Do You Have to Figure it All Out Before You DO?

Dear Anne:

I feel really stuck. I'm really afraid if I make a move in my business, I'll make the wrong move and it will cost me time and money. So I don't do anything!

But this doesn't work either, because well, I'm not doing anything! I want a straight and clear path that I can take to build my business. Help!

Dear Divine One -

If only. I hate to break the news to you, but there are no straight lines to building your business. (sorry)

I wish there were. Because if there were, then everyone would have immediate and sustained success and we would all have incredible businesses, right?

Actually, the biggest challenge I'm hearing you say is this: you don’t trust yourself enough to take action. Any action.

Remember when your children were little? And they were learning how to walk? They didn’t have to know how to walk. They couldn’t know. They hadn’t done it before, right? But did it stop them from trying? Did it stop them from bumping into things and falling down and getting back up and trying again?

Of course not. But somehow, when we grow up, we think that we have to know how to do everything and that we can’t fall down and make mistakes. Or bump our knees. Or our heads a little.

Building a business is all about doing. It’s all about trying something out and then editing as you go. About learning what works and what doesn’t. Because you aren’t going to know until you try.

Think about riding a bicycle for a moment. You can look at the bike, you can touch the bike, you can sit on the bike, and you can imagine yourself riding the bike. You can even read all about what it feels like to ride a bike.

But how will you ever understand HOW to balance yourself unless you get on the bike and learn what balance feels like?

You won’t.

• The same with building a business.
• The same with marketing yourself.
• The same with having a sales conversation.
• The same with serving your clients.

You won’t know how to do any of these things until you do them and do them clumsily.

Don’t worry. You’ll get better at it.

But only if you DO them.

The road to building a business is a very winding one, with lots of turns and hidden entries, with delight around most corners.

But the only way to see the delightful surprises is to go. Do. And experience.