Last month’s newsletter on getting to ‘the top’ evoked lots of positive reactions from entrepreneurs all over the globe! I wanted to continue the discussion this month on a few things that stop us from getting there more quickly and more easily.

One of the things that I notice is that it can be challenging to know what to do next. Doesn’t it sometimes feel like everything needs first place in your life? What do you do first? What is the most important? How do you fit it all in? Sometimes you can feel like you are going around in circles as you try to do too much and consequently accomplish virtually nothing!

One of the reasons that I have discovered entrepreneurs don’t take appropriate action and prioritize is because they aren’t clear on their vision. If you don’t know where you are going, it’s pretty difficult to know what you need to do to get there. I personally notice on weekends when I have a ‘let’s see what happens and what I feel like doing’ kind of attitude, I waste the most time and do the least number of things. That’s okay for a weekend or two a month, I actually believe it’s even highly desirable - but it’s certainly not the way I run my business or life most of the time.

If you are going to get to the top you need to know what the top is for you and prioritize what you need to get there. I know that it still sounds easier than it is. Trust me, this is not as simple as the personal development and time management experts make out, so don’t feel bad if you feel like you haven’t quite got it yet!

So why isn’t it easier to move ahead in your business and just get it done?

I have asked that question of myself a thousand different times and there are lots of reasons, but today I want to talk about a couple important and common ones I’ve discovered personally.
In my recent work with clients, I am noticing that many of them are dealing with genetic coding that says ‘life is hard’, money can’t come easy, or you need to struggle.’ Do any of those sound familiar?

Many of us come from a generation that was raised by parents that went through a war, the Depression or come from cultures where times were tough. I know that my father, born in Russia in the 1920’s spent his formative years dealing with a country in turmoil, his family victims of religious persecution as Mennonites, and then came to Winnipeg when he was seven. He didn’t speak English and they were too poor to buy him shoes in the middle of a Winnipeg winter. I always remember my father’s shoe fetish and need to have a pot of soup on the stove. They were his symbols of security and wealth. However, genetically I inherited that ‘people are out to get me’ and ‘I need to struggle to prove that I am strong’ coding that I have been able to reprogram. I have needed to remember at the deepest cellular levels that these aren’t the 1920’s and that this isn’t the Depression.

I am working with my clients to help them realize that they don’t need to struggle, suffer or be persecuted for their talents and gifts just because their ancestors were. Do you believe that you need to suffer or struggle? Or do you believe at the deepest levels that your journey to the top can be done with ease and grace? Not sure. Look at your life - the results don’t lie. If you are struggling, then at some level, that’s what you believe needs to happen in your life.

Several of my clients have had an aversion to the responsibility of success when we dug deep into their belief system. Interestingly, many of them were the older siblings and when the younger ones came along, the feelings of responsibility weighed heavily upon them. Many remembered being angry and resentful at the obligations and responsibilities that Mom put on them to help out, take care and look after. Today, their businesses evoke the same feelings of overwhelm, anger, guilt and fear. So to avoid the responsibility of success, they simply are avoiding success - all subconsciously of course - but the relationship to their childhood belief around responsibility has been revealing. You’ll never make it to the top if you are ‘freaked out’ by the responsibility of being there!

Because we are so disconnected at many levels from the natural guidance we receive daily from a Universe that wants to support us, many entrepreneurs are floundering, not knowing what to do next. They get a hunch but don’t trust themselves to follow it or listen to it. Consequently, after years or decades of not listening to the wisdom from above and from within, the channels to that wisdom have become faint or weak. It’s oftentimes a constant battle between forging ahead with a plan despite having a feeling that it’s not right and following the wisdom of staying still long enough to get the next step or steps.

Many entrepreneurs also believe that every step of the way for the next five years will be laid out for them like a manual for setting up their DVD player. No! Each step will often come one at a time and you will need to take that one step before the next one becomes obvious.

Dealing with the various emotions that are driving your life is part of the process. My motto that ‘You don’t get what you want in your business, you get who you are’ is truer than most entrepreneurs want to believe. How are you working through your challenges and obstacles to success? I have discovered that they rarely just disappear on their own without some effort on my part!

Setting priorities is a daily task. Waiting for the next step often requires patience. Life as an entrepreneur is a constant revisitation process to your journey, your path, your Assignment with lots of questions and potentially fewer answers.

It’s a fabulous journey to the top, your top. Hang in there, keep going. You can do it. You know, it’s only the bravest of souls that make the journey! So congratulations for being one of them.

With love and light,

Jan

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