This is The V.A.L.U.E. Email. A short email with some interesting thoughts to consider over the weekend, which takes under a minute to read.

Today’s word count: 344.

It took me 40.87s to read this.

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V – Vision ​
​I keep hearing this phrase in my social feeds:

A founder’s job is to inject risk into the business.

This sounds like great counsel, unless the business or founder isn’t in the right place to assume said risk.

​Here’s a short I recorded about this topic.​

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A – Action ​
​Anti-vision is almost as powerful as knowing what you want. Knowing what you don't want can help guide you through a more thorough decision-making process.

Take 5 minutes right now and think about what your” Hard Nos” are, and then add these into any decision-making processes you have.

Honor your anti-vision as much as your goals.
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L – Lesson ​
​My mom once started a skate shop in Topeka, KS.

Her mission was simple:

Kids shouldn’t have to pay insane prices for Tony Hawk skateboards

When we relocated to KC four years after opening Square One Skateboards, it suddenly closed down. She had poured a ton of her energy and capital into building it, but when life happened, it all disappeared.

Watching that at a young age had a huge impact on me. Now, as a Certified Exit Planning Advisor, I often tell my clients the following:

Businesses without a plan for rapid change usually pay the price.

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U – Upgrade
​A simple framework that shifted my thinking is “The Gap and The Gain” by Dan Sullivan and Ben Hardy. Instead of measuring yourself against an ideal future (the gap), you measure against where you started (the gain).

We also use this as a parenting lesson.

Stop living in the gap. The gain is where the gratefulness resides.

E – Endurance

"Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever."

- Lance Armstrong

I love this quote, and it has stuck with me for as long as I can remember. The key is to know what to quit and what to keep pushing on.
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Keep going. The world needs your work.

-Kevin Oldham
​Diffactory​

P.S.: Last week, I introduced you to ValueHQ, our one-year MBA for founders who are stuck. We are now accepting applications and will keep the application process open until December 15th. Apply now to save $1K off tuition (first 10 students only).
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