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Most people try to navigate hard decisions by making lists. Pros and cons, weighted scores, spreadsheets. And while that kind of analysis has its place, it tends to break down completely when the decision is emotionally loaded, time-pressured, or involves trade-offs between things that cannot easily be quantified — like your time, your relationships, and your identity.
There is a better tool. It is called a life razor, and it has been used by philosophers, founders, and high performers to do something that no spreadsheet can: decide automatically, before the noise of the moment takes over.
In philosophy, a razor is a one-sentence principle that lets you quickly eliminate unlikely explanations or unnecessary steps — metaphorically shaving away complexity until only what matters remains. The most famous example is Occam's Razor, named for the 14th-century philosopher William of Ockham: when weighing explanations for something, the one requiring the fewest assumptions is generally correct. The simplest answer is usually the best one.
A life razor borrows that same logic and applies it not to abstract philosophical problems, but to the daily decisions of a real life. It is a present-tense identity statement that runs quietly in the background of every hard call. Not a goal. Not a value. A rule that tells you, in any situation, what a person like you would do.
A life razor is not a goal. It is a present-tense identity statement that decides for you when life gets noisy.
In April 1970, astronaut Jim Lovell found himself in one of the most chaotic and dangerous situations any human being has ever faced. An oxygen tank explosion had crippled the spacecraft three days into the mission. The computer systems could not execute the precise engine burn needed to bring the crew safely back to Earth. Everything was noise, urgency, and cascading variables.
Lovell's solution was strikingly simple. He peered through a small triangular window, found the Earth, and said: if we can keep the Earth in the window, all I need to know is how long to burn the engine. One fixed point. Everything else fell away. The crew survived.
A life razor works the same way. When life becomes chaotic — when the competing demands of a career, a family, a business, and an identity feel overwhelming — a single fixed point tells you which direction to move. Not a list of priorities. One sentence.
Not every short statement qualifies. A genuinely effective life razor has three specific characteristics.
The statement must describe something within your power, regardless of circumstances. External results — revenue, patient volume, outcomes — are not controllable. Your presence, your choices, your attention — these are. A razor built around what you can control stays useful when everything outside you is unpredictable.
The best razors describe one action or commitment that creates second and third-order effects across multiple areas of life. A razor about being present with your family does not just affect your relationships — it shapes how your children see the world, how your team understands your priorities, and how you show up at work. One commitment, many consequences.
The razor should describe the kind of person you are, not just what you plan to do. When you say 'I am the type of person who...' and complete that sentence honestly, you create an internal standard that outlasts any single decision. Identity-based commitments are far more durable than goal-based ones because they answer not just what but who.
Life razors are deeply personal, which means no two are identical. But looking across a range of examples reveals the pattern:
Each of these is short enough to remember without effort. Each one implies far more than the words say. And each one would — when held up against a difficult decision — provide clear directional guidance.
The process matters as much as the sentence. Begin by looking backward: what moments in your life gave you the deepest sense of meaning and purpose? Not your proudest professional achievements, but the moments where you felt most fully yourself. What do they have in common?
Then look forward: imagine yourself ten or twenty years from now. What would have to be true — outside of financial success — for you to feel that you lived well? What, if lost, would overshadow everything you achieved professionally?
Write freely. Draft ten versions. Let them be imperfect. Then test each one against the three traits. Is it controllable? Does it create ripple effects across multiple areas of your life? Does it define the kind of person you want to be? Iterate until the sentence feels true rather than aspirational — a description, not a destination.
Then put it somewhere you will encounter it regularly. Not as motivation. As a filter.
The value of a life razor only becomes visible when something tests it. A business opportunity that requires extended travel. A personal crisis that demands your presence. A decision where the financially optimal choice and the personally meaningful choice point in different directions.
In those moments, the razor does not tell you what to want. It tells you who you are — and from that, the answer usually becomes clear faster than any list of pros and cons ever could.
Listen to the Full Episode
Hear the full conversation on Apple Podcasts: Episode 160 — The Life Razor: Cut Through What Doesn't Matter
Wes knows what's best for dental practices. He's been doing this for a long time and he sees lots of practices. He can tell me how our practice is doing, and what we can do to increase our productivity. With past CPA's, there were no ideas. It was all coming from me, saying "I think I can do better, but I don't know how." I come in to meet with Wes and he says "You CAN do better, and I know how."
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(In reference to his practice sale) What could've been super stressful, wasn't! When picking John and Wes, it was from word of mouth recommendations and other people's experiences from the past that really did it for me. And it turns out that those recommendations were right on the line.
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