My dad was faced with a tough decision 15-years ago. Sell his shop or give it a go for a few more years. My dad is an upholsterer and a very good one. He was working from home until he decided to ramp things up and open a shop in a high traffic area. He based his decision off the whole, “Build it and they will come,” mindset. Unfortunately, it’s not that easy. Especially in the highly cluttered market place where seemingly everyone and everything is trying to get your attention.

My dad swallowed his pride and closed up shop after a couple years. He moved back to the basement and worked part-time in someone else’s shop. It was a big decision and I believe he made the right one. There was no sense putting our family in the hole.

The reason I mention this is:

1) It’s Father’s Day
2) It’s a great lesson in decision making

When people are faced with a decision they will procrastinate and keep putting it off in hopes of it going away or someone else coming in to make the decision for them. How do I know this? I do it and I have been doing it for years.

I used to do up a Pros vs. Cons chart and away I went. Sound familiar? Don’t be shy, everyone does it, but how effective is it at enabling you to come up with a decision?

First – you already have an idea of what you’re going to do and this clouds your Pros vs. Cons list. Should I buy this house or that house? I’m positive you already know what house you want to buy, but you’ll go through the process anyway. However, you’ll find you have more positive things to say about the house your mind already knows you’re going to pick and vice versa. You feel it’s necessary to do your due diligence when really this Pros vs. Cons list is a big waste of time. You know what you want, so make a decision already!

Second – There’s no way you can predict the future and Pros vs. Cons lists are usually future based. Stop wasting time and take action now. Your gut knows what it wants, so go ahead and take it.

When my dad decided to close up his shop, he didn’t use a Pros vs. Cons list. He looked at his family and he knew what he had to do. Yes, he could have tricked himself into believing he could forge ahead with another 2-year lease, but in his gut he knew it was time to give up.

It takes a strong person to admit defeat. I’m proud of my dad for making that decision 15-years ago and I’m so proud to call him my father. To this day I still remember the lesson he probably didn’t know he taught me 15-years ago…stick with your guy and take action instead of wasting time on meaningless procrastination measures.

The best way to do something is to do it. If you fail, at least you tried and hopefully you learned something. Don’t think about it, don’t make a list, just do it. Nike figured it out and made billions. What about you?

Happy Father’s Day!

– Jordan