Part I - Group I moves forward.

Part II - Reasons Group II chooses status quo.

Part III - The true cost of status quo, and choosing to avoid it.

The Real Cost

I used to work with a family business consultant years ago named Dr. Leon Danco. His consulting fee was $20,000 a day. He used to say “The cost is not the check you write. It’s the cost of not getting good advice or not following the advice you get.”

He was exactly right. What is the cost of status quo? By status quo, I don't mean to imply anything is bad or wrong, or that you aren't changing. Status quo, in this context, means creating through reaction to external events and circumstances. The change I am suggesting for your consideration is deeper and more fundamental. It involves a shift in thinking, and actions. One that will put you on a new or different type of path.

The cost of status quo, as I have attempted to describe it, isn't easy to measure. Though it is fairly easy to get your arms around in a conversation. If someone is often frustrated and angry, and the alternative is to learn to live where there is no place for that. What’s the cost of carrying that anger around for the next 20 years?

If someone is 40 pounds overweight. They’ve been on different diets, worked out here and there, tried this and that. They say something like “I’m walking more.” Well, no, they’re making a decision to be 40 pounds overweight. What is the cost of that?

If there is some negative drag on your business. Struggling in shifting leadership from the senior generation to the next could be an example. Being caught in the trap of just too much to do all the time. Senior managers that aren’t quite working out, or can’t seem to go along with the program. What is the cost of all that?

The cost of doing it the hard way is high. The cost of not stepping to more of what you want and less of what you don’t, that’s massive.

A Quick Story

I received a call this morning from a client that warmed my heart. He has had some real struggles in his life. Serious family health issues and more. He hadn’t been sleeping well, which was one of the things we worked on in our last conversation. This morning, he told me how happy he is. He shared how he had applied some of the strategies he and I had talked about and had gotten a really great night's sleep over the last couple of nights. How he had been on the phone already this morning and created some positive wins in his business.

I’m telling a story of someone who had been in a fairly dark place. but he has been doing the work. Today, he called me to tell me he’s happy. How much his life and outlook have changed. Including the very positive financial shift he is seeing his business. He has stepped through status quo. His world is already as different from the past as night is from day. It is only going up from here!

A Little Homework with a Big Upside

In this particular blog post series, I am not attempting to tell you how to create the change you might like. I am trying to point you to the fact that you can choose to go at it as you have. Or, you could take a time out, step back, and just get clear on where you would like to go if you could.

Grab a legal pad and draw a line down the middle. On the left side, write down all those things you want to get rid of or have less of. On the right side, write down all those you want more of. Dream big. Don’t get caught up in if you can do it or how you’re going to do it. The task at hand is simply: Get clear on the change you would like to create that will put your life and financial results over the top!

When you look at those two columns, you should have a pretty good feel for the cost of simply doing more of what you have been doing. Now, you’ve got a decision to make. A choice. Do you want to hang on to the old stories and status quo? Or, do you want to create a new story? One of your making. One that takes you forward with the parts of the past you want more of, and leaves the rest behind. No more complicated than that. It’s either, “yes” I am stepping forward now. Or, “no”, I’ll bear the cost of status quo.

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