Is it time to get off the rocks and start sailing in to greater business success?

• 16 August 2016
• Jane Evans
• no comments

Business can feel like setting sail for a far flung shore!

Sometimes you are bobbing along in your business boat not getting anywhere fast but enjoying the views. Other times water is getting in and there are signs the boat may be sinking, some days it feels like sailing on the crest of a wave and then…..there is ending up being stuck on the rocks! Before long, navigating for part of the journey, and then pitching up on the rocks of ‘stuckness’, can become a familiar scenario if we don’t pay attention to it and become aware of our behaviours and beliefs.

Setting sail

When I set sail with setting up and  running my own business, after having worked in the social care world, it certainly felt like I was being blown from one wave to the next in a rudderless boat with more troughs than peaks! Consequently, there were far more stuck on the rocks days than plain sailing ones!

Fortunately I found and added a coach to my crew. Devon Bandison has give me much needed input which has changed so much about how I have continued to sail my business boat! Now, I regularly tend and adjust my sails with Devon to identify different ways to ensure I am much better at navigating my course away from the rocks and through the choppy and millpond like waters as I sail along. I have even been known to land my boat right on to the stage of a TEDxTalk!

How to spot if you are prone to being stuck on the rocks?

Common phrases used by those who are passionate about their business as they sail along

“I will do whatever it takes right now”

“I am prepared to take a leap of faith”

“There is no right or wrong time, there’s only time”

“What can I change to move this forward?”

“Let’s talk”

Common phrases used by those who are EQUALLY as passionate but STUCK on the rocks

“I keep on working night and day but I still don’t have enough time/clients/materials/commitment from my workforce or suppliers/……”

“I need to be careful, no rash decisions, I need more evidence/figures/contacts/to be better at social media/a better website”

“I am waiting for…..”

“Why don’t’ they get back to me/do what they said they would/respect what I am trying to do/get why my service is what they need….?”

“I’ll see if they email me back, then I will email them”

If any of this sounds familiar, or you are not too sure, then take the following ‘Stuckness’ Quiz.

(Or, use it with someone you can see repeatedly ending up on the rocks!)

Q.1 Do you regularly feel there is no way forward, as if you are stuck at a barrier or crossroads?

Often                    Sometimes                         Never

Q.2 Are you able to recognise when you are stuck?

Often                    Sometimes                         Never

Q.3 Are there other areas of life you also get stuck in – your relationship, your eating and exercise patterns, your family life?

Often                    Sometimes                         Never

Q.4 Is it more familiar to you to feel stuck than riding on the crest of a wave?

Yes                         Maybe                                  No

Q.5 Are you able to tell someone you are feeling stuck?

Often                    Sometimes                         Never

1. 6 Does being stuck make you jump ship to another project or idea?

Often                    Sometimes                         Never

Is there a pattern emerging? Are you less or more prone to time stuck on the rocks than you realised?

What to do to for more days of sweet sailing with the wind behind you!

You could try any, or all of the following, just take your time or…..you might get stuck!

1. Get a BIG piece of paper. Remember a recent occasion when you felt stuck.                                                         ‘Brain dump’ every word that comes in to your head when you felt stuck with making the decision/ THAT phone call/pulling out of a non-functioning partnership/networking or other commitment/spending money on…..

What can you see?

2. Get a big piece of paper. Chart where you were when the original idea or project, or product came to you – record the vision you had for it then under:

A heading:                  Barriers

Two sub-headings:    Real                       Imagined

Then let the words tumble out and sort them and categorise accordingly.

What can you see?

3. Sit yourself opposite an empty chair – imagine you are having an honest, yet compassionate conversation with yourself about what it feels like to be stuck and how it is serving you?

4. Create time with a coach who can shine a light on what is ensuring you keep sailing on to the rocks of stuckness, and identifies with you real steps you can take to keep on sailing in to the sunset of success!

Henry Thoreau, the famous philosopher, writer, poet and historian, sums up the good news for you, and for your business,

“Things do not change.

We change.”

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To set sail with Jane’s ‘creating change’ coaching:

Email: janeevans61@hotmail.co.uk

Phone: 07455218247

Talk through your needs and schedule your initial consultation.

Stay off the rocks from now onward!