The three of us sat there in anxious silence as we considered the two options. We either file for bankruptcy or we double-down on our investment. Our 5-year old company was out of money. Every business I’ve started has a moment. It’s that punch-in-the-gut moment when you’ve got to make a big decision. There will come a time when you reach the fork in the road and a critical decision must be made. This is when the story gets compelling.

Great fiction authors know this is true. That’s why the hero will always be faced with a choice that leads to consequences. If you want to achieve great things when you’re faced with the choice, you’ll need three things. Nothing great was ever accomplished without these three ingredients. One word of warning before we continue, just knowing these three ingredients doesn’t make implementing them any easier!

First, Be Willing to CHANGE

Just by simple definition, accomplishment implies something new was achieved. If it is new and different, then it involved change. I can here you now, “Gee, Russ… are you applying for the new Capt. Obvious position?” As simple as this sounds, it still amazes me when I catch myself thinking I can accomplish new goals, but I never put any thought into what I will need to change.

Maybe we can start by focusing on your willingness to accept change. If you’re not willing to step into change you won’t get too far. Whether you see yourself as someone who embraces change or someone who approaches it with caution, great accomplishments always include a change. And, change that leads to great accomplishment means hard work. Others are watching you to lead them through change. Be ready for it.

Second, Accept the RISK

All change comes with risk. From my experience, there seems to be a positive correlation between the amount of risk and the size of the accomplishment. If there’s more risk involved, the success story is usually viewed as a greater achievement. Accepting risk takes courage, plain and simple. But the enemy is that little voice you hear in your head focusing your attention on the risk and the costs of failure. The hope and intent of the enemy is to keep you at the fork.

As humans we do what we can to reduce risk at every fork in the road. We even created an entire industry to do just that! It’s called insurance. Reducing your risk can be done with preparation, planning, and insurance. But always remember, nothing great was ever accomplished without risk. There will always be some risk.

Finally, don’t listen to that enemy voice telling you to “just stay where you are.” While staying put feels like the least-risk option, eventually your indecision creates an even greater risk. At some point there is more risk in staying at the fork than in choosing a path. When you’re prepared to accept the risk, you’re ready to move on to the third ingredient.

Third, Make Your DECISION

Well, here you are… standing at the fork. You’re willing to change and accept some level of risk. So what do you do now? It’s time to make a decision. As the leader, others are looking to you for stability during the decision and throughout the change.

Great accomplishments aren’t admired if the positive result can be tied back to an easy decision and pure luck. For example, if you win the lottery, the toughest decision you made was to spend $1 to get your ticket! We would call that luck not accomplishment. Why do we call it luck? Because you made an easy decision, which required no significant change, and only risked $1 of your income.

To be considered an accomplishment, you have to make the tough DECISION to CHANGE knowing there is an inherent RISK involved… but you knew the fork was coming. It always does. You’ve prepared for this. Now get ready for the hard work and make your decision!

To let you know what happened with our failing company… we all decided to double-down. We had several good opportunities pending with customers and we wanted to see them through. With the amount of the investment, we created enough runway to stay in our poker hand one more round before we called, just like you do in Texas Hold-em. That extra runway turned out to be the best decision we ever made for our little start up.

Let’s do this!

Best,
Russ

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iSpeak is the winner of FOUR American Business Awards for our Sales Training Programs.

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Russ Peterson Jr. is the co-founder and Managing Director of iSpeak, Inc. – An award-winning professional development training company. Russ is a speaker, international trainer, and published author on Professional Sales Communication and Business Communication. He delivers workshops, keynotes, and personal communication coaching services to business professionals in the US and around the world. You can connect with Russ directly through Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.