Catholic Founders #44 How to Maintain Detachment While Running a Successful Business | Jamie Baxter
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In Today’s Issue:
* Intro to the Guest and Topic
* Core Takeaway
* Episode References
* Select Quotes
* Key Moments
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Today’s Topic & Guest:
How to have true detachment from your business, without being detached from the work and from your customers.
As entrepreneurs, it’s easy to make entrepreneurship, and by extension, our company, our identity. But we know that our true identity is that of a child of God, created in His image and likeness. We also need to avoid attachment to our earthly success, recognition, or financial outcomes.
Today’s conversation does a great job of covering the different angles of this topic.
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Core Lesson:
We can be detached from this world while still being in it, even as business owners with a responsibility to our communities. And when we do this well, we’re simply recognizing that God is the ultimate master.
We are called to carry out God’s will in the world. That doesn’t mean we are called to make oodles of money. Or to gain the respect of men. Those things may be part of God’s will for our lives, but that will be unique for each of us.
What is not unique is that we are called to detach ourselves from this world and attach ourselves firmly and irremovably to the Will of God for us.
Attachment to money or fame is incompatible with this goal.
However, when we see all things as coming from God, we become capable of being good stewards of the things He has given to our care.
God Bless & Happy Building!
~Silas Mähner
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Key Episode References:
* Jim Perry - Generous Catholic Donor
* Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson - 37Signals
Select Quotes:
* “You don’t need more than you have to do God’s will.” (Jamie Baxter)
* “The only reason I kept going was I felt like the Lord was asking me to... when that stops, I will stop.” (Jamie Baxter)
* “Whatever your mind’s eye is on your thing... God’s plan is different.” (Jamie Baxter)
* “I just ask for my daily bread. I pray that the breadcrumbs be there.” (Jamie Baxter)
* “[John Henry] Newman... actually sees faith as the highest form of reasoning.” (Jamie Baxter)
* “I have never done this to hit some kind of revenue goal.” (Jamie Baxter)
* “I think the vast majority of us should... play a part in renewing the good and necessary and essential institutions like our parishes.” (Jamie Baxter)
Key Moments: (outline)
* 00:00 — Intro
* 03:47 — Jamie Baxter on the importance of detachment for entrepreneurs
* 05:12 — Exploring the first three years of Exodus 90 and the role of providence
* 07:32 — Recognizing the business journey as a tool for personal and spiritual growth
* 11:26 — Discerning the line between divine calling and personal hubris
* 13:14 — Cultivating a daily disposition of trust and seeking “daily bread”
* 16:39 — Integrating faith and reason when making high-stakes business decisions
* 22:36 — A Catholic perspective on the importance of renewing existing institutions
* 27:37 — Scaling impact while maintaining a lean, mission-focused team
* 31:50 — Applying “Blue Ocean Strategy” to avoid competition and stay true to a unique charism
* 37:15 — Practical advice for remaining detached from outcomes during periods of success
* 44:14 — Balancing high-level vision with staying close to the daily “work”
* 48:12 — The strategic transition from a non-profit to a private for-profit entity
* 53:48 — Redefining ownership and reinvestment through a Catholic lens
* 1:01:18 — Learning from secular entrepreneurs and filtering for traditional wisdom
* 1:03:29 — Rapid Fire: Favorite scriptures, influential saints, and the power of the Rosary
* 1:15:44 — Closing reflections on purifying desires and pursuing spiritual freedom
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