What To Do When You Hit the Wall

By Jana Beeman

I was thinking about what most often comes up when I reach out to reconnect with coaching school students and some of the startup business owners I’ve met in my journey. Now, sometimes, what I hear is all great news, and sometimes I hear that they gave up and went back to a day job, which can be good or bad, depending on the person.

Most often though, what I hear is that people are struggling. In their business and sometimes in their life as well.

• They get stuck with not knowing something and can’t move past it
• Maybe they run out of money and are in a pile of debt and go into denial or panic
• Perhaps they have a couple of clients but just can’t find enough
• Or maybe they go into self-sabotage: perfectionism, procrastination, denial, deflection or other ways we keep ourselves stuck, safe and small

And you know what? It makes me mad.

Why?

Well, first off, I’ve declared war on struggle and hate to see it attacking people I like, people I care about.

Secondly, because I remember what all those things feel like and don’t like others feeling that way when it’s preventable.

And third and most importantly, I’m at least a little peeved with them for letting something else decide their fate and success.

Huh?

Well, I’m a Success Principles girl, and I believe that we create what we experience.

So when you create failure or struggle, where do you need to look?

WITHIN YOU.

So how do you do that? Well, when it’s a business shortcoming, try questions like:

• Am I creating an excuse to quit?
• Am I finding ways not to succeed because I’m unsure what success could look like for me?
• Am I putting the responsibility for where I am right now somewhere outside of myself?
• What choices have I made that got me here?
• How am I spending my time?
• What action can I take right NOW to change what I’m experiencing?
• How can I choose ONE marketing method and work it at least 2 hours a day until I succeed? What one thing uses my strengths and makes great sense to me?
• How can I learn more about that one method so I can do it more effectively?
• What do I need to change in myself to keep this from happening again?
• What is my behavior doing for me and how can I shift that belief?

If you are procrastinating, going into perfectionism or suffering with fear of success/failure, one thing to look at is fear, because that’s what all these really are, and when you look fear in the face, you can see that it’s just an illusion. There’s no dinosaur waiting to bite your head off. There’s just the illusion of fear.

Fear of success simply means you’re giving away your power to determine what you want to experience with your business and you aren’t drawing any boundaries.

I recently had a client with that one, because she’d had another business that ruled her life and clients that drained her, and she didn’t want that, but was unwilling to create a filter to ensure it didn’t happen again.

We worked together to draw out a plan for how many hours a week to work, how to spend that time, how many of what kinds of clients to serve, and we put some guides in place so she knows she can have a business she’ll love, and now she’s finally moving forward.

Who took that control away from her in the first place?

She did.

She let any client in, no matter how busy she was. She let them underpay because she thought was the way it was done. She accepted argumentative clients that drained her energy just because they might pay her, and since she wasn’t making much money, she accepted their nature that wore her down.

Who was being served? Everyone but her.

We put her back on her priority list. We created a strong vision. We helped her learn the power of NO and referring to others better suited to those problem clients. She created boundaries around her time. She got her life back AND she started making more money. A LOT more money.

So what can you do when you hit the wall?

Ask a lot of questions of yourself, and look first in the mirror.

• Why are you allowing this to be your experience?
• What’s slowing you down or stopping you?
• Why are you valuing other people’s advice above your own instinct?
• What can you do to take action to change your situation TODAY?

One last thought: If something is not working, change the method, think outside the box, get more creative, or try something completely different. Look at what others in your field are doing – if you know they are actually successful – and let that inspire you.

We can work through a lot of this stuff on our own, but if you’re stuck and just don’t know what to do next and you need to talk it out, sign up for my complimentary Business Rocket Fuel Strategy Session  at http://createyourdreampractice.com/home/business-clarity-session/ and we’ll create some clarity, outline a path and get you moving. Deal? I only do a couple of these at a time now, so grab one while it’s available.

Struggle is a choice. Why not choose success instead?