We all launch our businesses with the idea of sharing something we love, be it a product, program, or service. And once we do, many entrepreneurs feel like they’ve been sucker punched when they realize that there are parts of running a business that they not only dislike, but they truly hate. And being human, we all too often get fixated on the pieces we don’t like. My best answer to that?

What do I mean by SHOW ME THE LOVE? Well, first it means STOP. Take a moment and breathe. Then revisit your Big Why. If you can truly connect with the core reason you launched a business in the first place, it can help you ground, find the joy in what you do, and allow you to keep moving forward til you can hire someone else to take over the parts of running a business that you really don’t love so you can spend more time in the parts of your business that you really do LOVE.

The Why of the Big Why

I tell my clients all the time that understanding why they do what they do is huge because it can literally keep them moving forward when they hit the hard bumps. Being crystal clear in creating a Vision Statement — your Big Why — will help clarify who they are for potential clients and customers.

It’s crucial to developing an effective and authentic brand, and above all, it will keep you and your team motivated when things get overwhelming and challenging — which will happen. Repeatedly.

Rekindle the Flame

So … if you have been feeling more frustration than joy, how do you reconnect with your business passion and rekindle the flame? Well, there are many ways, but one of my favorites is “mind mapping.” A mind map is a diagram used to visually organize information and a great way to brainstorm and access subconscious thoughts and feelings around any idea. You start in one place and can quickly discover all sorts of things.

There’s only a couple simple rules to successful mind mapping:

1. Don’t overthink. Remember this is brainstorming! Time yourself if you must (like 60-90 seconds). Just write whatever comes to mind.
2. It’s a graphic, so be visual — if that works for you! Mind maps can incorporate words, images, numbers, and color which helps it be more memorable to you and certainly more enjoyable to review. Although I love the idea of adding photos or pictures, sometimes it’s simply more expedient to keep it simple with color pens, like I used in the example below.

The above mind map is not finished, but you see where it’s going. I put high level Big Why items branching off the “What I love” heart, and then started to create branches of what I do in my business. My next step would be to list out my whys (what I love) around any of those services I offer.

I also think it’s important to list what I don’t love about being in business. It’s a good check and balance because if I find too many items in that category, it’s time to re-evaluate and figure out how to shift things so I’m not spending so much time on what I don’t like to do.

There are many ways to keep your Big Why in front of you, mind mapping is just one. I like it because I think it intrinsically gets creative juices flowing — especially if you do them frequently around your projects, ideas, problems, and overall business. I’m not an expert on the topic, and there is a lot of software and information out there about mind mapping, so I’ll let you just Google it or visit this site to learn more.

I’d love to hear how mind mapping might have worked for you, or other ways you help yourself out of overwhelm!