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I'm Erin — goals coach & productivity strategist for ambitious entrepreneurs. I'm here to help you get more done without burning out.

CEO Mindset

Entrepreneur’s Decision-Making Guide: Is It A No Or A Hell Yes? – Episode 037

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As an entrepreneur, you are tasked with making decisions on a daily basis and unexpected opportunities will arise. So how do you know when you say yes to those opportunities? How do you know when you say yes to making those decisions and when you turn it down? Well, that’s what we’re chatting all about on this episode of the Goal Get It Podcast.

Today I share three concepts to consider while making decisions and moving beyond fear when your “no” isn’ clear. Listen to the process I use personally and with clients to determine “hell yes” or a “hell no”. I also provide a special concept for self-proclaimed people pleasers to make decisions.

Big Takeaways:

  • Listen in to discover the 3-part process to help you create a framework for decision making in your business and your life. 
  • Discover the questions you’ll need to ask yourself to help align your goals and visions to the decisions you make. 
  • Understand why it’s important to examine your intuition, and listen to your gut feelings.

Links In This Episode


Rather read than listen? ⬇️

As an entrepreneur, you are tasked with making decisions on a daily basis and unexpected opportunities arise. So how do you know when you say yes & when to turn it down? That is what we are chatting about today on this episode of the Goal Get It Podcast

Making Decisions As An Entrepreneur

Hey entrepreneur.  How are you feeling about making decisions, my dear? Do you feel that you are constantly second-guessing yourself or you put off making decisions altogether because you just can’t deal. Or maybe you are getting better at making decisions in your life as a mom and partner and friend but those business decisions still make you sweat a bit. I get it!

And you likely already know that as an entrepreneur, as the CEO & founder of your own business, you have to be the one to make decisions— lots of them.  

And you’ve likely heard the whole “if it isn’t a hell yes, it’s a no” adage. That is what all the pretty instagram graphics & motivational wall art pieces say, right?

But when you aren’t used to making decisions, a hell yes or a hell no can be something that you aren’t quite sure of. You may not trust your gut yet and you second guess yourself because is it really a hell yes or is that your impulsive nature clouding your judgment. Or is it really a no because you have a few reservations born from fear, not a lack of alignment. Maybe that whole intuitive knowing thing that people talk about isn’t something you are used to so you don’t know if it is intuition or not. I mean, how do you tell?

How do you tell if it’s a hell yes or a hell no?

First of all, it’s ok, this decision-making thing takes practice. You are gonna make the wrong decision sometimes & that is okay, it’s normal. We all do it. I have made decisions that when I look back, I wish I would’ve done differently. It happens. But life isn’t usually defined by any one decision that you make. It is made up of millions of decisions that you make every day, every week, every month, and each and every year of your life. 

But how do you get over that initial fear to begin making decisions more confidently to get better & better? 

No, I am not going to suggest that you just throw a dart or flip a coin and go with that. You can follow a simple process. 

How do you know what feels like a hell yes & no?

Steps to Make A Decision Confidently

Know your vision. There is no one right answer for everyone. It has to do with where you are and where it is that you want to go. So you have to know what you are working towards. Which is why the first step in this process if to know your vision. By starting with your own vision, you are creating goals, a plan, a journey that inherently mean something to you. 

Rather than trying to fit decisions into the context of your future and life, you start with that future life and see if your decisions align with that vision.

And by vision, I don’t mean a checklist of the cool cars and vacation homes you hope to have, though feel free to put those in, too. 

It goes much deeper than that. It’s not just about the things you have because really material things can’t motivate us in the same way as growth, accomplishment, opportunity, and comfort. 

While collecting Mercedes & ski lodges in Colorado is awesome and can be a big part of your dream life 10 years from now, seeing the ways in which you are showing up, serving, and standing up for what is important to you just goes a bit deeper when the journey to get there gets a little rocky. 

In essence, you need to focus on who you want to be & what you want to do rather than just what you want to have.

Then you want to look at a decision and ask yourself if it is pushing you toward that vision or not. 

That is step 2 in this process: evaluating whether an opportunity moves you towards your goals or distracts you from them. Knowing everything that you know and intentionally moving toward achieving your goals goes a long way in giving you the confidence you need in making decisions. So by understanding your vision, you have a filter, a decision filter through which you can pass new opportunities, to see how they align FOR YOU. 

And finally, examine your intuitive hit. Yes, I want you to imagine making a choice and see how it feels. Does it feel scary? Probably and that’s okay. But does that nervousness feel expansive like the whole sky just opened up, or does it feel constrictive, like you are trapped in a tiny black box and can’t get out. Then ask yourself “What am I leaning towards? Why do I feel like I’m leaning towards it?” Is it really important to the values, vision, and goals you have for yourself? Or is it what will keep people around you happy? 

A Letter To People Pleasers

I wanna call out my self-proclaimed people pleasers for just a second. My dear, if you identify as a people pleaser, please know that I see you and I feel you. I know you’ve had experiences in your life that have led you to wearing that label, and I’m guessing many of those experiences came out of self-preservation. Feeling accepted and loved and surviving have led you to feel that you need to live your life for everyone else. To make decisions that align with others’ expectations. And I know what that is like. I truly do. I used to make decisions based on what I was supposed to do to make my mom happy, to make my dad proud, to impress a guy, or to stay connected to friends who wanted me to behave in certain ways.  But I’ve been working for a few years now to break that habit and I can tell you that making the decision to begin living for my own vision, my own pursuit of happiness, my own true joy, and my own accomplishment has been the absolute best damn decision I have ever made. So, my dear friend, I am going to ask you to make a very important decision right now: will you keep the label of people pleaser or will you shed it to begin living life on your own terms and let the right people find you, because my dear, they absolutely will. 

Still confused. Okay, now is the time you can flip a coin or throw a dart. Not because that will be your deciding factor but because when the coin is in the air or once you let the dart fly, you’ll suddenly know which one you really wanted all along. 

I have actually used this technique in my coaching decisions before and my oh my does it work wonders. Just get someone else to flip the coin or throw that dart. Trust me. 

Decision-making is something you get to practice because when it becomes a practice, it becomes second-nature, something you’ve intentionally created space for and systems around, making it easier for you to do it better and better. But remember, practice doesn’t make perfect. Practice makes it a practice and that is so much more powerful.

Want to make decision making even easier by having hard data aka your own numbers at your finger tips so you can make smart strategic decisions about what is working for you and what isn’t? Well, I want to invite you to head on over to workwithprocess.co/scorecard to grab my Weekly Success Scorecard, a free metrics tracking spreadsheet for you to use to gather and monitor what is and isn’t working for you. This is the exact spreadsheet I use in my own business and you can grab it for free at erinhaworth.com/scorecard

Action Step:

I always like to end each episode with an action step that you can take right now to help you move forward and begin to implement immediately. Here is your action step for this episode: What do you need in your life to begin making hell yes or hell no decisions? Ruminate on this, journal, talk it out, whatever you need to do to process this question. (Heck you can even DM me or email me and we can have a convo there about it.) Understand what you need and then start doing THAT. 

Goal-Getting

CEO Mindset

Personal Productivity

Business Strategy

Categories

Check out VIP Days

Access My Free Resource Library

work with me

Book a Clarity Call

Create a Custom Success Plan for You & Your Small Business

Intentionally Cultivating Habits That Work Now + Pivoting When They Stop Working

The Real Fear Holding You Back From A Successful Business 

Create An Aligned Roadmap to Achieving Your Big Goals 

podcast episodes

top downloaded

tune into the show on apple podcasts!

I'm Erin — goals coach & productivity strategist for ambitious entrepreneurs. I'm here to help you get more done without burning out.

search our show notes!

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