“You’re either growing or dying.”
How often have you heard that one?
In a world of publicly traded corporations, that’s largely true. Shareholders expect increasing returns, quarter after quarter, and that expectation creates relentless pressure to scale.
But what happens when we, as Avocado Entrepreneurs, unconsciously adopt that same mindset?
When no one is demanding endless growth, why do we still feel the pressure to infinitely scale, never stop growing, and maximize absolutely every aspect of ourselves and our businesses?
What would happen if we questioned the internalized drive for perpetual growth?
What if we embraced the freedom of choosing “enough?”
Why Corporations Have to Keep Growing
Corporations are beholden to their shareholders, who invest with the expectation of seeing increasing profits.
The entire financial system is structured around expansion, rewarding aggressive growth and punishing anything that looks like stasis. In that world, “enough” is never enough, and the pressure to grow becomes a structural requirement.
The front desk lady feels pressure from the middle manager, who feels pressure from the department head, who feels pressure from the director, who feels pressure from the CEO, who feels pressure from the board, who feels pressure from the shareholders…
It’s a top-down expectation.
Everything becomes about “making the shareholders happy,” which almost always translates to “make more money asap.”
For these businesses, staying the same isn’t neutral—it’s negative.
The Problem with Endless Growth
Endless growth might sound good in theory, but in practice, it’s unsustainable.
There’s no such thing as endless growth in nature: trees mature to the size of their species and then more or less maintain their size as long as they remain healthy. Maybe they get a little more girth and a few more branches, but they don’t grow into the stratosphere.
In fact, unchecked growth is a definition of cancer, not health.
The bigger something gets, the more complex and resource-hungry it becomes. That can lead to sketchy quality, taking shortcuts against your integrity, and burnout.
Entrepreneurs determined to infinitely scale often end up sacrificing the very things that made their work meaningful to begin with: connection, craftsmanship, and control.
Are You Putting Shareholder Expectations on Your Own Business?
Even without outside investors, many entrepreneurs run their businesses like shareholder-owned corporations.
We become our own board of directors, demanding more, faster, bigger—without stopping to ask why.
- Do you feel anxious when growth plateaus, even if you’re making enough?
- Do you equate busyness with success?
- Are you planning your next launch just to hit an arbitrary revenue goal?
We’ve been so steeped in this mindset–both from working in corporate America and from reading all the business books written for corporate America–that it’s almost ingrained in us against our will.
I know I say that I want a simple, cottage industry business; but then immediately fret over my profit margins and tell myself I need to increase my revenue STAT.
Why, tho?
I’m blessed to have a husband that provides for me. I don’t have to work to make ends meet.
I’m living the hypothetical question “if you never had to work or worry about money again, what would you do?”
(The answer is: this! 🥑✋)
So WHY do I still feel that pressure from the aether to grow, grow, GROW?
How can we fight this pernicious mindset that keeps sneaking in through osmosis when we aren’t looking??
Redefine Success: What Is “Enough”?
I think the key is to be super-duper, extremely, crystal clear about what constitutes “enough.”
Maybe it’s a sustainable income that covers your needs and gives you extra to support the less fortunate in your community.
Maybe it’s having time to rest, create, and be present for the people you love.
“Enough” isn’t a cop-out—it’s a radical act of clarity.
When you stop chasing the fabled “endless more,” you can focus on better: better relationships with clients, better quality work, better alignment with your values.
Enough is elegant.
Enough is sustainable.
The Ascetic Life of Service
I’ve been exploring this concept of “the ascetic life of service.”
"Asceticism" isn’t a word you hear much, except in religious circles. It’s usually used to describe a monk’s lifestyle: very simple, some would even say poverty-stricken.
But “asceticism” actually carries the idea of conscious choice.
It’s intentionally choosing a lifestyle of self-discipline, self-development, and simplicity.
It’s refusing to get caught up in the rat race, letting the Joneses keep up with themselves, avoiding lifestyle creep, and staying in integrity.
Maybe it looks like frugalism, slow living, minimalism, upcycling, zero waste, underconsumption core, low buy/no buy, artisanship, local food…
Choosing not to grow doesn’t mean choosing smallness—it means choosing intention.
An ascetic life is the lifestyle of those who prioritize service, depth, and purpose over accumulation.
In a world obsessed with scale, restraint can be a spiritual practice.
You CAN build a life-giving business that supports others, sustains you, and leaves space for mystery and rest.
It’s about showing up fully, not endlessly.
So What If You Opted Out of the Growth Trap?
You don’t have to run your life like a corporation.
You’re literally in charge.
It’s like a wise man once said:
”It all comes down to what a man CAN do, and what a man CAN’T do.” - Captain Jack Sparrow
What if you gave yourself permission to stop pushing for growth just for the sake of growing?
What would it look like to instead settle in for the long haul, deepen your foundation, and make sure what you already have is healthy?
There is profound power in deciding that what you have is already enough.
Are you chasing growth out of habit or intention?
Maybe you really are in a season of growth right now and that’s what you should be focusing on.
But I challenge you to take a look at your mindset and see if you have an expectation of endless growth–or if you’re willing to let things reach a stabilization point where the growth levels off.
Will you feel like a failure if that happens?
Or will you rejoice in knowing that you’ve grown a healthy tree that will sustain you for years and years to come?
Speaking of growth, do you know what stage of growth your business is at?
Find out exactly what level you’re at, your strengths and challenges, and what to focus on (and what NOT to focus on) - TODAY! 👇
Let's get your finances off the back burner and into a system that actually works.