Like Dickens, I’ll begin the story by saying, “It is the best of times. It is the worst of times.”

For Kristen, it is the best of times.

Ten years ago, Kristen decided on an outcome; she chose her destination.

She decided that she wanted to be known as a go-to authority for speaking and selling from the stage.

She picked her success path; she chose her business formula.

She hired a coach.

She dug in.

She did the work.

Every day.

Year in; and year out.

She worked with her coach.

She followed the formula.

She stayed on the path.

She never strayed.

Today she has a 7-figure business with a global reach.

For Sara, it is the worst of times.

Not because Sara isn’t as smart as Kristen; not because Sara doesn’t know what she wants to do. Not because Sara isn’t passionate.

But because Sara never committed to a path.

I met Sara at the same time I met Kristen.

Sara wanted to become known as a go-to authority in wellness.

But, Sara has gone from coach to coach; from program to program; from guru to guru; picking unceasingly at scraps left on the table of the personal development buffet.

Always thinking that the answer was hidden within the next product, the next program. Always thinking that the next coach, the next guru would surely light the way.

Always skittering across the surface, and indeed across the globe, moving from location to location….

Searching…

Always searching

Never staying the course.

Never going deep.

Never realizing that the answer was right in front of her….

If only she stopped long enough.

And did the work.

Ten years later, Sara still needs to drive a taxi to make ends meet.

My friend Kara makes cakes.

She loves white cake.

But, Kara can make lots of different cakes as well. Because, there are lots of cake recipes.

But she followed one recipe, one formula to build her 6-figure cake teaching business.

That’s how she’s become so amazingly successful with cake.

Most mountains I climb have lots of routes to the summit.

So many choices.

So many possibilities.

But if I want to get to the top, I need to choose one.

I could start out, and two miles in, reconsider.

But if I did that over and over again, I’d never get to the summit.

I need to choose one path.

And so it is in business.

If you really want to be a successful entrepreneur, if you really want to make an impact in the world, if you really want to make a lot of money, you need to choose a path.

Choose one.

Stop futzing.

Stop ruminating.

Stop perseverating.

Stop hand-wringing.

Stop second-guessing.

Stop re-considering.

Choose one.

Choose a path.

Commit to it.

Follow it.

Stick to it.

Do the work.

The title of this piece sounds lofty and philosophical.

I was going to call it Stop Fucking Around and Stay The Course.

But I had difficulty choosing.