Cristina: What’s the most common problem you have to address with your clients?
I feel a little bit like I’m cheating with this question. It wasn’t emailed in like all the other questions I’ve answered here. Cristina was actually sitting in my passenger seat when she asked this.
Cristina is a Columbian friend of ours who is studying entrepreneurship and teaching our kids Spanish amongst other things. I loved this question so that I wanted to share it with you here.
And anyway, my blog, my rules :)
My first response was that everyone is dealing with different things. Some people have business challenges, but for others, life outside business (relationships, wellbeing, money) is more challenging.
Honing in on the business, some people have challenges getting clients … sales and marketing. Some people have difficulty delivering the work … products, programs, and team. Then there is leadership, management, culture, & operations.
And just about everyone has some sort of psychological issues around money that gets in the way of growing a business (amongst other things). As I’m fond of saying, we’re all a bit nuts around money. And personal productivity or work-life balance is pretty much always on the table.
Then I realised what the bigger issue just about everyone I work with is facing.
Clarity.
Just about everyone isn’t clear on what they want, want they really want, in their business and their life. That’s the biggest contribution I think I make … helping people get clear.
Once that happens, something magical occurs. Decisions become easier. The universe aligns.
I first heard this quote almost thirty years ago … it’s been my favourite quote ever since.
Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness...The moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favour all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his way. I have learnt a great respect for Goethe's couplet: Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius and power and magic in it. — W.H. Murray
But you can’t commit until you’re clear.
