told them the truth, and every single one of them said some version of “AWESOME! Have the best time, we’ll reschedule.”

Nobody fired me. Nothing broke. On Monday night, I stood in a stadium watching the biggest sporting event on the planet with my son instead of sitting in a pile of meetings that could move.

In my old corporate life, that trip probably doesn't happen. Limited vacation days, approvals, obligations to somebody else's schedule. The invitation comes in and the answer is "I can't."

Remember: You’re building a business to serve your life, not the other way around, and this week I got to cash that check.

What have you been meaning to do, wanting to do, and not giving yourself permission to do?

My son heads to Japan for YEAR this fall and we just spend 3 days laughing, bonding, and spending quality time I’ll never get again. Absolutely priceless.

Please open your calendar today, pick the date, and put the thing on it.
Your clients will understand. Mine did.

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Three Things I’m Thinking About This Week

• Dog Days - Everything is obvious when you reflect, so I’m sharing something we realize every AUGUST. We’re in the dog days of summer. The majority of your clients are doing almost everything they can except work. Vacation, lake houses, meetings that become emails, projects pushed for a week or two longer…it’s the time of the year when things slow down. What do we do? Get your work done and get outside. This is YOUR CHANCE, too.

• Getting Found by AI - In my Claude For Small Business Owners AI Mastermind, the group is beginning to take on AEO/GEO (Getting found and recommended by AI). As we are digging in to how it works, it’s a little surprising what is valued versus SEO and traditional methods. One surprise - Google searches that include an AI summary only result in a click on a regular link 8% of the time. A radical shift in discovery! The summary for AEO/GEO: Can AI find you, trust you, quote you? If you’re feeling the nudge to get going with Claude CoWork in your business, let’s get to work.

• SBOC Awards Open for Nominations - Our 6th annual Small Business Owners Conference sponsored by Athena Legal Solutions and Money Masters Bookkeeping is in September and at the event we offer something you just don’t get anywhere else - RECOGNITION FOR YOUR HARD WORK! We host an awards program that is open to any entrepreneur to be recognized in five different categories. The nominations are open on and they’re free to enter. Submit an entry for your business - or - nominate a client/colleague and they can enter. Nominations CLOSE on 7/31!

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