Cloudy skies over Kauai
The Minimum Commitment
At some point, I think every small business owner hits a wall.
It could be a big “oh my gosh, my world is falling apart” or it could be the result of seemingly small things that add up to a day where you feel like you’re bleeding to death.
As part of the professional coaching world, it feels to me like “we” spend a whole lot of time and energy sharing about possibilities and wins as well tools/ tips/ techniques to make your life run easier. And, yes, a huge part of my “job” is to keep my clients focused on the big picture and in gratitude while they implement the plans to be successful.
I like focusing on the good stuff. The successes. I love sharing my client’s wins. It just feels good - to me and also to them (because who doesn’t love being recognized as successful?!)
The reality is that sometimes my job is to keep the entrepreneur simply moving forward. One step at a time. One breath at a time.
I read a story a while back about an ultra marathon runner (you know, the crazy type who likes to run 500 miles without stopping.) He would get delusional after running a few days without sleep. His team used his delusions by telling him that he was being chased by a lion in order to keep him moving. He kept running. He finished the race.
Sometimes we are operating from a similarly exhausted, bleary eyed state and we just need someone to keep yelling “the lion is after you! Keep going!”
What does that look like as an entrepreneur? This week it looks like the business owner who is contemplating bankruptcy (professionally and personally) because she made some very uninformed financial decisions last year that are now at a critical point.
It often looks like money problems, or time that you cannot give, or having to give up something that is important to you. Exhaustion.
It looks like hard decisions.
And it hurts.
This is a dark place in entrepreneurship. And we all get there at some point. It is after all, a part of the hero’s journey.
So what does this have to do with the concept of the minimum commitment?
These dark days are when we need to be absolutely clear of what the minimum commitment really is to keep the lights on and the doors open.
If I’m coaching one "step at a time" because my client is in the throws of “the sky is falling”, we are often going to have four conversations:
- What are you grateful for today?
- Where do you really want to go? /What do you want from this?/ What do you want your life to look like in a year when this has passed?
- What is the ONE thing you must do next? (What is it? When am I going to do it?)
- When are we going to talk again to plan that next step?
One step at a time. One action at a time.
It’s intense hand holding. More checking in.
We need MORE help when things are hard.
Don’t suffer - just go figure out your minimum commitment, get some support and trust that the light at the end of the tunnel isn’t a train!
I’m here for it!
Jenell
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