Without fail, every time I talk to a potential client, we talk about all the challenges they’re facing in their business.

My sales are flat. I never have enough time to get everything done. I can’t find good people. The business isn’t making enough money. The list goes on. And on. And on.

These are all extremely valid challenges that every business owner I’ve ever met or worked with has faced. These are all the same ones I’ve faced throughout my career.
So why does this matter?

Here is the truth. Now, it may sting a bit to hear it. You may not want to acknowledge it. You may disagree with me. That’s fine. This is not for you then.

This is for those that want to hear truth no matter how much it may hurt to hear it. This is for those that are willing and open to learn something outside of themselves.

Your business reflects you. It is a reflection of who you are on the inside. I’ll let that sink in for a minute.

This isn’t good or bad…it just is. Now the choice of what you do with that is where it counts.
Business is a game of leadership. The most challenging part of that game is being able to lead yourself first. You will never successfully truly lead others until you can lead yourself. This is the painful truth and the place we most often ignore. It is much easier to point our fingers elsewhere. It is obviously other people that just don’t want to work anymore that is the problem. It’s the current state of the economy. It’s this thing or that thing.
These are all just the stories we tell ourselves so we don’t have to acknowledge or address the real issue…it’s me.

This is the real crucible of leadership. The courage to go inside oneself, to lead oneself. To examine and question our underlying beliefs that are holding us back. One of my favourite authors, Ryan Holiday, has a book “The Obstacle is the Way” and that perfectly sums up the importance of self leadership. It is the one place we most fear to go and the one place we must go if we are to accomplish all we set out to in this game of business. I also highly recommend Jerry Colonna’s book “Reboot: Leadership and the Art of Growing Up” as a starting place.

Does that mean that all the challenges I mentioned earlier don’t apply? Of course not! What it does mean is that if we are genuinely wanting to be successful then we must first be willing to look at ourselves first. By doing that, we can be honest with ourselves and see how we can better lead ourselves to be better able to lead others.
I can guarantee you, based on my own experience and the countless clients I’ve worked with, that your business and your life will immediately change for the better when you have the courage to face the ultimate form leadership.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Go take action.