When chaos comes into your life, how do you respond?

Welcome to the Authority Journey Podcast!

Achieving your most audacious goals doesn't happen by accident. Explore the Authority Journey and what it takes to influence, lead, and succeed.

My name is Kathryn Aragon, and I’m your host for today’s episode: Chaos, Uncertainty, and Growth.

Sam Ovens at Consulting.com, is an authority journey worth studying. In less than a decade, he went from living in his parents' garage to running a multimillion-dollar business.

I got to work with him for a short while after he moved to New York. The growth even from there to today has been nothing short of amazing.

Recently I saw his story of those early days. The word that stood out was "chaos."

That's the big takeaway I had from his story. Growth is chaotic. If you aren't comfortable with chaos... if you try to shut it down and contain it... you'll kill the growth.

When I experienced the injury to my spinal cord that left me bed-bound for 4 years, I was completely reliant on my family to feed me and bring me my computer.

Because of that, I got nervous when my business started to get chaotic. I didn't know that signaled growth. And I couldn't handle the stress, so I tried to contain it.

It created a slump in my business that I've had to work doubly hard to overcome.

> Growth is chaotic. You'll have multiple balls in the air, and you'll have no idea where they're going to land.

> You need to look for clarity, not control. Make sure you know where you're heading, so you can let some of those balls go. Some of your activities aren't in alignment with your goals — they just look attractive.

> Push through. Don't be afraid of chaos. You do need to manage it, but you don't need to be afraid of it.

How to manage chaos:

Set your priorities. What matters, what doesn't?
Don't slack off. Try to stay ahead of your deadlines. You may be working harder for a while, but it's an investment in your future.
Get help. You only have so many hours in the day. Build a team that believes in your vision, and delegate whatever you can.
Examine your "why": make sure you believe in it enough to deal with the chaos.
Enjoy the ride. This is what growth looks like. You can't just want the destination. You have to enjoy the trip.