One of the primary reasons I left corporate America was to gain greater control over how I spend my time. Contrary to popular belief, entrepreneurship has not meant working less. In many ways, I work more than I ever did before. The difference is that I now have the opportunity to direct my energy toward things I find meaningful and rewarding.
To me, the good life isn’t about avoiding work.
It’s about having the freedom to build, create, explore, and make decisions that align with the life I want to live. Whether I’m visiting a bed and breakfast for inspiration, spending time on the farm, horseback riding, traveling, or simply enjoying a slower moment between projects, these experiences serve as reminders of why I chose this path. The good life isn’t something you stumble into — it’s something you build, one deliberate decision at a time.
The Difference Between Freedom and Leisure
One of the biggest misconceptions about entrepreneurship is that people pursue it because they want to work less. That has not been my experience. There are always projects to manage, decisions to make, properties to maintain, guests to serve, and opportunities to pursue. Ownership carries a tremendous amount of responsibility, and I don’t think anyone should pursue entrepreneurship expecting an easier path.
What entrepreneurship has given me is something different — greater control over how I spend my time, and that distinction matters enormously. Freedom is not the absence of work. Freedom is having the ability to direct your energy toward things that matter to you, to decide how your days are structured, and to build a life that reflects your own priorities.
There is a unique satisfaction that comes from knowing your efforts are directly connected to something you care deeply about. Every improvement, every decision, and every challenge becomes part of something you are building for yourself rather than for someone else. That shift in perspective changes everything.
Building a Life By Design
When I think about the life I have today, I don’t think of it as something that happened by accident. Every major change required a deliberate decision. Leaving corporate required a decision. Moving to Georgia required a decision. Purchasing a wedding venue and bed and breakfast required a decision. Renovating a farmhouse requires hundreds of decisions every week
The Good life is rarely discovered. It is built.
The life we want is almost always on the other side of difficult choices, calculated risks, and a willingness to pursue something different. Most meaningful changes don’t happen overnight — they happen one decision at a time, often long before the results are visible.
That doesn’t mean every decision is easy. Many of the most important ones are deeply uncomfortable. They require leaving familiar routines, accepting uncertainty, and trusting yourself enough to take a chance. But growth rarely happens inside our comfort zone. Looking back, many of the decisions that felt the most intimidating ultimately became the ones that created the greatest opportunities.
Appreciating the Small Things
Some of the things I appreciate most today are the things that might seem insignificant to someone else. Walking the property in the evening, spending time on the farm, traveling during the middle of the week, working on a renovation project, taking a horseback ride, or simply enjoying a quiet moment between projects — these have become some of the most rewarding parts of my life.
These moments may seem small, but together they create the lifestyle I spent years working toward. Success is not always found in major milestones. Sometimes it is found in ordinary moments that align with the life you intentionally chose to build.
One of the things I value most today is having the ability to slow down enough to notice those moments. In the past, I was always focused on what came next — the next meeting, the next project, the next goal. Today, I still have ambitions, but I place much greater value on being present. The good life is not a destination you eventually arrive at. It’s something you experience along the way through the choices you make and the moments you allow yourself to appreciate.
The Luxury of a Slow Morning
One of the things I appreciate most about my life today is something I rarely thought about during my corporate years: a slow morning. For years, my mornings were structured around a schedule that had already been determined for me — a time to wake up, a time to leave, a time to arrive, and a list of responsibilities waiting before the day had even begun.
Today, my mornings often look very different. Some start with coffee on the porch. Some start with a walk around the property or checking on things around the farm. There are mornings when I sit quietly and plan my day before jumping into meetings, phone calls, and decisions.
Those slower starts create space to think, space to be present, and space to enjoy the life I worked so hard to build.
A slow morning isn’t about being lazy. It’s about having the ability to begin the day intentionally rather than immediately reacting to it. That small shift has made a bigger difference than I ever anticipated.
Weekday Adventures and the Treasure Hunt
One of the quiet luxuries of entrepreneurship is being able to do certain things during the week instead of waiting for the weekend. If I want to spend a few hours exploring antique stores, thrift shops, or flea markets on a Tuesday afternoon, I can. If I want to visit another bed and breakfast for inspiration or take a short day trip to a nearby small town, I can do that too.
I’ve developed a genuine love for the hunt. Unlike walking into a traditional retail store, you never know what you might find. Some days you leave empty-handed. Other days you discover the perfect piece you didn’t even know you were looking for — something with character, history, and a story behind it. I love finding those items for the venue, the farmhouse, or a future project.
In many ways, thrifting reminds me of entrepreneurship.
Success often comes from seeing potential where others don’t, recognizing value before everyone else notices it, and being willing to look at things a little differently. Both require patience, creativity, and a good eye.
Finding Inspiration in Ordinary Places
Inspiration often shows up when you’re not actively looking for it. It might happen while visiting another bed and breakfast, walking through a thrift store, or sitting on a porch overlooking a pasture. Some of my best ideas for the venue, the farmhouse, and future projects have come from experiences that were never intended to be productive.
There is tremendous value in creating space for curiosity. When every minute of your schedule is accounted for, there isn’t much room for exploration or discovery. One of the greatest gifts entrepreneurship has given me is the ability to leave room for those unplanned moments.
This is also why I love visiting other bed and breakfasts. Part of it is professional curiosity — I pay attention to everything: the check-in process, the guest rooms, the common spaces, the little details that make a stay memorable. But it’s also more than research. Every property has a personality, every owner has a different vision, and every building has a story. I find those stories genuinely fascinating, and I almost always come home with a fresh idea or a new perspective.
The Joy of Having Projects
One thing I’ve learned about myself is that I genuinely enjoy having projects to work on. Some people dream of a life with fewer responsibilities. I seem to be wired differently — I enjoy creating, improving, building, and bringing ideas to life.
Some projects are large, like renovating a farmhouse or making significant improvements to the venue. Others are smaller, like refreshing a guest room or sourcing the perfect vintage piece. I don’t view these as work in the traditional sense. They feel more like opportunities to create something meaningful.
There is something deeply satisfying about starting with an idea and watching it slowly come together. Not every project goes according to plan, and that’s part of the process. Figuring things out, adapting, and problem-solving has become something I genuinely enjoy. I think many entrepreneurs share that mindset — we are drawn to possibility, we see potential where others see problems, and we enjoy imagining what something could become and then doing the work to make it happen.