What truly matters in business and life

“What truly matters” is almost like asking the meaning of life. It’s hard to answer and can differ from person to person.

Often, what truly matters to us is not decided by us independently but by various factors such as what you watch on social media, your environment, what’s currently trending, etc. This is why many entrepreneurs who watch “Make Money Online” YouTubers think money, girls, and cars are all that matters. Founders in Bangalore think raising money and leasing an office makes them legit.

A lot of our opinions are not ours. What matters to you at your core will inform your crucial decisions. That is why reading this is important, especially if you’re running a business. I might save you years of meaninglessness and re-orient you towards a better goal.

I will share what truly matters to me and help guide you in what truly matters to you.

What it’s not about

Frequently, when trying to answer questions like this, I find it helpful to invert:

What are my business pursuits not about?

They are not about worldly things like cars, getting girls, or expensive vacations. While those things are fun, they should not be the core reasons why you build a business. It shouldn’t be how you measure yourself.

It’s not about raising funding rounds or having a huge team. While I want to build a large company, I do not measure myself by team size or whether or not we have an office (many founders still do, which is surprising).

Many young entrepreneurs tend to believe what they see on social media and mimic desires of buying things that make them look like they’ve made it.

Expensive “look rich” possessions don’t cost that much anyway. Let’s do the math.

• Supercar = $3000/mo (it’s smart to lease it under the business)
• First Class Flight Tickets x 10 = $20k/year
• Expensive Vacation x2 = $50k
• Designer Clothes = $20k/year
• Big House + Good Food = $10k/mo
• Latest Tech. Products = $10k/year

This comes to a grand total of… $146,000.

It literally costs less than $150K per year to live the life of a “rich” Instagram influencer.

That’s not a lot of money.

So the question becomes, what do you do after this?

If your goal is material possessions, you can live your dream life on a small business that makes $200k/year.

Here’s the kicker…

As someone who came from nothing and has achieved his early share of worldly things like good clothes, watches, and cars, I can tell you they feel like nothing after the first few weeks of excitement. In fact, they only force me to introspect and be better at what matters to me.

My true internal barometer for how I’m doing is never the fancy Rolex, but how happy my customers are, how my team is performing, and other things related to the business's health.

Sidenote: A short case for indulgence

I want to explicitly note that I’m not making the case for living like a monk and giving everything up. There is a reason why all the major Gods were kings, not sages: Rama, Buddha, and Krishna.

You have to indulge in materialism and wealth to know it ultimately means nothing. This way, you can seek the greater purpose of your life with utmost clarity.

The only way to know Maya is deceptive is to experience it.

I will continue to use watches and cars to indulge while simultaneously knowing they don’t impress anyone of worth and are meaningless in the end. It’s a weird duality, but it can be very powerful if you can hold this in your head during your pursuits. As I said above, it forces me to improve and makes me focus on what matters.

So… what is it about?

For me, business is truly about creating a legacy. I want people to remember my name. I want to build institutions that create value that lasts beyond me. I want to show young people you can go from nothing to everything.

At its core, I believe business should be about taking care of your customers, team, and community. This is what healthy capitalism looks like: creating value for your customers, building wealth for your team, and contributing to the well-being of your community.

If you can do this, at a small or large scale, you have won as a business owner for me.

Thinking that business is about becoming rich or buying things is an extremely juvenile idea. It’s fine to have that desire as a teenager, but not worth holding for men chasing pursuits greater than themselves.

Riches are only a side effect that happen when you focus on what truly matters.

Desires like dominating an industry, building the best, most fantastic product, creating an organization people love working for, helping your team build wealth, donating to causes you support, and representing your country globally are 10x better long-term themes to have with your desires. Money and riches will be a natural side effect.

But it doesn’t work the other way around. If you chase the surface-level Maya, you likely won’t have happy customers or a healthy team and will lose everything. This is why re-orienting your internal compass is essential.

Many entrepreneurs derive immense fulfillment from service, not accumulation. Some of the most extraordinary men in history have self-sacrificed for a larger goal.

A seemingly selfish pursuit of capital requires one to be extremely selfless in their motive.

Ending Thoughts

Recalibrate how you measure yourself. Evaluate where your desires come from; maybe they are not truly your own. Perhaps they were informed by social media influencers wanting to sell you a life you won’t be fulfilled by.

Focus on the journey and make it fulfilling. Don’t go through a long, arduous journey to pursue a goal that wasn’t even yours and won’t fulfill you.

Think bigger. Think beyond yourself. Make your family proud, help your team grow, and make your customers happy. This is what truly matters in life and business.

What do you think?