I'm almost done reading a wonderful little book that has captured my business imagination. Provocatively titled 9 Lies That Are Holding Your Business Back ..... and the Truth That Will Set It Free, and written by a small business advisor (Sam Beckford) and a motivational coach (Steve Chandler), it is a pithy little start-up bible.

I'll save discussion about other parts of the book for another time, but the final words of the chapter about the first lie  - "I just need to know HOW to do this" were the magic ones for me.

The last section of the chapter is called "This is Your Ultimate Investment", and the section opens with a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson:

"Nothing great was ever created without enthusiasm".

It ends with:

Enthusiasm comes from taking ownership of your life energy. You know how to do that. You did it every day as a small child. Enthusiasm comes from despising that weak, meek little voice in you that wants to be a victim of circumstance. It comes from breathing deeply into your dreams and oxygenating your brain, just as you did as an energetic unstoppable child. Reach back and find that joy again and make this business your great masterpiece.

Perhaps this resonates hugely with me because I have long suspected that the words that will be inscribed on my tombstone will read "She was enthusiastic".

But it also works for me because I've seen the difference an enthusiastic attitude makes in the staying power and coping skills of the entrepreneurs I coach. It's a case of rolling a huge boulder uphill, and one I am not willing to do for my client, when he or she is lacking in energy or oomph. That kind of client to looking to the outside (in this case, me) to fuel his or her desire to succeed and to supply the "How?" of how to go into business.

Fortunately, most of my clients are imbued with commitment - the willingness to do what it takes to succeed, because this is what they want.  They are able to answer the deeply personal question of "Why?" first. Why do I want to be in business? Why does my business need to exist?

And then they answer "What?" What is my business all about? What impact do I want it to have?

Only once those two questions are answered do we turn to "How?".

Picture this analogy, that will hopefully ring true for you as clinicians.

A patient makes an appointment and wants to know how to quit smoking. You spend 30 minutes (if you are lucky!!) describing all the quit-smoking techniques you know of, and off the patient goes, to give it a try.

He comes back three months later, depressed because it hasn't worked. Now you've wisened up in the last three months and read some new stuff about how to get excellent results, and help change behavior. This time you ask him "Why do you want to quit smoking? What will it mean to you to succeed? What results are you wanting? What actions are you committed to doing?"

It becomes apparent that his wife is on his case, and he is feeling the pressure from her, not within himself to quit. He lacks the desire and commitment to his own success. He learned how to quit, without ever really wanting to be a non-smoker!

This is what happens to many struggling business owners. They are grappling with How, long before they have truly answered Why and What.

It is your desire and intention that will set you up correctly to learn How - so reach deep down, and see what enthusiasm for your business venture you can muster or tap into. If you plan to stay in business or proceed with your start-up, choose an attitude of enthusiasm. This will be the magic ingredient in your special entrepreneurial sauce!