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I Have Met the Enemy and She Is... As the cooler weather sets in, a certain woman thinks she can just show up in my offi...

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I Have Met the Enemy and She Is... As the cooler weather sets in, a certain woman thinks she can just show up in my office and wreck havoc in my business. She comes dressed in sloppy clothes, wearing nothing more than moisturizer and lip balm on her face. Her hair looks, well, you can only imagine. And she hates me. She makes me think it’s ok to be mediocre. She likes to be warm and cozy so she wears sweatpants and baggy tops. Sometimes she even wears her slippers. If she only did this on Saturday, I could let it slide, but she has shown up in my office like this on work days and still has the nerve to call herself a businesswoman. Dressing in this “whatever” way makes her think that way too, and that’s when she becomes downright dangerous. Sometimes this woman is so stealthy I don’t even notice that she is here. But she leaves clues of her creepy presence – my purse starts to look like my kitchen junk drawer and the top of my desk gets less and less visible. This woman is…me. The worst version of me. The phrase “get out of your own way” applies here, and yet I had never stopped to personify this nebulous concept. Seeing a photo of myself on one of those days gave me a clear picture of who I’m up against and it scares me because I know she can bring me down faster than a 1970′s love song. I have hung that photo above my computer like a Wanted: Dead or Alive poster. Don’t let a similar woman show up in your office. Don’t let her hijack your business and take it on a merry ride through average-ville. She does NOT want you to reach higher because that would mean she’d have to actually exert some effort and she’ll do anything to avoid that, including destroying your business in the process. Be the best business “you” you know how to be and do that every day. Do it because you take your business seriously, not casually. Yes, working from home can lull you into thinking that it’s ok to play not-to-lose but why give in to that? Play to win! Dress as if you were about to meet an important potential client (you’re more likely to do so and you’ll sound more confident on the phone).

Straighten up your desk. And for goodness sake, clean out your purse!

Source: Ann Vertel, www.unitcoach.com