The Payroll of Peace

Read time: 6 minutes

Hey, welcome back.

Last week, we talked about the art of not quitting — and how progress is often about shifting from learning to testing, not grinding your way through pain.

​You can read that (and all past issues, here).

By the way, if you're finding these insights helpful, I've started collecting all these tools, resources, and one-sheets in the ever-growing 'Science of Success' vault. Check it out here for additional materials on today's topic and more.

Today, I want to expand on a post I shared last week that hit a nerve. It was a simple image: me holding a brain in one hand, writing on a whiteboard with the other. The message read:

“When praying for a job, pray for one that doesn’t cost your mental health. Ask for peace, support, and a culture that protects your wellbeing.”

It wasn’t just about jobs.

It was about what we’ve normalised.

Especially as business owners.

We’re not just building businesses.

We’re not just building businesses.

We’re building environments people live inside.

That includes you.

Too often, we equate success with sacrifice. Hustle becomes identity. Burnout becomes a badge. Overwhelm becomes culture.

I’ve spoken to founders who scaled their company… and lost their health. … and lost their relationships. … and lost their sense of self in the process.

They hit the numbers. But felt numb doing it.

Here’s the truth most founders learn the hard way:

So the real question isn’t just: “Is this working?”

It’s: “Is this working on me?”

The cost of building at all costs

I’ve seen this play out too many times:

• A founder gets their dream investor… then loses sleep every night trying to meet someone else’s expectations.
• A team raises a Series A… and suddenly dreads logging into Slack.
• A solo entrepreneur finally replaces their 9-to-5… only to become their own worst boss.

On the outside, it looks like growth. On the inside, it’s quiet erosion.

That’s not sustainable. And it’s not success.

What you build should not break you

A good business isn’t just about what it creates. It’s about what it doesn’t destroy.

It should not take your:

• Mental clarity
• Evenings with your family
• Ability to sleep through the night
• Confidence in your own vision
• Sense of worth as a human being

And yet, we’ve designed work cultures that do exactly that — and throw in a “wellness day” to make up for it.

We’re not here to normalise that. We’re here to challenge it.

As founders, we set the standard

If you’re building something — you’re also setting the tone.

Ask yourself:

• Do I honour boundaries, or do I bulldoze them?
• Does my team feel safe to speak up, or stay silent out of fear?
• Do I reward performance, or glorify overwork?
• Do I feel like I can breathe in my own company?

Your culture isn’t what you write in Notion. It’s how people feel after a meeting.

And that starts with how you feel showing up to work.

Pray for peace. Build for peace.

Let’s raise the bar.

When you’re setting goals — don’t just list revenue and headcount. Add this to the sheet:

• Am I proud of how we treat people?
• Do I sleep well at night?
• Do I still feel like myself?
• Would I want my kids working here?

We’re not just praying for jobs. We’re praying for alignment. For leaders who care. For environments that don’t drain the life out of talented people.

A question to carry forward

What are you building — and is it costing you more than it’s giving you?

Would you still be proud of this company if no one knew your revenue?

Would your younger self look at your life right now and say, “That’s who I want to become”?

If not, maybe the goal isn’t to grow faster.

Maybe the goal is to grow better.

Until next time, Dan

P.S. If you’ve built or are building a business where the culture prioritises mental wellbeing without sacrificing performance, I’d love to hear how you’ve done it. Drop me an email.

SOS (Science of Success) Curated:

LinkedIn of the week: Most jobs are teachable. So why do we hire like they aren’t?​

Podcast of the week: #1 Best Diet In The World For Gut Health & To Get Lean​

My Tweet of the week: The point isn’t to become unstoppable.​

Research Worth Reading

"Mental fatigue triggers brain 'micro‑sleep', harming decision‑making and self-control"​
A PNAS study from IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca (Italy) shows that after sustained mental effort (about 45+ minutes of self-control tasks), participants’ frontal brain regions exhibited sleep‑like slow delta activity, despite being awake. This resulted in significantly more impulsive behaviour and reduced cooperative choices in decision-making tasks

🧠 Why It Matters

The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is your brain’s control centre—handling impulse control, planning, and staying rational. When it's fatigued, you're literally more prone to snap decisions or interpret feedback negatively.

Supporting research shows that cognitive fatigue correlates with reduced DLPFC activation, increased impulsivity in intertemporal choice tasks, and a shift away from long-term thinking

🎯 Productivity & Leadership Implications

• If you're mentally tired, your brain defaults to survival mode: short-term thinking and instant rewards over strategy.
• This isn’t just theory—it shows up in high‑stakes environments:
  • Judges give fewer favourable rulings at the end of a session.
  • Editors facing decision fatigue reject more manuscripts

That’s why rest isn’t a luxury call for entrepreneurs—it’s a necessity for clarity and long-term strategy.

🧩 Actionable Steps to Optimise Decision-Making

1. Insert Decision Breaks​
   After intense tasks or meetings → take a 10‑minute non‑cognitive break (stretch, step outside, rest).
2. Front-load your most important decisions​
   Tackle high-impact choices earlier in the day when your DLPFC is fresh.
3. Alternate high and low effort tasks​
   Let your brain rest in between spikes of exertion—swap email-checking for a walk or breath work.
4. Avoid decision bingeing​
   Too many small decisions drains mental energy. Batch common decisions (meals, clothes, scheduling) ahead of time.
5. Track your depletion triggers​
   Identify when your mental energy dips (e.g. after back‑to‑back calls) and reset before critical next steps.

​→ Link to stud​y​

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1-1 Coaching with Dan

In my goal to help more entrepreneurs/people who are looking to level up their careers, I've just started taking 1-1 consulting calls (only 1 a week)

Why book a call? Some of my expertise/success:

I've built 5 startups. 1 win, 1 fail, and 3 still going.

E-Commerce: Heights — with revenue over $15M a year.

Community: Foundrs, one of the UK's top founder communities

Podcasting: Leaders Media - bootstrapped media company that makes the UK's top business podcasts, Secret Leaders, with over 50M downloads.

Health/Mental Health: Managed to overcome burnout, insomnia, depression & anxiety in pursuit of success as I talk about in my interview with Steven Bartlett on Diary of a CEO​

Angel Investing: I've invested in over 90 startups

Coached & Mentored: Certified coach & done lots of mentoring

Personal Brand: Have grown to 178k on LinkedIn and X (Twitter) in the past 12 months

So if you're interested in booking a session with me to talk all things business or building a personal brand, book for 30-minutes or 45-minutes. (limited spots).

Science of Success Vault

I'm building a vault of valuable tools, resources, and one sheets that I hope help you succeed.

These will be stored in the ever-growing 'Science of Success' vault — you can always access that here

Want to take your success (even more) seriously? 👇​
🧠 Fuel your brain and feed your gut, try Heights here (use code 'SOSDMS' for 15% off your first month of any subscription

🎧 Check out my podcast Secret Leaders here​

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