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Slash the Knot: How to Uncover and Overcome Your Biggest Obstacles

Written by: Kevin Lawrence

Article Overview: What does Alexander the Great have in common with Richard Branson, Michael Dell and Jim Pattison? Alexander the Great lived only 33 years – from 356 to 323 B.C. But in that short time, Alexander forged the greatest contiguous empire the world has ever known, stretching from south-eastern Europe to Egypt, and east as far as India.

Slash the Knot: How to Uncover and Overcome Your Biggest Obstacles

What does Alexander the Great have in common with Richard Branson, Michael Dell and Jim Pattison? Alexander the Great lived only 33 years – from 356 to 323 B.C. But in that short time, Alexander forged the greatest contiguous empire the world has ever known, stretching from south-eastern Europe to Egypt, and east as far as India.

At the age of 20, shortly after his father’s death, Alexander arrived in the city of Gordium, a long forgotten city near the site of Ankara, the present day capital of Turkey. Upon arrival, he faced a seemingly insurmountable problem - the famous Gordian Knot - a knot so large, so complex and so tight that for generations no one had ever been able to undo it. It shackled the yoke of an ox cart to a pillar in the square, and the prophesy was: “Whosoever undoes this Gordian Knot will rule over all of Asia.”

Alexander studied the knot for a few moments. No ends visible, no place to even begin unraveling it, but Alexander was a man of decisive action. In an instant, he drew his sword and with a single stroke slashed through the Gordian Knot.

Alexander the Great, Bill Gates, Donald Trump, Richard Branson, Jim Pattison, Larry Ellison, Michael Dell, Martha Stewart and a host of lesser known but highly successful entrepreneurs all share this one significant trait: Whenever they encounter a major obstacle – a Gordian Knot – they act decisively and instinctively, and slash right though it.
For many entrepreneurs, the ability to distinguish between Gordian Knots and regular knots can be challenging. To understand the difference, you have to look at the size and complexity of the obstacle at hand, and then determine whether or not the obstacle is actually a root cause of other problems. Simply put, a knot is a problem; a Gordian Knot is the root cause of the problem. For example, when faced with a lack of cash, many entrepreneurs increase their line of credit. The immediate problem – the lack of cash (the knot) – is solved, but the underlying cause and most important factor – the entrepreneur’s perceptions and behaviors around money and debt (the Gordian Knot) remains. By dealing with the perceptions and behaviors around money and debt – the Gordian Knot – many entrepreneurs find that in addition to solving their lack of cash, they also solve profitability and cash flow problems; poor billing processes; and delays in collecting receivables to name a few.

Some entrepreneurs opt to tackle these knots in a linear fashion, but it’s really not an effective strategy, because the underlying issue remains. What often looks like a practical, perfectly linear business problem, is actually something much more complex, and in fact, can be your own fear or limiting belief (you might not even know it). And regardless of how much you try and fix these little knots independently, they keep coming back because you haven’t tackled your Gordian Knot.


The Top Gordian Knots for Entrepreneurs
1. Too much involvement in the administration and day-to-day aspect of running the business. Entrepreneurs are visionary and when they get too involved in administration they either hate it, or they just are not good at it. Therefore many administrative decisions or goals are either neglected or dealt with last.
2. Too little belief in the value of their products or services; as a result, entrepreneurs don’t charge enough, discount too much, or even hesitate invoicing for fear of customer backlash.
3. Guilt about making too much money. As a result, they subconsciously sabotage their business to avoid making money. For example, one entrepreneur I know grew up in a family that held the belief that people who made a lot of money were misguided individuals. His fear was becoming wealthy and having his parents not approve, so as a result, he subconsciously sabotaged the success of his company.
4. Fear of making mistakes. Entrepreneurs that fear making mistakes also subconsciously sabotage their business and often do things to 95 percent because they don’t want to send out the final product for fear of criticism, backlash or looking bad.
5. Fear of conflict. Many entrepreneurs believe that it’s better to just put up with an underperforming business or team rather than do something about it because of the fear that this would create conflict.
6. Fear of being “found out”. As odd as it may seem, many successful business people are afraid that people will soon realize that they are not as good or smart as they thought.
Gordian Knots look and feel insurmountable, tend to be overwhelming and complex in nature, and often cause most people to back down. And, because they weigh you down, they typically make it very hard for you to succeed to your full potential without massive effort, or having to pay a huge price, both professionally and personally. The great news is that once you are aware of your Gordian Knots and you make the commitment to resolving them, not only are freed up, but you also able to build a lot of momentum and confidence.
Master Slashers are experts at overcoming Gordian Knots, and they can do so quickly and forcefully. They can look at obstacles and immediately distinguish between everyday problems and core issues. And then with their gut instinct, they deal with the underlying issue immediately and decisively. What happens as a result? Often when you decisively tackle a big issue, a lot of other problems get taken care of at the same time.
Becoming a Master Gordian Knot Slasher requires practice, tenacity and confidence. You need to master the ability to discern between everyday problems and the major obstacles that hold you back both professionally and personally. And you need to accept that a logical solution might not in fact be a permanent one. If you uncover and overcome
your Gordian Knots, you’ll achieve faster results and permanent solutions, and you will also gain more confidence, strength and momentum.


Five Strategies for Uncovering Your Gordian Knots

1. Take responsibility for finding out what’s standing in the way of your goals, rather than blaming other people and ignoring the real reasons; be honest with yourself.
2. List all of your current knots (problems) and determine the root cause of all of them. In most cases, the Gordian Knot will either be a fear or limiting belief that causes you to persistently face obstacles.
3. Look at the types of things that you avoid dealing with and then find the fear or limiting belief; ask other people to list the things that you tend to get stuck on the most.
4. List out the goals that you’ve had, but haven’t been able to achieve; look at all the fun things you’ve wanted to do but haven’t. What is holding you back from achieving your goals and enjoying an outrageous quality of life?
5. Gordian Knots often relate to something that has been following you throughout your career and life; it’s usually way easier to determine, understand and overcome Gordian Knots if you work through them with someone else.

Entrepreneurs are driven by a passion to make a difference and create results and they often reach a point where they are very frustrated and need to overcome a big obstacle, or throw in the towel, or worse ride it down. In addition to stress, avoiding obstacles causes all kinds of additional problems and makes your life and business a lot less fun. Rather than walk away, or avoid major obstacles, you need to develop the mindset of a Master Slasher and tackle your Gordian Knots directly, decisively and quickly. In doing so, you will not only enjoy greater business success, but you will also free yourself up to enjoy more of your life too.

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Article Tags: Alexander, Alexander the Great, Asia Alexander, entrepreneur, entrepreneur, entrepreneurs, Gordian Knot, Gordian Knot Alexander the Great Bill Gates Donald Trump Richard Branson Jim Pattison Larry Ellison Michael Dell Martha Stewart, Gordian Knots, Jim Pattison Alexander, Richard Branson Michael Dell, successful entrepreneurs



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