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07 Jul 2011

Growth Coach Challenge – Confront and Slay Your Monster Now

As a business owner, what is the one BIG THING you have been avoiding or putting off?  That one BIG DECISION or ACTION you are unwilling to make?  The BIG MESS you are dodging?  Just acknowledge one … the big, hairy, ugly, scary MONSTER (thing, issue, problem, confrontation, decision or mess) in your professional or personal life you are trying to deny, delay, or ignore.  Got it?

Come on … you know it’s standing right there beside you at all times … you can’t get away from it.  It’s there and you know it; others know it too.  Nobody is fooled.  YOU simply choose to ignore it … delay a critical decision … postpone a decisive action … procrastinate a very necessary yet uncomfortable meeting or discussion.  As like most entrepreneurs, you simply continue on with your day-to-day business as if everything is fine and no monster exists. Guess what?  It’s not fine.  

Your MONSTER issue will not go away on its own and will always be there … only growing bigger, stronger and nastier as time goes by.  Either decide to confront and slay your monster now or you will spend even more time, money and mental anguish down the road getting rid of the ever mounting monster mess, smell, damage, and lingering consequences.  A sad truth for entrepreneurs…monsters NEVER go away on their own and they only get bigger, stronger, costlier, nastier, and more destructive with time.

In fact, if you learn nothing else from this particular Growth Coach blog, it should be this … it’s not that you have a BIG problem (monster) that’s your problem, it’s that you are not confronting your problem on a timely and aggressive basis…that’s the real problem … denial, delay, delusions, and dodging.

This business coaching blog is dedicated to helping you remove the big unresolved issue, mess or dilemma from your business or life. As a business coach for nearly two decades, I have yet to meet a business owner, myself included, that does NOT play the occasional game of denial or delay when it comes to a BIG decision or messy matter.  Since an entrepreneur’s entire week is usually consumed with making countless decisions, one right after another, it’s no wonder we all periodically dismiss or postpone a tougher or bigger decision.  But at what cost to us or the company?

While you may be playing mental denial games with yourself, deep down this delayed decision or unresolved mess is eating away at you, constantly picking at your brain, causing you stress, stealing your energy, hurting your health, impacting your confidence, and continuing to cost you real money.  As your virtual Growth Coach, please bring this big decision, action or unresolved mess front and center so you can properly confront it and regain your freedom, peace of mind, health, confidence, and sanity … no longer wasting money, time, or mental energy.

To slay your monsters, you must face reality and truthfully acknowledge that they exist.  Name them and claim them.  Please be brutally honest when you answer the following business coaching questions.  These questions should help you wake up and clearly see the “monster matters” standing right next to you and breathing down your neck.  Here it goes:

  • What is the big decision you have been avoiding and afraid to make?  The big decision or company problem that is eating away at you morning, noon and night?   The decision or action that will cause real turmoil in your organization but clearly needs to be made?  The family business dynamics that are dysfunctional and need to be addressed?
  • What is the major “mess” in your personal or professional life that is unresolved, draining your energy, causing mental anguish, and needs to be cleaned up … and now?   What have you been praying on but not moving on?  What are you naively wishing would resolve itself?
  • What are some of the tough, cost-cutting measures you have swept under the rug for months?  What critical marketing or sales strategies have you failed to pull the trigger on?  What personnel problems, counseling sessions or terminations are you intentionally avoiding or denying?
  • What important meeting with a customer, vendor, supplier, banker, CPA, attorney, financial adviser, investor, partner, or employee are you avoiding and failing to schedule?
  • What family/home issues or problems need to be discussed and addressed?

Do you see your monsters now?

Of all your answers from above, what is your biggest monster (decision, problem, issue, action, dilemma, mess, confrontation, etc.) you need to confront now?  The one monster causing you the most pain, headaches, stress, and money?  Pick only one … the most pressing and important!  Ignore the smaller monsters for now.  Tackle the biggest, ugliest, messiest, and most frightening monster first … you will feel great, empowered, and relieved when you slay the big one first.  Armed with new confidence and momentum, you will easily confront and slay the smaller monsters.

To effectively slay the #1 Monster in your business or personal life, you need to confront it by giving yourself a definite and short-term deadline to do so.  Access your on-line or off-line calendar system or smart phone right now and schedule within the next 7 days a specific day and block of time for you to slay your monster … to make your decision, solve your problem, take your action, have your meeting, or clean up your mess.  Notify others who need to be involved in this specific monster-slaying session. And please note, a real decision always has real action associated with it … if you make a decision without taking action you are still playing mind games.  You must take decisive ACTION within the next 7 days to at least BEGIN the process of slaying your monster.  Do whatever it takes to resolve the monster issue, problem or mess.  You will feel incredible, liberated, confident, and unbelievably relieved.  Then, put #2 Monster in your sights and so on.  Going forward, promise yourself you will no longer collect monsters … you will slay them as soon as they rise up.

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