I was thrilled to contribute a new article for Inc. Magazine!

I know you can reframe your entrepreneurial dream with a few shifts in perspective and a clear methodology to achieve a more joyful life.

Read the full article here!

Michèle Hecken is an Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO) member in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. An ex-CEO, she is the founder of The Art of Offboarding, a proprietary leadership and operational methodology which she implements in Fortune 500 companies. She is also a public speaker who delivers keynotes and workshops for organizations across the world.

Lately,  I've been involved in the community of Startup Investments.

There are a surprisingly large number of companies pitching, many of them in the areas of tech and apps.  The groups are also pre-screened...so the startups that are coming in to pitch are extremely interesting, very cool...and they all sound great.

After you've seen 40 or more fantastic pitches, I have come to learn that there are different levels of 'stuck' for each company.  It's interesting to see how sometimes they know they are stuck, and sometimes they don't.  Sometimes they require money and sometimes they just need more expertise.

I use THREE kinds of filter questions to determine where each company is becoming stuck and ultimately, whether or not I can believe strongly enough in them in order to invest.

1.  WHY? Why would I choose this product?  Why would I choose this company? What problem can they solve? How can they improve the world?

2.  WHY...

"If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there."

Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Are you stuck in your role as a leader? Stuck means an inability to move. You're not moving forward and you're not moving backward. You have a dilemma and both options to solve it are equally viable. So you end up with this tug of war in your head going back and forth between those two options and it takes a lot of energy. 

You may find yourself over-analyzing and going around in circles about your choices, eventually feeling stuck and nowhere near a resolution. You’re afraid of making the wrong decision and end up unable to move forward, depleted, worried, and drained. 

You consult everyone and listen to no one.  

According to Psychology Today, it is estimated that the average adult makes about 35,000 remotely conscious decisions each day. Each decision, of course, carries certain consequences with it that are both good and bad....

Once again, I am traveling, and once again, I am reluctant to leave. Too many things are going on in my company: aggressive growth plans, hiring four additional salespeople, implementing new technology … why did I think it was a good time to go on a lengthy business trip?

I will be gone for two weeks, and I know the company needs my leadership more than ever. Just as I felt like a bad mom when I left my kids to visit with clients, I now feel like a terrible leader for abandoning my team, wondering if this trip will bring the desired return on my investment and time. Emotions aside, I know traveling is a necessary part of my role as an entrepreneur. Getting away helps me recharge my batteries, and more importantly, it provides me with ample opportunities to strengthen both my team and my performance as a business leader.

When I travel for business, it’s a chance for my team to step up to the plate and show me what they’re capable of. Furthermore, it forces me to...