Does this sound familiar:

You don’t feel like your time is your own, you feel pulled in different directions and there’s never enough time to do all the things you need to do?

And, this impacts more than you; it impacts your family, how much energy you have for other things in your life. You love your business, and want it to succeed, but sacrificing your health, your family, and relationships is not worth the price.

The reality is this: If you don’t take the time to decide what’s important to you, others will…

The unconventional strategy: Create space to think.

This may seem odd to highlight, but stick with me here…

Often, we go and go and go in a business we’re trying to create and build. We feel like there’s never enough time, there are more clients or customers to attract, or new products or services to release in this quest of creating, building, and growing a business. There’s a lot of doing. And a lot of striving.

And that action-taking can be worthwhile.

However, there is another side of the equation to consider….and that side is the opposite of doing.

It’s about taking frequent pauses. Creating space for something else…..

How often are you creating space for thinking, reflecting, planning, and considering?

Growing a business and leading your organization can be fraught with ‘what-if’s’ and ‘maybe’s’ and general unknowns.

Deciding which way to go can feel like you’re at the fork of multiple paths.

So, how can you create certainty, when you don’t feel at all certain?

First, what creates certainty?

Is it more information?

Knowing you couldn’t fail?

Knowing if someone will buy?

So consider this, does having more information really create more certainty? Perhaps in some cases….but we can never really have ALL the information. Can we?

Sometimes you just need a good book. And, if you love learning, a great book can go a long way in business.

If you’ve got a fellow business person or leader in your life and are looking for a gift that has the potential to make an impact for them, then this is the list for you.

Or maybe, in this season of giving, you’re looking to provide a gift to yourself.

Here are 4 business books that had a major impact on me and I know countless others.