Is it too late to say Happy New Year? I hope not. I kind of enjoy it.

I've been thinking about the year ahead, as you do at this time. And I've been reflecting on how so little of what others seem to be writing and advising about the upcoming year connects with me at all.

I don't know about you, but all this talk about scaling and massive growth and building an empire just leaves me cold.

It reminds me a bit of how ambitious I was when I was younger. About how I was going to get promoted and run my own division. Then when I became a consultant I was going to make partner super fast, and then become a practice lead and then…

…and then I kind of grew up.

At some point, it just dawned on me that all of that was about proving myself to the world. About what others thought of me. All of it was unnecessary. And none of it made me happy.

What made me happy was time with family and friends. Doing things I enjoyed. Working with good people on projects I felt meant something.

When I grew up a bit my goals shifted away from all those big, bold ambitions and focused more on earning a good income without working too hard or for too long, so I could spend more time actually living.

I've done pretty well at that. And this year I've been thinking about the sort of business and the sort of activities that allow you to do it.

An alternative to the “scale your business” dogma that seems to dominate entrepreneurial advice these days.

In the next few weeks I'm going to be sharing more about this kind of approach to business that's worked well for me and for others.

But until then, I wish you all the best for a brilliant new year.