Meet Lawrence, On a Golden Hamster Wheel

4 days ago

3 min read

Today I'd like to introduce you to someone else I've been writing for and about for years.

Lawrence has been an executive coach for three years, and by any reasonable measure, he's made it: he only works with clients he loves, referrals come in steadily, his name carries weight in his field, and he's built real financial stability, the roller coaster years well behind him.

Missing the pickups

Lawrence built his practice to help executives find work-life balance, and he keeps missing his own son's soccer practice because a client call ran long. He notices the irony every time. He hasn't figured out what to do about it.

Running, even at the top

Here's the strange part: success didn't slow Lawrence down. If anything, he's on his own kind of hamster wheel now, a comfortable one, gilded even, but still spinning. He keeps adding: another client, another offer, another way to grow the business a little more. It doesn't occur to him to question it. This is just what running a business looks like, so he keeps doing it, the same way he always has, even though by his own account, he's already made it.

The myth that keeps Lawrence stuck

Here's the myth that has Lawrence stuck: that this, clients he loves, steady referrals, real financial stability, is as good as it gets. Plenty of entrepreneurs would trade places with him in a heartbeat.

But when he first hung out his shingle, a full calendar and a comfortable income were never what he was aiming for. He was picturing something bigger than just a client list, and no matter how many clients he takes on, most of the people who could actually use what he offers will never work with him directly. There's a level above where he is, and some part of him has never stopped reaching for it, whether or not he can see it yet.

Lawrence in the novel

I've been writing the story of Lawrence, alongside Dan's and Viv's, in the novel I'm writing.

In the novel, something shifts for Lawrence too. There's the conversation he enjoys and realizes after hanging up he doesn't really mind whether it turns into a client or not. There's the three days in a row he doesn't work after dinner and it feels like a vacation. Something at home catches him off guard, and for the first time, he doesn't spend the week white-knuckling his calendar to compensate. And somewhere in the middle of all that, the hamster wheel slows down, his home and work life stop feeling like they're at war with each other, and Lawrence starts to see how to broaden his reach and influence.

Want to meet Lawrence?

If you want to see how that shift unfolds for Lawrence, and get to know him better, his struggles, the slow-down down that actually grows his busines,s the moment that catches him off guard, and how the group keeps him honest along the way, then sign up for my novel launch team. You'll get an advance copy, plus resources, cut scenes, and a seat in a private workshop where you'll do the same exercise that changed things for Lawrence too. I'll also be asking you for an honest review around launch day.

JOIN THE LAUNCH TEAM FOR MY NOVEL