# Chapter 198

This difficult business decision is, what business are you in? Blair Enns states that this is the reason why most businesses fail. It is also one of the primary reasons people fail in their aspirations and goals and lives, because they haven’t done, or are unwilling to do the difficult work of deciding and understanding what business they are in. Sounds really simply doesn’t it? Well it’s not, and I can vouch for that from much personal experience. And it is a slightly moving target, because businesses and lives change all the time, and thus creates a shift in the difficult business decision. In other words, the difficult business decision requires regular attention and thought. Lots of thought.

Once we understand and know what business we are in, in work or life, we can align actions, streamline decisions, filter out distractions, reduce waste, polish skills, build expertise, facilitate teams of help, accomplish far more! What business are you in? What is the precise purpose of your life? What makes you tick? Where are you heading? What is the end going to look like? All these are the difficult business decision question. But they need tight, no-wiggle, non-vague, well defined answers, otherwise you have nothing but styrofoam in hand (mind). My buddy thinks he is in the plumbing business, but really he is in the drain cleaning business. Drain cleaning is 95% of his business. If you think you are in one business, but you are actually in another, or if you think your life is about this, but its really about that, it will create dissonance in your life and work and prevent you from all that you are capable.

What business are you in?