My First Million
The best business ideas come from noticing what's working and doing it better, faster, or for a different audience.
Energy Flow as Business Signal
The amount of personal energy a business opportunity gives you versus drains from you serves as a reliable indicator of opportunity quality and strategic alignment
Decision Rule
Pursue opportunities that consistently give you energy even during difficult periods. Consider pivoting from opportunities that persistently drain energy despite your best efforts.
How It Works
Right opportunities align with your skills, market timing, and genuine demand, creating positive feedback loops that generate energy. Wrong opportunities create constant friction and resistance that drain energy even when making progress.
Failure Modes
Confusing short-term difficulty with wrong direction
Ignoring energy signals due to sunk cost fallacy
Misreading temporary exhaustion as fundamental misalignment
Using energy levels as excuse to avoid necessary but difficult work
Example Decision
“Eric spent 3-4 years on jewelry retail concept that felt like 'pushing water uphill' until recognizing persistent energy drain as signal to stop, while successful brand concepts felt energizing even during challenging phases.”