Did you know that March 8 is recognized annually as International Women’s Day? In fact, the world has been celebrating International Women’s Day for over 100 years! I always make it a point to acknowledge this occasion, and this year I particularly like the theme they have chosen: “Accelerate Action.”

Action is a mindset and a choice. In any given situation, you can choose to do something good, to do something bad, or to do nothing at all. This is true in our professional and personal lives.

We face countless decisions every day. Accelerating action means being willing to make quick, decisive choices, and in doing so, push ourselves, our business, and our success forward.

Of course, accelerating action in your life does not mean throwing caution to the wind. We must still do our due diligence when making decisions. But ultimately, we need to trust in God and God’s path for us, and make choices before we become paralyzed by indecision.

Indecision kills opportunity.

When you hesitate to make decisions in business, you can miss out on countless opportunities. If you hold back from offering an innovative new service, you give your competitors the ability to be first to market. If you hesitate to accept an offer to speak at an upcoming conference, you lose out on the ability to get your name out there and reach prospective new clients.

According to noted entrepreneur and author Jim Rohn, “Indecision is the thief of opportunity and enterprise. It will steal your chances for a better future.” Unfortunately, I’ve met many entrepreneurs who have allowed their indecisive nature to limit their success in business.

Indecision kills time. 

Think of all the time you spend overthinking all the reasons why you should or shouldn’t take action. Instead, imagine if you made a decision first and invested your time strategizing about what practical steps you can take to make that decision a success.

Indecision kills confidence.

The more you second guess your choices, the more you wonder whether you’re really cut out for business leadership. After all, business executives constantly have to make decisions that affect the growth of their business. When your confidence wavers, your ability to network, market, and sell effectively suffers.

You deserve better than to allow indecisive tendencies to kill your opportunities, time, or confidence. It takes decisive action to build a sustainable, profitable Legacy Business.

Here are 3 practical action steps you can take today to become a more decisive entrepreneur:

1. Recognize the outcome of indecision.

When you find yourself faced with a difficult decision, think about what impact NOT making a decision or delaying the decision will have on your business. For instance, if you aren’t sure what the best strategy to use in your social media marketing is so you don’t post on social media at all, consider the impact. You won’t build rapport with prospective clients and your competitors will dominate the conversation! Spend a few minutes contemplating the impact of your indecision. What will happen if you do nothing? If this outcome isn’t acceptable to you, you’ll have a natural incentive to reach a conclusion and move forward deliberately.

2. Set a deadline.

One of the reasons entrepreneurs struggle with indecision is because they often don’t have established deadlines. An account executive at an advertising firm may not know which slogan to go with or which voice actor to choose for a commercial, but when they’re up against the clock, they have to push themselves to be decisive. One way to move past your indecision is to set yourself hard deadlines. Make sure to factor in time to conduct an analysis, do your research, and (when appropriate) gather input from those you trust.

If you meet your deadline and you still haven’t decided, flip a coin. It may sound overly simplistic, but if you can’t make a choice then it’s likely your intuition telling you that it’s either not that important or neither option is superior to the other.

3. Trust your first instinct.

Once you’ve used your rational mind to weigh the pros and cons of each decision, trust your intuition. Your first gut instinct will often guide you in the right direction.

Trusting your gut is actually quite different than flipping a coin. According to Melody Wilding, a licensed therapist and professor of human behavior at Hunter College, “Your gut feeling is the collection of all your subconscious experiences…It’s this unconscious-conscious learned experience center that you can draw on from your years of being alive…It holds insights that aren’t immediately available to your conscious mind right now, but they’re all things that you’ve learned and felt.”

Have the confidence to listen to that wise inner voice.

The worst decision is indecision.

Remember, even the wrong choice is better than no choice at all. When you make a decision and it doesn’t work out, you can reflect on what went wrong, make appropriate changes and move in a more productive direction. But when you’re crippled by indecision, your business becomes stagnant. It doesn’t have an opportunity to grow.

Many of the clients I have worked with at Celeste Giordano Coaching have struggled with indecision. I always offer my support and guidance based on decades of experience to help simplify the decision-making process. But more importantly, I teach the business professionals I work with to develop the tools and skills they need to make their own decisions with greater clarity and confidence.

Find the courage within yourself to take decisive action. Contact me TODAY to “Double Plus” your income THIS year.

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Celeste Giordano’s mission is to help business owners develop the skills, knowledge and attitude necessary to “DoublePlus™” their income and become effective and inspirational leaders in their fields. Whether it’s taking your successful business to the next level or starting a new venture, she will teach you the exact skills and strategies you need to enroll more quality prospects, build a rock-solid team, and break through obstacles to achieve real profit and lasting success. Celeste is a professional business growth specialist, a master sales strategist, and dynamic speaker with more than 40 years experience in direct sales and managing high-performing teams.

To learn more about Celeste, click here.

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