In the relentless, high-stakes world of business, every day is a cascade of decisions. From the seemingly trivial—which software subscription to renew—to the existential—which market to pivot towards—the sheer volume of choices can lead to decision fatigue and, worse, strategic drift. To cut through the noise and maintain a laser focus on growth, you need a single, brutal, and clarifying filter. That filter is this: Is this decision bringing me closer to the big money?This question is not a license for short-sighted greed; it is a compass for strategic leverage. To understand its power, we must first define what “the big money” truly represents. It is not merely a larger paycheck or a temporary spike in revenue. The big money is the asset value you are building, the scale you are achieving, and the long-term, compounding wealth that fundamentally changes your trajectory. It is the difference between earning a living and building a dynasty.When faced with a choice, most entrepreneurs default to the path of least resistance or the one that offers the most immediate, comfortable reward. They choose the small, guaranteed contract over the risky, high-leverage partnership. They spend a week optimizing a minor internal process instead of dedicating that time to closing a massive, game-changing client. These are the decisions that keep a business running in place, mistaking motion for progress.
The “big money” question forces a necessary shift in perspective. It demands that you move from a mindset of busywork to one of high-leverage work.
Consider a few common business dilemmas:
The Project Choice: You have the option to take on a small, immediate, and easy consulting gig for $5,000, or you can spend the same two weeks developing a new product feature that could unlock a $50,000 monthly recurring revenue stream. The small gig is safe and fast, but the new feature is the path to the big money. The question immediately clarifies the strategic priority.
The Hiring Decision: You need to hire a new team member. Should you hire a generalist who can handle a little bit of everything for a lower salary, or a highly specialized expert who costs more but can solve a single, critical bottleneck that is currently capping your growth? The expert, though more expensive, is the one who will accelerate your path to scale and, therefore, the big money.
The Marketing Strategy: Should you spend your budget on a scattergun approach of low-cost social media ads that generate a trickle of leads, or invest heavily in a single, high-impact piece of thought leadership that establishes you as the industry authority? Authority is a scalable asset; a trickle of leads is not. The latter is the big money play.
The true value of this filter is its ability to eliminate distraction. Every “good idea” that comes across your desk—every new tool, every networking event, every minor optimization—must be held up to this harsh light. If the answer is anything less than a resounding “Yes, this directly and significantly accelerates my path to scale and asset value,” then the answer is a definitive No.By ruthlessly applying this single question, you stop trading time for money and start trading time for leverage. You stop building a job for yourself and start building a machine that generates wealth. The path to the big money is paved with focused, high-leverage decisions. Make sure every step you take is a step in that direction. Your future self will thank you for the clarity.