Here’s a conundrum.

As a business coach, I am often faced by potential clients and even those in the middle of our contract who say: “I know that I want to change my business around and derive more money, but actually……….I do not like what I am doing.”

It sounds contradictory, but it is not. How so?

Let me start with a blog that appeared this week on the Harvard Business Review and was later well-circulated. It looks at ways to make work more meaningful, because that is a key factor to allow people to thrive,  both professionally and personally. The author examines ‘autonomy’ – the perceived freedom to determine your own surroundings and techniques.

That is important for an employee. And that is often a prime motivating force, which encourages entrepreneurs to set up on their own. However, what happens if you have made that leap, and you are still unhappy? What then?

When faced with such a position, I often ask my clients (business owners): Assume that tomorrow, you were earning considerably more money doing what you are today, would you then be happier? The answer is usually a resounding yes.

Then, I set out to map the steps, which will take them along the path to financial triumph. And here lies the catch. Every now and again, I realise that a few clients are not moving ahead. They are dragging , procrastinating, missing deadlines, etc.

So, I ask them why. At this point, the challenge is on and it is time for them to stop hiding behind generic phrases. It is these people who often relate just ‘how hard it is for them’. And when I push that bit more and question what is actually tough, after much puffing and deep thought, the puss of the truth spills out: I do not want to be doing this. I am here for my spouse. I fell into it by accident and I am desperate to get out. Aha!

So, the next time you hear yourself or a friend say please help me with my career or my business, maybe the first thing to discover is  what it is that they actually want to be doing. What is the vision?