Feeling Lost and Changing Things Up
You know that feeling of being lost? Maybe you’ve felt it out bushwalking or wandering around a large shopping mall. Or maybe even driving in a city without any GPS. It’s not a nice feeling. It’s very easy for the thrill of the adventure to be overcome with an increased heart rate, sweaty palms and confusion with which way is north.
I’ve been feeling a bit lost recently. Some changes with Wide Open have meant I’ve had to take stock and re-establish what the future is going to look like. Kinda putting all my life coaching know-how into action! LOL!
These changes have meant seriously scaling back the business. Initially, when I started exploring this as an option, I didn’t want to admit that things were going the way they are. I’m an eternal optimist, and it was this trait that probably hindered me from actually seeing the reality of what was happening. Eventually, I realised I had to make some changes, pick up some more consistent work and let Wide Open recover.
You see, put simply, I was smothering the business. I was pouring so much love, passion and enthusiasm into it that I slowly began to not enjoy it. Sounds weird, but deep down, I wanted it to succeed yet the reality was – it wasn’t. In fact, by most measurements, the business was a complete failure.
I’m OK to admit that now, but in the moment I was petrified. And to be honest, it took me a few weeks to really come to grips with what appeared to be the death of a dream.
So my new job is great. It’s part-time which gives me a real chance to follow through on my responsibilities to my wife and kids to sure up the financial streams.
Furthermore, I can let Wide Open breathe.
Since starting my new job, I’ve had this overwhelming sense that I was smothering Wide Open with false markers of growth. Most of the things I was doing with Wide Open were because I was doing something…not because people were bashing down my door wanting the services I had to offer. And for any budding business owner, take that as a sign that things aren’t tracking as well as they should be.
For now, I’m seeing the forest from the trees. And I’m enjoying life more, even though my dream and business have been placed on life support.
The best bit? We can afford things again without constantly worrying where the next dollars will come from. And I can focus solely on the things that I actually loved doing with Wide Open… 1-1 coaching and workshops.
And even though the road is windy and I think I’m going backwards, there is still forward motion.
Photo by Justin Luebke on Unsplash
