This story is from my dim, dark past, with “dark” being the key word... read on, it’ll make more sense. It gives context to a number of personal insights into the challenges faced by business owners everywhere, together with some thoughts on how to resolve them.

While the story is important, if you’re one of those people who needs to cut to the chase, either due to a lack of time or lack of attention, then head to the section titled The Insights I Gained, otherwise I hope you enjoy!

Two factors that dramatically impact our ability to "achieve outcomes" are stress and overwhelm.

Look at the picture above and guess how heavy the glass of water is?

Would it surprise you to know that the absolute weight doesn’t matter? It depends on how long I hold it for. If I hold it for a minute it’s not a problem. Hold it for an hour and my arm will start to ache. Hold it for a day and my arm will feel numb and paralysed.

It was 3.00 pm on a cold and wet Wednesday afternoon when Jake walked into the bar. The place was quiet apart from the TV on the wall which was tuned to the local sports station. He sat on a stool at the far end and ordered a beer.

Dave, the barman, who was a pretty good judge of people, could sense the anxiety within Jake.

Is your environment really limiting your personal growth?

Over the years I've heard lots of animal stories that reinforce ideas about people and business. They can put both clearly in perspective - even when they're not even true.

The humble goldfish has long been used for this very purpose.

In building a 20/20 Business, a structure that delivers you total control and ultimate freedom, you must first build and secure your core foundations of leadership, team, finance, operations and marketing & sales. You need to drive them deep until they’re resting on solid bedrock.

Unfortunately, most people who start, buy or inherit their own business will end up as an exhausted failure rather than the successful developer of their own “freedom” machine. Most have been struck with an entrepreneurial seizure - there’s the manager who takes redundancy and starts a consultancy business, the labourer who quits to become a contractor or a cook who opens her own restaurant.