I must say NO to good ideas.

With the recent deterioration of my mother, I am committed to drive every Monday night from Chattanooga to Hendersonville, Tenn., so that I can spend all day Tuesday with her.  I am so thankful to be in a position with Vinterest Antiques to do so.  This time with her has become precious.

It takes approximately 2 1/2 hours from doorstep to doorstep, one-way, and typically a lot longer as I have a few "pickin'" spots that I like to hit along the way.

Apart from the obvious and very personal reasons Monday nights and Tuesdays are important, the drive time alone in the car has also become extremely valuable and is quickly becoming an intricate part of Vinterest's business-growth model and strategy.  This quiet time gives me a moment away from distractions, including distractions that I cause myself, so that I can reflect, strategize and simply re-focus. 

I think one of the most difficult things to do when trying to execute any type of "business plan" is learning to deal with all the distractions that cause us to take our eyes off the main purpose and vision.  So, with that being said, one thing that the Mr. and I have to constantly challenge each other on is on our abilities to say "no."

(As a side note: he has gotten really good at telling me no and I think has reached "expert level." I, on the other hand, have not mastered the art.  For example, I would have a complete FARM, complete with chickens, pot-belly pigs and lots of goats in my backyard if I could.  Why should it matter that I live in a subdivision!?  That's the real reason for tall privacy fences, right?! To keep the neighbors out?? ha!)

Anyways, there are countless business-type blogs, articles, webinars, business books, videos, conferences, (you name it,) on the simple art of utilizing the two-letter word, "no."  All because we, as a society, are terrible at it.  Yet, failure of the ability to say "no" poses great risk to a business's success.  

Alas! If that isn't painful enough, in executing "saying no" effectively, it typically returns very little immediate reward and/or satisfaction.  It can cause conflict and hurt feelings with people.  And, quite frankly, our "flesh" hates saying "no" and especially being told "no."

So, let me be real with you and "very classy" for a moment (tongue in cheek) and say how I really feel:

Saying "no" sucks.

Ugh, but I know if we are to take Vinterest Antiques's future from "good" to "great," I must get over this. Like, quickly. And, guess what..... Unless you are like my husband, you probably do too.

Here's the problem: the Mr. and I, between us, have had probably 1,000 good ideas about our future and Vinterest; however,  it would be very difficult to execute every good idea that pops up, and even if we tried, it is nearly statistically impossible to execute every idea very well.

These ideas can range from what product lines to carry, what vendors to bring onboard, who to conduct business with, how much labor to spend, how much to invest in advertising and with who, where and how,  all the way down to the smallest details of what we should sell on our front register counter and what candle to burn in the restroom.  Then, there is complex ideas such as long-term strategy and growth.  Add on top of this aforementioned problem, there are 1,000 more good ideas and suggestions that we've received from people, who all have good intentions, that we must carefully evaluate and not grow distracted by.

In the end, I have learned that all decisions have to be made with 2 things in mind:  ROI (return on investment) regarding how and on what we spend our money AND our time and 2) is this getting us closer to where we want to be, achieve and be known for?!

5 hours of alone time in the car per week may not be enough.

Anyways, with all that being said,  in our worlds that we live in, whether you are a business owner like me, the President of the United States or the CEO of your family, the problem is definitely not us being short of having good ideas.

What the problem is, however, is having the ability to be able to be self controlled enough to say "no" to a good idea, so we can get focused back on and have enough energy and resources to say "yes" to a great one, so as to be able to execute the hell out of it!

So, tonight, for those who are "yes" people,  I leave you with a link to one of the greatest examples I can think of that whose success was partly made by his ability to say no, Mr. Steve Jobs.   And I leave you with this question: when's the last time you said "NO" to a good idea?

http://www.centerforworklife.com/the-leadership-qualities-of-steve-jobs/