Why Founders Delay Big Decisions | Full Send
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My son stopped racing off-road dirt bikes two years ago, after 12 years. I was mechanic, driver, hype guy, his full support system. I was also riding and doing some racing before he was even born, which is how he got into it. The racing wasn't just about him. It was my passion, and I've been kicking the can on finding something since.
While he was racing, my excuse for not racing myself was time. It was all about him, and I just didn't have the energy. Now I have all the time and plenty of energy, and I still find myself couch surfing most weekends. I came across a line the other day that was 10,000% me, "My hobbies include going to places an ambulance can't reach...and doing things that might require an ambulance." The excuse I make now is cost, because everything that gets me there is expensive. Motorsports means equipment and travel I can't justify.
Then surfing popped into my head. A board and a wetsuit aren't expensive, so the money excuse was gone, and a new one showed up right behind it. I'd have to drive all the way to the beach, and the water's going to be cold, blah, blah, blah.
There's a difference between reasons and excuses. You can fight through a reason. Mine kept changing while the answer stayed no, and if a client did that in front of me, I'd start asking questions.
The cold water is a real reason. I don't want to get in cold water, and I can fight through that. The belief I'm working through though is that nothing outside of racing will give me that thrill. If I jump in that water, yes, it's going to be cold, but I may love it.
If you run a company, you might read this as a hobby story. Don't. The big decisions are the ones you kick down the street, because like most people you want to mitigate all the risk. We all know that will never happen. Right now, a client of mine has a project he needs to lean in on hard, and he's holding back. He doesn't want to be the mean ogre riding everyone, and he's told me more than once he doesn't want to get where he's going and not recognize the person looking back at him in the mirror.
You want the guarantee and you know you're not going to get it. So what's the real reason here, and what's the story you're telling yourself about it? Maybe you got burned in the past, or you failed before, and there's a fear there, a limiting belief getting in your way. People often make decisions on emotion and justify it with logic. The emotion to do something is there and you struggle with the logic, or vice versa.
I'm a work in progress on this one too. People have heard me say, "get comfortable being uncomfortable" forever. Right now I'm the one who's stuck. The difference is I know my excuses are excuses, and I've got someone with no skin in the game to push me.
What's the "water's cold" you keep giving yourself, and who's pushing you on it?
