I recently returned from a six-week trip to my home town in the USA.  One of the things that always amazes me when I return to the USA (I’ve lived overseas in South Africa and now Ecuador for almost six years) is the choices.  One experience from my recent travels that stands out in my memory is a quick trip I made to a grocery story in San Diego.  At the time I was staying in an AirBnB and only wanted to stock the pantry with enough food to keep body and soul together for three days.  Rushing, since I didn’t travel to San Diego to spend time in a grocery store, I found my way to the cracker isle and attempted to grab a box of Triscuit crackers.

Did you know there are 24 flavors of Triscuit Crackers?

Instead of snatching up what I came for and moving on, I was stymied.  Suddenly I had a decision to make, make research to do, and options, many options, to consider.

According to Sheena Iyendgar, a professor of business at Columbia University and the author of “The Art of Choosing”, The presence of choice might be appealing as a theory but, in reality, people often find more and more choices to be debilitating.”

I know I did.

So, when it comes to choosing a business, or a strategy to expand your business, how many choices do you have?  How many do you want?

A reoccurring theme in my book and in my blog, is to first know yourself. See yourself and your preferences clearly and without apology. When you know who you are, what you really want from your short time on earth, and what gifts you’ve been given to help you accomplish your purpose, choosing a business idea should be easy- or at least easier.  After all, how many business models will tick all the boxes of what you really want?

To many choices and paralyze us.  The only way to overcome the paralysis on indecision is to go ahead and choose one.  Throw a dart if you must. Once you have only one idea to pursue, you will be free to test your idea against your expectations.  If it comes up short, you will always have other choices.

For myself, I bought Wheat Thins.