That's it...you've had it! You can no longer go down this road. You've been tolerant to the point of being taken advantage of and it's just not working for you. This particular situation at the studio has been going on for a while, in fact too long. You've mentioned to those involved that you are not happy with the situation and have even gone so far as to issue warnings as to what would happen if things didn't change. Did anyone listen? No. Has anyone taken you seriously? No. Is it time to take action? Yes!

Just before you start to think what your next step will be to put an end to the madness, you can't seem to find the motivation to move forward. The feeling you now experience is an intense and familiar one. You all at once remember that you've been down this road before. Suddenly a strong wave of fear seems to totally sweep over you and you have to work hard not to get caught up in the sensation of being dragged down into the drama of it all. Is any of this happening around you? No. It's not that you can see any of this and there's a good reason. This wave of fear is going on inside of you.

Since you now recognize that you've found yourself in this predicament a number of times before, you start to think what you might have done the last few times this happened to get you out of the current funk you find yourself stuck in. Sadly, you now realize that you've never been able to move beyond this point when you've found yourself in similar situations in your recent past.

It's the next day now and you find yourself walking in the door of your studio and your staff greets you as if they know you have the answer that will make everything right again. Do you? No! You stopped even giving the situation any more of your energy when you realized that you couldn't move further because fear seemed to stop you in your tracks. Needless to say that the situation, just like the ones before this, never gets resolved. No one can make things right but you but walked away from any of answers you could have considered moving on because you let fear stop you from resolving the issue.

That's the pattern of how things get done at your studio and sadly enough, the energy of "things left undone" is one that not only your staff feels, but anyone that walks into your studio from the outside world as well.

This scenario might not have anything to do with you but I wanted to paint a picture of what things are like when "The Boss" isn't living totally up to the title they have been given. The daily grind of running a studio isn't easy and when there are pending issues that need to be resolved, getting things done and moving forward on a daily basis becomes even harder. So with that in mind, here are some easy steps to follow the next time you find yourself blocked from dealing with a situation at your studio that only you can solve;

1. Acknowledge that there is an issue
This may sound rather elementary but it's surprising to note that many studio owners will often be in denial when issues arise that they feel incapable of handling. Admitting this is 40% of the battle.

2. Create a plan to solve it
Now that you've admitted that there is a pending issue, outline a game plan as to the steps you need to take to make things right. It's important to see the light at the end of the tunnel when you create this type of a game plan. To this end, give yourself a deadline as to when the issue will no longer exist. "A month from now, I will have found a replacement for the front desk. Two weeks from that day, my new front desk person will be fully trained and will be able to do the job", is what this might look like. Then work backwards from that date in time and fill in all the blanks. In the example just given, you would then work in reverse and pinpoint dates when you would put out the word that you need a new front desk person, when the interviews will be given, etc.

3. Feel the end result before you even get there
The trick is to already see and feel yourself successful right here, right now. You would do this even before you started taking the first step of your plan. The positive energy generated from seeing and feeling yourself successful in the end even before you start out really does go a long way in how things will ultimately turn out. Positive thinking really does work but it's up to you to keep your house in order when it comes to how you feel about your success.

4. Realize that 'stuff, is just stuff'!
If doubts come up along the way or if fear rears its ugly head and threatens to stop you in your tracks, realize that it's up to you to push through whatever obstacles might be in your way. Nine times out of ten the things that threaten to prevent you from reaching your goal aren't real. They are things that your mind has conjured up as roadblocks. It's up to you make them temporary and not permanent. Consider the possibility that road blocks occur as a teaching tool. In other words this is one of the only ways you can teach yourself to overcome what you once thought was insurmountable.

The old saying goes, "If you believe it, you can achieve it". This is another way of saying that if you believe you can get through a situation that comes up at the studio, you will...end of story. On the other hand, if you buy into all the reasons why you don't think you can get through that very same situation, then you won't. You are the only one standing in your way. Once you understand that, you can take control of the situation and solve any issue so smoother sailing will always be ahead.