THE SINGLE QUESTION THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING IN MY BUSINESS

A number of months ago, I found myself in a back-and-forth discussion with one of my clients about a contract. They had updated their contract process, and they had asked me to sign the new one. I didn't want to.

There were a few items in the contract that I wanted to discuss or clarify. 

And, underneath these items, there was a deeper level of resistance.

I spent some time getting curious about the resistance. What was it? Where was it coming from? And what was at the root of my issues with the contract?

Through some deep reflection, I discovered that the energy, time, love, effort, and investment that I was putting into the work felt much higher than the details outlined in our contractual agreement. While I loved the work and the people I was working with, the structure of the partnership felt disproportionate. 

This discovery led me to the question that has since shifted everything in my business:

IS IT COMING FROM A PLACE OF GRATITUDE? 

• Is signing the contract coming from a place of gratitude?

• Is the partnership coming from a place of gratitude?

• Is saying "yes" coming from a place of gratitude?

All of these things had absolutely come from a place of gratitude in the past.

To this day, I'm deeply grateful for the experience, the opportunity, and the partnership over the course of the past years. 

And, things had evolved. My business had evolved. My travel time had evolved from 20 minutes to 6 hours. And with this evolution, I was forced to make a difficult decision about the contract and the partnership.

Since this experience, the way I respond to all new inquiries in my business has shifted. The first and most essential question that I ask before responding to anything is:

IS THIS COMING FROM A PLACE OF GRATITUDE? 

There are still proposals. There is still analysis. There are still calculations and spreadsheets and numbers. And, before any of these things, there is the fundamental question, which shapes everything that follows.

Based on this question, I have said no to what would  have been one of my top revenue-generating opportunities of 2017. 

Based on this question, I have said yes to speaking for free at a non-profit event whose mission and people I deeply believed in, which was two and a half hours away. 

Based on this question I have both gifted my services free of charge, and raised my prices.

Based on this question I have paid vendors more than what they've invoiced me for, and I have thrown away $300 worth of paid services at a business whose practices I later discovered were appalling. 

The point is, when we answer from a place of gratitude, we almost always pick the right answer. 

I invite you to experiment with the following three-question process as you are making decisions in your business, your leadership, and your life.

1. IS THIS COMING FROM A PLACE OF GRATITUDE?

2. IS THIS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ME TO SERVE THE WORLD IN A WAY THAT IS AUTHENTIC AND ALIGNED?

3. IS THIS OPPORTUNITY IN BOTH MY HIGHEST GOOD, AND THE HIGHEST GOOD OF THE WORLD?

As it's often said, "if it's not a hell yeah, it's a no."