I was chatting with a coaching client who has been working on a project that is two years in the making. He has pushed this large, boulder of a project up the hill and now that he is at the top of the hill he sees that there is a large leap of faith he needs to make. And of course he is taking pause at this leap; measuring how far the leap will need to be; maybe even eyeballing how deep the cavern is if he falls short?
His question to me was “Now what?” followed by, “Is there an easier way?” I told him there is an easier path, but it does not include reaching his goal. The path is pretty simple to get to your goal; it’s just not easy.
I told him that he will need to lighten his load by sacrificing something in his life, make the leap and achieve his goal. He snapped back that he has put in all the time to research his project fully. I responded that sacrificing your time was a part of this journey but it was not that big of a leap (his kids are grown and in an ideal stage of life). He continued to plead his case with all the money he spent along the way on consultants and experts. I congratulated him on being so thorough and that he indeed did sacrifice a fair amount of money to get to this spot. But again that was not that big of a leap for him.
I asked him if he felt like he was unprepared for the next step which was presenting his idea to investors. That was clearly not the case as he could speak for hours on the topic and visualize every possible hypothetical scenario. I then asked him what is keeping him from finishing. I left a long silence to let him think and stew and think; a good awkward but powerful silence.
In the end, he was afraid of rejection and his ego was getting in the way. He was already visualizing everybody saying no to his idea. He needed to sacrifice his ego and risk being the rejected expert.
I don’t want to get too deep into the solutions to his fear of rejection. For Christian clients it is so powerful to have an identity in Christ and usually a quick reminder suffices. He literally made an idol of the project and at this moment it was perfect. He did not want the blemish of rejection to ruin all that hard work.
Have you sacrificed something to achieve a goal? Conversely, it is not always a good thing to sacrifice something for another. I have seen men chase money or power at the expense of their relationships. However, I have seen countless men spend a season of less time with their families and with their blessing to help them achieve goals that benefit their family and/or community. And I have seen many men work a second shift on their side project that becomes their life’s work. If you are hearing that small still voice for you to go on a mission, even if it means to sacrifice something of value; pray for wisdom and it may lead to that leap!
P.S. I had a client once say that I surely hadn’t seen Wile E. Coyote before and his great falls. I reponded that I had seen several episodes and Wile E. Coyote survived them all. If you watch closely, Wile E. Coyote falls when he second guesses himself, but he always tries again.
P.S.S. For my Christian brothers who need a reminder of their true identity.
2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV
17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
Ephesians 2:10 KJV
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Be a blessing!
Coach H
It can be pretty easy to lose perspective when we put so much into a project/task/dream that we've lost the forest for the trees!... I do it all the time... until my wife asks: is this really a part of GOD'S plan...or just another project YOU'VE decided is worth all this time and effort?...just sayin' "
AMEN ! Life in Christ makes a life worth living