Building an Integrated Life: Coaching Lessons from Mark Bradley
When I coach CEOs and founders, one theme shows up more often than any other: it’s not that they don’t know how to build — it’s that somewhere along the way, they’ve lost sight of why they started building in the first place.
That truth was front and center in my recent conversation with Mark Bradley, founder of LMN and chairman of LeanScaper. Mark has lived nearly every version of entrepreneurial success — from running a landscaping truck in the cold Canadian winters to scaling a multimillion-dollar software company that transformed his entire industry.
But the real story isn’t about growth. It’s about recovery. It’s about what happens when you achieve everything you thought you wanted and realize that success, on its own, isn’t enough.
The Trap of “Balance”
When I sit down with leaders, many tell me they’re chasing balance. But balance is a reaction — it’s an attempt to steady what’s already spinning out of control.
Mark reminded me of that. He said something that stopped me mid-conversation:
“I don’t want a balanced life. I want an integrated life.”
He’d spent years working 100-hour weeks, building a top 100 landscape company and then a leading SaaS platform. The success was real — but so was the cost. His health declined. His marriage fell apart. Relationships with friends and colleagues suffered.
That’s the danger of imbalance: when business sits at the top of the hierarchy for too long, everything else eventually collapses under it.
Rebuilding from the Inside Out
When Mark stepped back from LMN, he didn’t start by creating another business plan. He started by creating a life plan.
He built his days around five priorities:
- Optimize mental and physical health.
- Strengthen his marriage.
- Deepen relationships with family, friends, and community.
- Keep learning and growing.
- Then, optimize business.
That order matters — and as a coach, I can tell you it’s the reverse of how most founders live.
What struck me most is that Mark didn’t just write those priorities down; he built systems around them. His calendar now reflects his values. He time-blocks for health, family, learning, and spiritual growth before business ever gets a slot. Every Sunday night, he reviews and refines that schedule.
He doesn’t chase balance anymore. He engineers integration.
Systems with Soul
Mark’s story also underscores something I teach in every coaching engagement: leadership has to rest on both systems and soul.
Mark runs his life the same way he ran his companies — with structure, metrics, and accountability. But those systems exist to serve his purpose, not replace it.
He told me that running a metric-driven business isn’t about control; it’s about fulfillment. When you measure what matters, you give yourself and your team the chance to celebrate progress, not just endure the process.
That’s how you build a culture of growth instead of a cycle of burnout.
What CEOs Can Learn
When I work with founders, one of the first questions I ask is simple: “Does your calendar reflect your values?”
If it doesn’t, your business will eventually feel hollow. You can’t out-earn misalignment.
The entrepreneurs who sustain success — the ones who stay healthy, inspired, and clear — are the ones who build systems around their humanity. They create discipline around rest, learning, and relationships just as deliberately as they do around strategy and revenue.
That’s what Mark has done. And it’s what I challenge every leader to do.
The Coaching Corner
Here’s your reflection for the week:
Take ten minutes to write down your top five priorities — not for your business, but for your life. Then, open your calendar and compare. Does your schedule serve those priorities, or are they buried under meetings, deadlines, and noise?
If you find a gap, don’t panic. Design the change. Schedule what matters. Build your integration, not your balance.
Because success that costs you your peace, your health, or your relationships isn’t success — it’s debt.
🎧 Hear my full conversation with Mark Bradley on The Entrepreneurial Journey Podcast.
It’s not a story about landscaping or software — it’s about leadership, clarity, and designing a life you don’t need to escape from.
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