If you've been in the marker for a small business, you have probably come across the term "Seller's Discretionary Earnings" (SDE). SDE is a financial metric used in small business valuations to determine the potential profitability of a business and represents the amount of money a business owner can potentially earn from the business in a year.

SDE is particularly useful for small businesses where the owner may have more control over the business's finances. In these cases, SDE provides a more accurate representation of the business's potential earnings than traditional financial metrics such as net income or EBITDA.

Why should you care? Because SDE is critical in determining the value of a small business when buying or selling.

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I was recently assessing a business to purchase and initially it seemed like it was a pretty good deal. It had a high earnings % and enough cash flow to keep my happy. However, when I ran it through a few recession-scenarios, something stuck out at me: when we encountered just a mild recession the Seller's Discretionary Earnings would quickly go negative.

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I like YouTube. In fact, I like it a little too much. I've found myself spending much to much time just bouncing around watching the "recommended videos" they serve up.

Because I wanted to get distracted less, I installed a really nice FireFox plugin - one that hides all YouTube recommended videos.

This only has affected the YouTube experience on my desktop and laptop machines, but something interesting has happened.

My addiction was junk-video addiction has been completely broken.

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Getting a business off the ground requires a lot more than just a good idea and some luck. It requires intestinal fortitude, a will of steel, infinite patience and unstoppable persistence.

The good news is that if you have those things, it’s a cake walk.

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A man should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within, more than the lustre of the firmament of bards and sages. Yet he dismisses without notice his thought, because it is his.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Two and a half years ago I left the corporate programming world to work full-time on my own software business. It's gone well and I have no regrets, but sometimes it's been tough - the most challenging times have often involved being socially isolated. I don't talk to another soul most days of the week, something which took getting used to.

Being isolated for long periods of time creates a perspective that is difficult, if not impossible to arrive at in standard employment where one regularly interacts with those who have bought into the ethos of modern culture.

What follows are some ways to increase life satisfaction in this culture.

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It's easy to avoid taking risks and get lulled into a sense of comfort for long periods of time.

Avoid this.

The Comfort Zone Trap

Being risk averse and always trying to stay 'comfortable' is a prescription for boredom, depression and fragility. It ensures you'll live in an ever-shrinking box.

This picture from Feel the Fear...And Do It Anyway sums up the concept beautifully.

Give yourself gentle pushes

Start taking small risks and intentionally push against the boundaries of your comfort zone. Then do it again. And again. Eventually you'll notice your comfort zone expand as habituation takes hold.

And then you'll notice the quality of your life improve.

Later on you may actually become addicted to taking risks, which is a hell of a lot better way to live than cowering in a shrinking box.

Do you ever get the nagging feeling that something isn't "quite right" with modern daily life, but can't really put your finger on it? You know what I'm talking about - the whole, 9-5, the commute, the coming home just to pop on the TV or surf around looking at some bullshit, going to sleep, then getting up the next morning just to do the same thing.

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Feel trapped in your current job? Career hit a dead-end? Or maybe you're just sick of the corporate grind all-together.

Many people feel this way. The problem is that most think this is "just the way it is" and that's that.

I'm here to strongly proclaim that the nonsensical existence many of us lead is neither the way it could be, nor is it even "natural" in terms of the evolutionary path our ancestors traversed.

I firmly believe you can change your life situation to be much more in line with your natural tendencies. A life of meaningful work inline with your inborn talents. Spending your time doing the activities you value. In other words being "The Real You".

All that's required is patience, discipline and a bit of knowledge.

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For those that have who have found it difficult to proceed along the path of their calling, there isn't a better book than The War of Art by Steven Pressfield.  Although geared toward authors, I consider this an essential read for anyone attempting to create something of their own that they feel is true to themselves, outside the guidance of a boss or other figure we typically rely on to keep us on track.

This book as highly complementary to Beyond Success and Failure which is all about self-reliance by breaking free of your child-like dependencies.  If you're ever going to live up to your true potential you're going to have to quit paying attention to outside forces and summon the bravery to undertake your true calling.

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Almost everyone in modern life has some degree of stress and worry. In recent months, I've discovered the philosophy of 'Stoicism' and it offers an amazingly helpful technique for dealing with the troubles of modern life.

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