“It was like I’m on a boat and I’m either working on my navigation charts, or I’m bailing, bailing, bailing…and what I didn’t do was look up at the horizon to see, hey wait a minute, we have drifted off course and I really needed to be holding the rudder.” -Nancy Gwynne-Vaughan Running a business is hard at the best of times, let alone when we are struck by the unexpected. Despite this, we feel a need to conceal the damage and its effect on us. We throw ourselves into even more work, in the hope that if we just keep doing everything all the time, we will find our way out. But if we don’t stop to take stock of where we actually are and where we want to be, we will keep blindly spinning in circles until there is nothing left. Taking a pause might seem like the end of the world, it can feel embarrassing to explain to clients that you aren’t the right fit right now, that you need time to get things in order so you can go further in the future. Nancy Gwynne-Vaughan, President of Graham Consulting & Training, is this episode’s featured guest. She has spent her career helping lawyers build profitable firms but isn’t afraid to explain the real-world impact of giving too much of yourself to others. She talks candidly about what it is to lose ourselves in work, and how to find our way back to a place of strength and peace. If you are struggling within your bookkeeping business, taking on more and more work but not really feeling like any forward or upward motion is happening, then this is the episode to get you back to basics, looking more honestly at where you are in your business, and how to chart a course back to success. During this interview, you'll learn... The value of getting back to basics How to create an effective checklist The importance of building an adaptable mindset To find out more about Nancy, click here. Connect with her on LinkedIn. Time Stamps 02:02 - Nancy discusses her career journey  03:30 - Facing the challenges of the unexpected  12:42 - Building an adaptable mindset  16:30 - Creating an effective checklist  18:25 - Getting back to basics 27:30 - Embracing the unknown