Is Your Ladder on the Wrong Wall?

John had a dream. He wanted to live his passion and make a difference in the world. He knew that self-employment was a key to creating wealth and freedom. So John set out to be the owner of his own business. He did everything right. He watched what other successful people were doing. He modeled their behavior, their choices and implemented their strategies for success.

Every day he got up and envisioned his successful business – how he was making a difference in the world, creating 200k+ revenue, and speaking all over the country spreading his message. He even saw clearly how his best-selling book would transform the lives of his target audience. He really was building a successful business and his friends were envious.

One day, he woke up and just couldn’t do it anymore. He was burned out, frustrated and overwhelmed. It was like he had “lost that lovin’ feeling” and his dream was crumbling.

John asked me to help him stop feeling overwhelmed so he could put the fun and freedom back into his life. Within our first conversation, John realized…

He had put his ladder on someone else’s beautiful building!

The success he created was the dream of his mentor – it delivered perfectly the lifestyle SHE wanted – travel, a big team, a celebrity status, a million dollar a year revenue stream! What John failed to realize when he started this journey was that this mentor worked 70 hours a week, didn’t have a successful marriage and was isolated from most of her peers.

John had to admit that he had blindly followed the glitzy excitement of the dream lifestyle but quickly began to realize it wasn’t congruent with his true values and priorities.

Ouch. Now what? John needed to reconnect with his own dream.

Following are 5 Keys to a Business You Love so you can have more time off, rekindle the passion and grow your revenue exponentially.

1) Identify What’s Dragging You Down. Make a list of all the things about your current business that are de-energizing you or taking the fun out of your business. It could be anything from your clients to the work you spend your day doing. By getting it out of your head you can start to find ways to release it.

2) Redefine the Why. Often times we lose the connection to why we created the business in the first place. What did you love the most? If you can “light the fire” and focus on your passion, what would that look like? What do you need to let go of to make room for the passion again?

3) Reconnect with Your Lifestyle. Most people just starting building the business, with little consideration of the ultimate lifestyle goal (travel, time off, volunteering, etc.) When you are living your ideal lifestyle what are you doing? How much travel? What do you do with your “free time?”

4) Clarify Your Role in the Business. In an ideal world, what is your role? What do you do for the business? Are you the brand who tours the country speaking? Or are you in the office managing a team? Or maybe you are the “deal maker” and you have others who fulfill the product solutions.

5) Uplevel Your Standards. Be very clear with yourself and the world around you about what you will (and won’t) do. Set an intention to uphold these standards and watch how the world shifts to accommodate it. For instance, if you know you are at your best with speaking at 2 events per month – then uphold that standard. If you need one full day per week to write and develop product, then schedule it and hold that space sacred!

When you are crystal-clear about how you really want to live and climb your own mountain, you will have an experience of effortless action. It’s almost like you would pay someone else to show up every day and do your work. It’s not a job, it’s an indescribable passion that you are compelled to express. Nothing and no one can stand in your way.

When you reconnect with that lovin’ feeling, watch out world. You will be unstoppable!