I don’t care how long you’ve been in business, you’re in the gap.
Sometimes that gap is feels like an ocean.
Sometimes that gap is more like a little creek.
Either way, you have to go through the mess to get to the other side.
That’s what I’m talking about this week on The Brave Yes CEO Show.
Listen to this episode now or keep reading below …
What is the gap?
The gap is that learning space of where you are and where you want to be. You are standing on the cusp of a field of change and you have no idea how to get to the other side. That is the gap.
There’s a problem in your business, and you need to solve it.
What is the messy middle?
The messy middle is where you try and test and experiment to get narrow the gap, to get closer and closer to the other side.
Are you in the Messy Middle?
How to know if you are in the messy middle
What is the Sacred Middle?
First, let me share a few lines from a poem by Jeff Foster:
Don’t hold on. Don’t let go. Stay right in the middle.
When sorrow visits. When melancholy erupts. When loneliness and disappointment burn.
Stay right in the middle. Don’t hold on. Don’t let go.
The middle is the place where alchemy happens.
How do Growing Pains Show Up in a Business?
As we are moving through the gap, that’s when we encounter all of our growing pains.
Growing pains are necessary evils that are required of us when we are in expansion mode.
What are some of the growing pains — aka messy middles — of a business?
— overwhelm
— bored
— burn out
The thing about the messy middle is this: it often takes a Breakdown to make a change big enough to get through it.
Often, the breakdown leads to a breakthrough.
That happens to me over and over again. I hit the messy middle. I breakdown. The breakthrough happens. I keep going.
The part of this that I am most passionate about is helping you through the messy middle of change. Any change.
- Simplifying your business is a change that can be just as overwhelming because editing out what needs to go is hard, hard work.
- Changing your business model is change and hard to do because you’re afraid of leaving people behind — or things not working out.
- Building something new while keeping something going is challenging terrain that is best done with support, motivation and inspiration rather than doing it yourself. I’ve been there. The discomfort of investing in support is better than the discomfort of ending up down the wrong path and having to reroute.
I know, I’ve been there. I’ve crawled through the trenches and traveled through the weedy terrain of the messy middle of change many times.
How to get through the messy middle to the other side?
When I had reached burn out with my first business, I had a few levels of messy middle to travel through.
First there was the messy middle of knowing a change was needed but not sure how to go about it.
Then there was the messy middle of making that change.
And then, finally, there was the messy middle of moving into my next thing and feeling strong in it. In this case, I’m talking about my Brave Yes Coaching program.
Along the way, I’ve learned a lot about growing the gap that I share with my clients who are doing the same thing.
For example, Let’s say you have a business model that isn’t working for you and you want to make some big changes.
3 Tips for Growing through the Gap:
- Make sure you know where you are going. Having a blueprint — not just for your business – but for your life is essential. Even if you don’t know where you want to be in retirement, know how you want to be living a year from now before you step out on your path. This helps you find the best path to the change you want to make. Taking any path will take you to anyone’s dream. Your goal should be to do what feels right for you.
- Know what it’s going to take to get to the desired change. Not just the steps but the inner work that you need to do to get you through the challenging moments. The steps need to be clear and precise but also offer room for flexibility.
- Connect with your Brave Yes Mindset. A big part of the work I do with my clients is on being steady with a growth mindset. The gap is large but not impossible. The gap is uncertain but not out of reach. The gap is scary but not a horror movie.
Are you growing through the gap right now? Let’s talk about your Brave Yes Life & Business Goals. I love to hop on clarity calls with potential clients and walk you through a series of questions to help understand where you are and where you want to grow and go. Learn more and sign up here.
