Halfway through writing the book, I stalled, stopped and walked away – why? Because I started asking myself all the questions that we ask ourselves when we are doing something new or different.

Who is going to want to read this? Who is going to buy this? Why have I put a deadline on getting this done? Why am I putting myself out there for ridicule?

Having these conversations (in my own mind) made me stop and walk away. They made the doubts creep in and get in my way. What I realised was that I was going to need to use my own advice (don’t we all!) in getting back to it and working through the doubt, rather than stopping for good.

So, as with all good solid foundations, I went back to my basics to built my self-belief.

I asked myself three questions:

• Am I clear on why I am doing this and do I have clarity on why it is important?
• Do I know the direction I am wanting this to take me and am I making the right decisions to get me there?
• How can I create the environment to focus and what is the very next step that I need to focus on to get it done?

Let’s start at the beginning, it is a very good place to start… getting clarity on your “why” will provide you with the drive and urgency to get something done. When you can really answer the question of why it is important that you do what you WANT to do, it starts to build the self-belief in you that it is necessary to keep going. For me, I knew that writing the book, with a step by step guide on how to doubt yourself less would propel the businessowner to do more of what they wanted to do for their own business growth, and that is so important to me. I hear from clients all the time about what they are told they can do, or what they should do, but our businesses are built on what we want to do and that comes from answering question one and being clear on why this is important to you. It gives heart to the “thing” and makes the blood, sweat, tears and angst, worth it.

Moving on to the direction. This is where you can see the clear path to the outcome of what you are building, whether it be a single service or product, or a business model. If your path is cluttered with distractions, doubts and comparison-itis, then we find it hard to take that next step. So what do you need or want to clear from your path and can you see the end goal of what this will look like.

Now, that you have clarity and direction, where do you need to focus your attention and your energy to get it done? My first step when I need to focus, is to look around at my working environment. It may seem like another thing on your endless to-do (ta-da??) list, but to get my work space clear and clean makes me feel like being more productive. What makes your environment feel more productive? Maybe it is grabbing that next cup of coffee, maybe it is opening a window, maybe it is taking yourself out of your normal working environment and going to a café or co-working space – whatever it is, DO IT.  When you have a productive environment, make a decisive decision on what is the very next thing that you need to do to work towards your end goal.

Then, take ACTION.

This is what I did. I got clear on why this book was important to me and to the end goal of my business. I allowed the thoughts that I was having to become drivers towards getting it out there and I wrote and (self) published the book within 3 months of starting it. I often get asked how I get things done so quickly and efficiently, the answer is two-fold. Firstly, I hear the doubts, I banish the doubts and I build my self-belief in what I want to do with my business (and for myself). Secondly, I go back to basics; clarity, direction and focus brings me out of stuck and into action and action takes us past fear and through to success.

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