The abundance of choice
“Stand out, follow your intuition and be authentic"
In our world-of-any, we want anything, anytime and anywhere. We feel the urge of having an abundance of choice. But that doesn’t always satisfy us. Because after having made a choice, the appeal of it diminishes and the charm of products or services we didn’t buy expands. Also, not knowing what the best decision is, gives us often stress. And we experience that stress of choice when we are young and when we are older. I already see it when my daughter Lilly freezes at the fair when she needs to choose something after having fished for ducks.
The abundance of choice is omnipresent. And as an entrepreneur, we need to make and we are confronted with so many choices.
You have the choice of the client. And I don’t mean pinpointing your target audience (because that is yet another choice as well, of course). But you want your potential client to choose you. And you wonder how can you stand out in that endless sea of entrepreneurs offering the same as you do. Since you want to attract your ideal client, you experience the threat of becoming too similar to your competition and that you are no longer distinct. (As a Fascinate® certified advisor the antidote for this is of course fascination… But that might be something for another blog post.)
There are also the choices you need to make as an entrepreneur: a strategy, a certain software platform, an accountant, a visual identity,… But also, and maybe even more important, the choice of NOT doing something. (Insert Steve Jobs: Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do.) We need to shut some doors because they draw energy and commitment from the doors that should be left open. Some companies contact me for assignments and that is of course very tempting (mainly from a financial point of view). But I risk to lose my focus on the dream I am building right now…
A lot of entrepreneurs want to be innovative. This implies less common choices and a good dose of intuition. Sometimes you need to follow your instinct and capitalize on your common sense. My whole choice of entrepreneurship is a less common choice for me, the risk-averse-scared-of-the-unknown lady. If I would have focused on the maths, I wouldn’t have taken this leap. But I stepped back from the logic and accepted my intuition. Another less common choice is communicating in English instead of my mother tongue Dutch. In English I have the feeling I can express myself better (especially in writing) and in that way I can bring better value and deeper knowledge to my clients. If this is the right choice, I don’t know. Time will tell…
And then, of course, there are the choices of life. And if I may recommend one choice you need to make: the choice of authenticity. As confirmed by Brené Brown, you are not authentic, you choose authenticity. It is not a default behavior (because it is often easier to be what others expect us to be) nor is it something inherent (something that you have or you don’t have). According to Brené Brown, we are confronted with a collection of choices that we have to make every day, all day long: the choice to show up and be real, the choice to be honest and the choice to let our true selves be seen. (Want to know more about authenticity? Check out my free whitepaper here.)
When you opt for authenticity, all of the choices mentioned in this article will become so much easier and more natural. Your clients will choose you for who you are, because there is a connection. You will know what to do and definitely what not to do, because you choose to stay close to yourself. And you can make less common choices, because choosing authenticity means cultivating the courage to be imperfect and vulnerable. Remember, you can always make another choice! But not the choice of authenticity. No, that choice cannot be replaced by another one…
To wrap up: Learning to choose is hard. Learning to choose well is harder. And learning to choose well in a world of unlimited possibilities is perhaps too hard, as Barry Schwartz mentioned. But in that abundance of choice, just promise me to make one choice every day, again and again: the one of authenticity. Not an easy choice, not a safe choice. But with authenticity as your guiding star, just let everything become easy…
What are the choices you are confronted with? How do you decide amongst the endless possibilities? I am curious… Don't hesitate to send me a message at [email protected]
