I was hosting a workshop for business growth when one of the participants shared very honestly, “I know my business idea is great. I know I can be successful once I get started. The problem is I get stuck even before taking the first step. There’s always a reason that holds me back. Either the timing is not right, or distractions come up and now I feel like I’ll never get started and that maybe I’ve lost the opportunity altogether.”
It can be super frustrating to watch as other people move forward with their goals and intentions and our opportunities are passing us by because of our own inaction.
Getting started with any goal can be challenging. That burst of energy required to kick-start a venture can feel formidable. And that’s not to mention the belief necessary to sustain the forward movement. This is often why many of us keep treading the water in place, staying in unsatisfying situations instead of moving forward towards a goal.
For most of us, what holds us back from taking that first step towards our goals is FEAR; fear of failing, fear of rejection, fear of success, fear of the unknown, the list of justifications for why we don’t act on what we “say” we want is endless. The truth is, starting is always the hardest step. Once we get going and build up some momentum it is easier. This is the law of physics (and business) which states that an object (or business person) will remain at rest unless changed (or kicked into action) by an external force.
In my coaching practice, I work with clients to overcome inaction using a system I call The Startegy System. These \”startegies\” have exponential power to move business goals forward.
A business goal will remain an idea unless something of greater force and power occurs in your life or business to motivate action. Our human nature is to remain in the comfortable status quo. There are three \”startegies\” to remedy this problem with inaction. They are COMMIT, INVEST, and INVITE.
Commit means that we involve a third party to whom we will deliver our product, service, or action item by a specific date. This can be a commitment to a client, colleague, or coach. The reason it works is that by committing to a third party, we have added accountability and consequences exponentially to the power of force to move us forward because other people are depending on us to deliver. This is Santa Claus and presents pressure for our business-the gifts always arrive by Christmas morning!
The second effective \”startegy\” is invest. Once your goal has been converted into an investment there’s an expectation set for a return in the form of a deposit into the bank account. Investments can be paying to attend conferences, training, advanced education, or my personal favorite getting a coach.
The third \”startegy\” is invite. Invite a tribe of supporters, a league of champions, cheerleaders, and challengers to weigh in and witness that we are in fact doing what we said we would do. For many of us, what is impossible to do for ourselves becomes irresistible to do for our audience. Sometimes just being counted on shows us that we really can achieve the impossible dream.
If you are stalling week after week unable to take action on your business consider adding \”startegies\” and commit, invest and invite to go from stagnant to supercharged in your business and your life.
Cathleen Mancino is a Peak Performance Sales and Leadership Coach specializing in helping clients make impactful presentations that get clients motivated to make decisions! For more information or to schedule a private session with Cathleen, visit www.theslingshotmethod.com or schedule an introduction by clicking here https://calendly.com/mybestslingshot/15min