Circles vs Lines: Why Some Work Builds and Some Just Repeats
There’s a passage in Atlas Shrugged where the author describes something subtle through the experience of the main character.
She draws a distinction between two kinds of motion.
One kind completes itself and disappears.
You finish it.. and the next day you’re back where you started.
The other kind accumulates.
Each step carries the ones before it.
Each day adds to a growing whole.
She frames these as circles and lines.
Circles are closed loops.
Necessary. Repeating. Self-contained.
Lines move from a start toward an end.
They have direction. Continuity. Meaning over time.
What struck me is how relevant this is for entrepreneurs.
A lot of us are busy every day.
Emails. Calls. Fulfillment. Admin. Fixes.
Those things matter. They keep the engine running.
But if all your effort lives in circles, something feels off.
You work hard..
yet nothing feels like it’s building.
On the other hand, lines without circles don’t work either.
Big goals with no supporting habits collapse under their own weight.
Meaning seems to show up when the two are connected.
Circles that feed a line.
Daily effort that clearly advances something larger.
Work that doesn’t reset to zero when the day ends.
That’s often the difference between productive fatigue and draining exhaustion.
I don't think the author meant the symbiotic relationship I'm suggesting.. but it's how I see things actually working.
So here’s the question I’ve been sitting with:
Where in your life or business are you running circles with no line?
And where are you chasing lines without the circles needed to sustain them?
That answer usually points to what needs to change next.
🚀
- James
3
5 comments
Circles vs Lines: Why Some Work Builds and Some Just Repeats
skool.com/prime-mover
Discover the secrets of how to Sell Online and step into your calling as a Prime Mover with Russell Brunson!
Leaderboard (30-day)
1
🔥
+352
2
🔥
+348
3
+209
4
🔥
+205
5
+189
Powered by