Like conflict, clarity and success aren’t for the feint hearted. Do you really want your business to fly? Are you prepared to submit to the rigour, even the brutality, that clarity of purpose requires?
Clarity doesn’t come to most of us like it did to St Paul on the road to Damascus.
It’s not a blinding flash of insight; a serendipitous meeting; a lucky conversation in a bar. Most businesses—like most people—never attain true clarity.
What is clarity, and why is it so important?
Clarity is:
- knowing exactly what your goals are
- knowing exactly when you will achieve them
- knowing the costs of achieving.
Is there another way of looking at clarity, not in the abstracts of vision, determination, purpose, and discipline but in the very practical applications of our daily lives?
The clarity paradox
Greg McKeon, author of the best-selling Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of the Less, talks about ‘the clarity paradox’. It’s a phenomenon where so many successful people and businesses fail to capitalize on the clarity that brought them success to achieve higher accomplishments.
He divides the clarity paradox into four phases:
- Real clarity of purpose brings success
- Success leads to more options and opportunities
- More options and opportunities lead to distraction and diffusion of effort
- Distraction an diffusion undermine the clarity that brought the initial success
De-clutter your closet
He uses de-cluttering your closet as an analogy for clarity.
Get up, right now, and go stick your head in your closet. What do you see?
Do you see a cramped dungeon bulging with last decade’s fashions that you don’t wear but can’t part with? Now ask yourself this simple question. Will I ever again be seen in public in this item of clothing?
You already know the answer. So give the item to someone who may have less choice. And clear the space so you can see—with instant clarity—what you should wear.
Now, take a peek in your pantry. Is it a sticky jumble of half used packets, mould encrusted condiments, and unidentifiable substances years past their use by date?
Go on. An hour’s work or less, and you can see where your next meal is coming from or what you need to do to make it.
Any number of metaphors and analogies can persuade you that clearing the fog from your thinking is the best way to start, continue, or re-orientate your business.
What can you do?
But when you’re in a fog how do you know which way to turn? If you’re on your own and with your vision constricted, what can you do?
Start by listening. And the best way to listen is to ask yourself some pointed questions. McKeon suggests these:
- What do I love doing?
- What am I really good at?
- What meets an important need in the world?
- What in my life is essential, and what is non-essential?
- What activity/ies can I eliminate before I add another?
- What would I sacrifice for a new opportunity?
Clear the Fog
It may seem incredible, but most people struggle to answer all of these questions because they find them confronting. And that’s where our facilitated Clear the Fog session comes into its own.
Clear the Fog is a proven method of distilling the clarity in your life or business to the simple, crystal-clear and rock-hard truths you need to achieve success. More than 60 years of distilling our process for you prove the point.
We look forward to working with you to Clear the Fog. Let’s connect in Linkedin.
Or if you would to know more about how we can work with you, book a free 20 minute chat below: