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“Whoa!  Huh?  Where’d that come from?”

Let me explain.

I always get comments on our newsletters.  I love getting them.  Lets me know how the message resonated with people and keeps me in touch with folks.  I’ve gotten hundreds of wonderful, encouraging notes over the years.

In nearly 20 years of writing newsIetters, I can remember only one comment you’d call mildly negative and a couple others that politely questioned some aspect of what I’d said.  That’s it for the other side of the ledger.

In the last Life Lessons newsletter, I talked about decision fatigue and the things you can do to mitigate its negative effects.  Pretty neutral subject.

I got three nice responses, and then one that told me the message was “incredibly condescending.”  The person went on to criticize me personally, but you don’t need those details.

I’ve been working with business owners for 20 years, helping them streamline their processes and procedures, so they bring in more clients and continue to serve existing ones to the best of their ability. It’s my job as a business coach to see the things my clients may not be seeing.

And what I’m seeing quite often is entrepreneurs who aren’t making it easy to hire them … or not as easy as it could be. They unwittingly put up barriers or roadblocks.

Let’s look at what some of those might be.

As a life coach and business coach, I often help people get unstuck in areas of their lives that aren’t working or aren’t working as well as they’d like them to.  And, as a coach, it’s critically important I walk the talk with respect to the advice I offer them.

Lately, I’ve noticed I haven’t been making decisions about some personal health issues as quickly and decisively as I normally would … and, at first, I couldn’t figure out why.

I needed to find some trusted health professionals to help me sort through some minor health issues I’ve been facing and just couldn’t seem to get started.  I was stuck in the swirl of things … not taking action.

So, what to do coach?

I’m a business coach, so when a highly successful CEO tells me the biggest lesson he’s learned as a leader, I’m tuned in and listening. 

And maybe it’s just serendipity … or maybe it’s the Universe sending me a message I need to hear … but it’s a theme that’s been smacking me upside the head multiple times in the last couple of months. 

We’re just over a week away from Groundhog Day.  It’s a day that carries special significance to me, as my late husband and I were married on February 2nd.

Day after day has gone by since then, and that milestone event now seems like a couple of lifetimes ago.

Day after day goes by, like pages being turned in a book, and once that page is read, it makes way for the rest of the story, however it’s to unfold.  That’s just how life is.

It’s a New Year.  Great, but … so what?   New beginnings … resolutions … yada yada yada.  I promise this letter isn’t more of that.

It’s about cutting loose the albatross around your neck.  And the start of a new year is a great time to unload that baggage.

Let me tell you a short story that highlights the point I want to make.

I have what I think is a really good idea.

You know how people make resolutions and set goals for the New Year?  That’s all well and good, but how often is one of those goals or resolutions … Do more things I enjoy and make sure to have plenty of fun?

Not very often.  Usually, this exercise is all about implementing some kind of self-improvement regimen or drawing up some kind of achievement-oriented action plan.  Fun seldom enters into the equation.

Let me tell you about the first most important step you need to take as you’re starting your business … and every year thereafter. In nearly 20 years as a business coach, it’s the step I see most of my business owners wanting to skip!

But first, I want to tell you a quick story that illustrates why you don’t want to omit this step! Bear with me …

There are certain things monks do as they begin the day.

You might imagine the first one wouldn’t exactly be the first thing on one’s agenda.

Get centered and reflect on death.

Whoa. Okay. Hmmm.

But when you reflect on death, you can’t help but reflect on the preciousness of life and how fortunate you are to be alive this day!

The next one might seem like nothing special, and it isn’t. But that’s what makes it noteworthy.

Simple is good. Simple and powerful is even better. As a business coach, I look for the simplest possible ways to help clients implement the kinds of changes / improvements they want to make.

Well, there’s an extremely simple, highly systematic way of analyzing where you are and what you can do to improve your operations that’ll blow the doors off your performance.