Thinking Time

Welcome to Peaceful Growth, where you will find actionable tips to grow your agency to $10M (without working overtime).

Here’s what you can expect in this issue:

• Why do top founders like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett schedule time just to think?
• How can taking a “Think Week” help you scale your business to $10M+?
• What should you do during Think Week—read, write, strategize, or something else?
• Where should you go for the best thinking time—solo retreat, new city, or local getaway?
• What are the biggest excuses founders make for skipping deep thinking—and why are they wrong?

The Secret Weapon of Billionaire Founders

Bill Gates does something weird.

Twice a year, he disappears.

No meetings. No calls. No emails.

Just him, a cabin, and a massive stack of books and papers.

He calls it Think Week.

It’s where he came up with some of Microsoft’s biggest ideas. Internet Explorer? Born in a Think Week. Cloud computing shift? Came from a Think Week.

(Meanwhile, most of us can’t go five minutes without checking Slack.) :D

Gates isn’t alone.

Warren Buffett spends 80% of his time reading and thinking.

"I insist on a lot of time being spent thinking, almost every day, to just sit and think. That is very uncommon in American business. I read and think. So I do more reading and thinking, and make less impulse decisions than most people in business. I do it because I like this kind of life." — Warren Buffett

Jeff Bezos schedules “empty space” on his calendar for deep reflection.

They all know the same truth:

Thinking time isn’t a luxury. It’s a necessity.

My ‘Thinking Time’

As founders, we get sucked into meetings, emails, and fires.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve noticed something: I rarely get time to just think.

Yet, my biggest breakthroughs didn’t happen at my desk.

They happened on long flights.

At conferences.

On long walks.

In the shower.

(And yes, even on the toilet.)

My $5M Idea came from a walk in NYC

Back in 2018, I was wandering the streets of New York when it hit me— "we need to be a boutique agency, not a grocery store."

At the time, we were trying to be everything for everyone. That moment of clarity changed everything.

I went all in.

Rebuilt the business from the ground up.

Three years later, we became one of the top enterprise WordPress agencies in the world and had billion dollar brands on our portfolio.

That realization didn’t come from grinding at my desk.

It came from stepping away from it.

How to Plan Your Own ‘Think Week’

I get it. The idea of taking a full week just to think feels… weird.

• What do I actually do during this time? Read? Write? Stare at a wall?
• What should I think about? Where do I even start?
• Where do I go? How long? Solo or with someone?

Here’s the answer: Steal my format.

1. Pick a time

Choose a time when your business isn’t on fire.

Align it with natural breaks in your schedule (end of a quarter, before a big strategy shift).

If you’re new to this, start small—2-3 days instead of a full week.

(Pro tip: Avoid cramming this between other obligations. You want deep focus, not half-distracted thinking.)

2. Pick a place

Sitting at home won’t cut it. Get away.

New city? Book an Airbnb or hotel.

Can’t travel? Find a quiet local retreat or coworking space.

Solo or group? Try both—some insights come from solitude, some from smart conversations.

Here are some of my favorite spots in the U.S.:

📚 Library Hotel, NYC

📖 Summer Mill Retreat, Texas

🌲 Gateway Cabin

3. Pick a purpose

Before you go, get clear on what you want to think about.

Create three lists:

✅ Problems: What people and problems holding my business back?
✅ Decisions: What big decisions do I need to make?
✅ Opportunities: What untapped potential am I ignoring?

Or, just steal my thinking prompts (link to download at the end) which has 90+ question prompts to help you think—organized in groups like HR, Sales, Marketing, and more.