The Cigar That Runs The Company

Your best ideas might be hiding behind your notifications. We talk about the surprising way we make the biggest business decisions: stepping away from the desk and into a quiet, distraction-free hour where the only job is thinking. No Slack pings, no email, no constant context switching. Just space, slowness, and a simple ritual that turns fuzzy stress into clear next steps. Jason explains why his back porch has become the real strategy room, and how a one-hour cigar acts like a built-in timer that keeps him from grabbing his phone the moment thinking gets uncomfortable. 

We get specific about the kinds of calls this practice improves: choosing the right clients, knowing when to fire the wrong ones, and setting direction for the next quarter. Along the way, we challenge the modern myth that better business decisions come from more data, more meetings, and more analysis. Clarity is the multiplier, and clarity needs room to show up. Don’t smoke? No problem. We share practical alternatives like a long walk, porch coffee without the cigar, or a drive with no podcast playing. The medium doesn’t matter.

 What matters is creating a window where you can’t do anything but think. We also share a quick reminder for entrepreneurs and small business owners with critical assets online: your email and password may already be exposed without you knowing it, and a fast scan can show what’s vulnerable. If this gave you a push, subscribe, share with a friend who’s always “busy,” and leave a review so more builders can find the show. What’s your version of porch time?

If this sparked ideas for your brand or business, subscribe for more deep dives, share the show with a founder who needs focus, and leave a quick review to help others find it. Ready to explore your own AI-hosted podcast and growth system? Head to www.intentionallyinspirational.com, hit the blue button, and book a call with the human version of Jason Wright.

Transcript

Welcome And A Different Topic

SPEAKER_01 0:00

What's happening everyone? Jason Wright here. Joining me as always is Sarah.

SPEAKER_00 0:04

Hey everyone.

SPEAKER_01 0:05

Today's gonna be a different one. I want to talk about how I make my best business decisions.

SPEAKER_00 0:10

I have a feeling this involves a porch.

SPEAKER_01 0:13

It absolutely involves a porch.

The Back Porch Decision Ritual

SPEAKER_01 0:15

My back porch, a padron or a Monte Cristo, and a strong cup of coffee. That's where the real work happens.

SPEAKER_00 0:21

Tell me about it.

SPEAKER_01 0:23

Most of my best calls, my best ideas, my best client strategies, none of them happened at my desk. They happened on the back porch, sometimes early morning, sometimes mid afternoon. The phone's inside, the laptop's inside. It's just me. The cigar and the thoughts I usually don't have time to think.

SPEAKER_00 0:39

What is it about that setting?

Slowness Creates Better Thinking

SPEAKER_01 0:41

Slowness. A cigar takes an hour. You can't rush it, you can't multitask with it. You sit, you smoke, you sip, you think. The world keeps moving, but you're not in it for a while.

SPEAKER_00 0:52

And that changes the quality of the thinking?

SPEAKER_01 0:54

Completely. At my desk I'm reactive. Slack pings. Email pops up. Somebody needs something. The thinking is shallow because the context keeps shifting.

SPEAKER_00 1:08

What kind of decisions get made out there?

Big Calls Need Real Clarity

SPEAKER_01 1:11

The big ones. Whether to take on a client, whether to fire one, what direction the business should go next quarter, the stuff that requires more than a quick gut check.

SPEAKER_00 1:21

Why do you think this works?

SPEAKER_01 1:22

Because we've been sold this lie that good decisions come from more data, more analysis, more meetings. They don't. Good decisions come from clarity, and clarity needs space.

The Cigar As A Timer

SPEAKER_01 1:33

The porch gives me space.

SPEAKER_00 1:35

And the cigar specifically?

SPEAKER_01 1:37

The cigar is the timer. Without it, I'd sit down, think for five minutes, get bored, and pull out my phone. The cigar keeps me there. It's a commitment to the hour. By the time it's done, I've usually worked through whatever was rattling around in my head.

SPEAKER_00 1:53

What about people who don't smoke cigars?

Find Your No Distraction Window

SPEAKER_01 1:56

Find your version. A long walk. A coffee on the porch without the cigar. A drive with no podcast playing. The medium doesn't matter. What matters is creating a window where you can't do anything but think.

SPEAKER_00 2:09

That's harder than it sounds in 2026.

SPEAKER_01 2:12

It's the hardest thing about modern work. Everybody's busy, nobody's thinking. The advantage doesn't go to the people working the most hours, it goes to the people thinking the most clearly.

SPEAKER_00 2:22

So the porch is actually a business strategy.

SPEAKER_01 2:25

It's the business strategy. Every good decision I've made traces back to time spent alone with my own thoughts. Every bad decision traces back to making a call when I was rushed, distracted, or reacting to something.

SPEAKER_00 2:38

That's a real takeaway.

SPEAKER_01 2:40

Try it. Block off an hour this week. No phone, no agenda, just you in a quiet space. See what surfaces. I'd bet money something important comes up that you've been ignoring because you didn't have the space to

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SPEAKER_01 2:52

hear it.

SPEAKER_00 2:52

Solid stuff today.

SPEAKER_01 2:54

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Closing Thanks And Sign Off

SPEAKER_01 3:25

Thanks for listening.

SPEAKER_00 3:26

Thanks everyone.

SPEAKER_01 3:27

See you in the next episode.

SPEAKER_00 3:30

Thanks for tuning in. Until next time, stay curious.