Are You Handcuffing Yourself?

To catch a thief means the end of the pain that is caused when something is stolen from you.  Yet, there a thieves in our businesses and lives that steal from us and we don’t even realize it is happening.  

Whether you are an individual, self-employed business owner, entrepreneur or solo professional to have the success you desire you must become good at catching a thief.  A thief, for purposes of this post, is anything that you tolerate.  

All of us have tolerations which can drain us.  Tolerations steal from us. The key to have the success you desire is to minimize or eliminate your tolerations.  Believe it or not, it can be done.  

The Thief Of Energy

 To me, and from what I have observed in my personal business coaching practice, the thief of energy affects everything else.  What can steal your energy?  There are many things. 

• How you think about a situation.
• How you feel about someone or something
• Inefficient business processes
• Personal issues 

These are just a few.  Take a look at these and see what you can change.  When you have something that is draining your energy you have a choice.  You can expand its presence which is not good.  You can limit its presence which is better.  Or, you can eliminate its presence, which in many cases in the best alternative.  

The Thief Of Time 

In business coaching with individuals, self-employed business owners, entrepreneurs and solo professionals one of the most common challenges has to do with time.  We are confronted with time wasters from unnecessary interruptions to ways of doing things that could be done better and faster.

All of us have 24 hours in a day.  We start on an equal footing.  The key is to understand how you are spending your time.  People talk about how time gets stolen from them.  Maybe others are stealing it.  Who is the real thief?  Very often it is the person themselves.  

If they only understood what they were doing and how they are doing it. By changing how they are doing what they are doing they could be more productive.  Once again, look at the tolerations that are stealing time.  Here’s a little tip.  Very often the thief that is stealing your energy is the same one that is stealing your time.  

The Thief Of Indecision 

If you have tolerations that are stealing your energy and your time you most likely will be experiencing the thief of indecision.  Every thief is costly but this one can be the costliest.  When your energy is low and you feel rushed for time it is a challenge to make good decisions.  

How come the thief of indecision is the costliest?  It steals your ability to grab opportunity.  In running a small business you may the greatest opportunity in front of you, but if you don’t have the energy or don’t feel you have the time, you won’t take advantage of it.  

In seeking personal and small business success you must be aware of your tolerations.  Constantly work to minimize or eliminate them .  You may have the best startup business plan or marketing business plan.  Yet, they will never take you to where you want to go until you identify and eliminate the thieves in your business and life.  

Take a sword, saw or whatever tool you like to eliminate each thief.  Remember the benefit to catching a thief.  When you catch a thief you will have more energy, manage your time better and make better decisions.