Joe cites a study of tax records showing that when a CEO builds a house over 5,000-6,000 square feet, the company’s market cap drops roughly 10%. The interpretation: “I’ve made it” signals the business was a means to an end. Once the end is achieved, attention and engagement withdraw.
When business is treated as a spiritual practice — as both the means and the ends — burnout becomes much harder. There’s no fantasy of “working five hours a week and doing what I want with the rest,” because the work itself is what you want. Joe describes being at a gathering of course creators fantasizing about minimal work weeks and thinking: “How is this not doing what you want?”
“If business is a spiritual practice, it is the ends. It is the means and the ends. And so that’s what allows you to fully be engaged in a way that doesn’t burn you out.”
The same pattern appears whenever purpose is externalized: the pursuit of money, power, validation, or acceptance as the “real” goal behind business guarantees eventual disengagement.
Related Concepts
- Searching for purpose avoids it
- Purpose is lived in the present moment
- Business is a self-awareness practice, not separate from life
- Finding enjoyment in work is more efficient than pushing through
- Business alignment and spiritual alignment are the same thing
- Saying yes to what feels good now gives energy that chasing the future drains
- Comfort can prevent transformation