You know the sky’s the limit when it comes to what you can achieve in life.

But there are factors that can inhibit your ability to reach your goals.

Take a look at these five challenges that could be holding you back in business:

Lack of Trust

Ever find yourself unsure of your clients or your staff? Did someone let you down in the past, and now you aren’t certain whether you will get what you need, when you need it? It happens to everyone. But it can really limit your success. If you can’t trust an employee, you can’t delegate to them. If you can’t trust your client, you’ll eventually lose them.

Low Appetite for Risk

It’s true at the casino, and it’s true in business. The less you place on the line, the less you stand to gain. Now, we aren’t advocates for gambling, but we know that you need to take a few chances to get ahead in business. Managing organic growth is vital, but businesses and entrepreneurs need to assess the ways they can take risks that will bring bigger rewards.

Failure to Change

When business stagnates, it is easy to blame the economy, legal restrictions or even time. It is easy to blame those things, but it isn’t helpful. Even when recession hit, there were still businesses that managed to grow and thrive. It isn’t luck. It’s the ability to adjust to the changing economy. When you continue learning and growing as an employee or entrepreneur, you provide yourself with the tools to create the necessary changes for success.

Poor Time Management

There is only so much you can do in an hour, a day, even a year. If you don’t plan your time properly, you will fall behind. Worse, you will probably find yourself working when you should be relaxing – and that leads to burnout and apathy rather quickly. Although it can seem like a waste of time to plan so closely, the opposite is true.

Unhealthy Habits

You may sit behind a computer all day, but your body still needs carbs to perform essential tasks. Your brain and muscles still needs oxygen to process your ideas. If you ignore your body’s needs, it might take revenge on you – just when you can least afford the strain. Making healthy decisions, about what you put into your body, and when you exercise can make an enormous difference in your abilities – and your successes.

For many people, from top executives to new entrepreneurs, the best problem solver is an executive coach. They won’t take the problems away, but they will help you to identify what needs to change and provide suggestions on how to implement it easily. In addition, they make fantastic cheerleaders when the going gets tough.

Take Action!

You may be suffering from one or all five of these challenges. Take the time to assess the situation, and review the things that are holding you back from success. After making a list, look at the problems you can change, then take control and start rectifying them. The faster you start to address the situation, the sooner you will see improvements in your business – and the rest of your life.

What Next?

• Take stock of the challenges that are holding you back
• Take ownership of the issues you can control
• Investigate executive coaching as a tool to help you succeed
• Let us know what you think by posting your comments below
• Bookmark our blog for more helpful hints every week

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If you’d like to read more about goal setting – we had whole month devoted specially to it. It’s that important.

Read a month of goal setting posts here

Prioritising sex
5 goal setting mistakes
Goal making… or rather, goal breaking
Reassessing when times are tough

and for an inspirational 5 minute video, do check out

What if money was no object?