Grab the Floatie

One Saturday morning, I woke up in a complete sweat. I was scheduled to speak within the next two hours. I was frustrated. The bills were piling up. My employees were disgruntled. I had thought I would be in a different place in my business by this point and I wasn’t. Nothing seemed to be going right. I was in a panic. 

As an organizer, I had come across a book, Drowning in Clutter: Don’t Grab a Floatie… Drain the Ocean by Dana White. I loved the concept of this book. I never read the book. To me, the title said it all. When you are drowning, if you have the option, you stop the flow of water and let it drain.   That analogy works well when you have control of the ‘figurative’ water. When you have too many expenses, too much stuff, too many employees, too many policies, too many tasks, don’t add more. First stop the flow and then drain the extra out in order to find yourself on solid ground again.  

Simplify. Streamline. Focus.

I couldn’t even see the floatie if I had wanted to grab it! I was drowning and I didn’t even know where the water shut off was. Things were murky.
More and more, I am finding that business owners need a new floaty analogy. This time, when you are in the ocean, feeling alone, you need to grab the floatie! Often, you cannot see where the water shut off is until you grab the floatie. When you are paddling for dear life, just trying to keep your head above water, grab the floatie.

I was that business owner, I couldn’t see that help was right in front of me. I reached out to a friend via Facebook Messenger. I had no idea if she would also be awake at 7am on a Saturday, but thankfully she was. I explained all the terrible things going on. All my woes. My ocean of worries, bills, frustrations, and failures. 

I told her, “I just want someone to swoop in and rescue me.” 

She immediately responded with Lisa Nichols’ video, “I am my own rescue.” I watched it. And the next link she sent as well. We laid out a plan of the priority activities to engage in to help me get ‘unstuck’.  I kept that list in front of me and gauged every activity off of them. I was able to drain the ocean and get back on solid ground.

Clarity

You know that feeling. The one where the ocean is washing over you and you just can’t see. You need clarity. I’ve been there. I’ve been to that place that seems hopeless and feels like there is no help anywhere. The reality is that we are never alone and help is always nearby. 

Help was always right in front of me. The same is true for you. Are your eyes shut tight as you tread water and gasp for air?  Don’t add another resource until you open your eyes and look for the floatie. Breathe. Look around you. I’d love to share the process with you that we worked through that morning. Email me at info@sappariconsulting.com with the Title, ‘Floatie’