Climbing the ladder...towards the wrong mountain

Hi {{first_name}},

I hope you’re having a lovely week so far.

I wanted to share a thought that has been on my mind recently - something I first became aware of in my own life over a decade ago, and which I continue to observe almost every single day in my work as a coach.

It’s this idea of people climbing a ladder… only to realise that the ladder is leaning against the wrong mountain.

I first noticed this in my own life. Around 2012, I took a deeply honest look at the direction my life was heading in. I realised that if I truly wanted to live a life on my own terms - with freedom and location independence, my life and career would need to change quite drastically.

From that point onwards, I started making very small but intentional decisions, always keeping a clear vision in mind. Years later, my life and work are now an accurate reflection of that vision which has fully manifested.

What I’ve noticed is that many people talk about future dreams and visions without realising that if they don’t intentionally start aligning their present actions, their future will likely look completely different from what they hoped or imagined.

Initially, I thought this pattern mostly applied to people in employment - those climbing the corporate ladder only to find themselves deeply unfulfilled once they reached the top.

But what has really surprised me is that this same pattern also filters through among entrepreneurs as well.

Unless we are very intentional about why we are building our businesses, we can end up just as trapped as those working in corporate.

Let me give you an example.

A friend of mine who runs her own business once told me about her dream of becoming fully location-independent. She spoke about how much she loves travelling, experiencing different cultures, and the idea of running her business from anywhere in the world. Her eyes lit up with excitement as she described the idea of becoming a global entrepreneur.

As someone who has very intentionally built my own business to be location independent, I got really excited for her. We ended up spending a couple of hours brainstorming together, exploring different ways she could gradually migrate parts of her work online.

She had some great ideas - online groups, digital products, membership-style communities, and various other ways she could still provide a lot of value while also reaching people globally.

We both walked away from that conversation feeling really energised, and I was excited to see her start working towards that vision.

But over the past two years, as I’ve quietly observed her business from the sidelines, something curious has emerged.

Instead of moving towards the vision she described, her business has actually become even more geographically dependent.

Most of her marketing efforts focus on attracting local clients. She rents a physical space where she sees people in person. Her visibility happens mostly through local networks. And the services she offers require her to be physically present with each client.

Instead of building towards location freedom, she has gradually put down even deeper roots.

Her deepest desire is to build a location-independent global business (and the lifestyle that this brings), yet the actions she is taking today are gradually building an entirely different outcome. To me, this is an unfortunate yet entirely preventable situation.

Another example came up during a consultation call not long ago.

This early-stage business owner spoke very passionately about wanting to work within a very specific niche. It was clear that this group of people really lit her up. When I asked how she imagined her business in five years’ time, it was obvious that she would love nothing more than to be known as a specialist serving that particular community.

But when we looked at how she was currently spending her time and energy, there was a clear mismatch.

Almost all of her marketing efforts were directed towards a completely different audience - one she believed would simply be easier to sell to in the short term.

In other words, the actions she was taking today were building a business and reinforcing an identity she didn’t actually want to have in the long term.

This is something I see again and again in my work and my industry.

One of the things I help my clients do is continuously review their present actions against their future vision, so they can actually build towards the business and lifestyle they truly desire.

My role as a coach is not just to give strategies or tips to help people do more of what they are already doing.

Often, my role is to pause for a moment and ask the deeper question:

Are the actions you are taking today actually building the future you say you want?

Because businesses are rarely shaped by one big decision.

They are shaped by hundreds of small ones, compounding over time.

Every offer you create.

Every client you attract.

Every piece of marketing you put out into the world.

In other words:

If your daily actions are not aligned with your long-term vision, you will end up building the wrong business and life.

The future we imagine for ourselves doesn’t suddenly appear one day.

It is quietly being built (or quietly being blocked) by the choices we make today. 

We need to align our present ladder with the mountaintop we actually want to summit.

So here are a few questions for you to reflect on this week:

When you think about the longer-term vision you have for your life and your business, are the actions you are taking today actually aligned with that?

What might be stopping you from steering your ship in the direction of where you really want to go?

What three small actions could you take this week to start designing your business (and your life) a little more intentionally?

The examples above are not a criticism.

They are simply a wake-up call.

Do you want to build a business that eventually traps you again?

Or do you want to build something truly aligned with your vision, values and lifestyle desires?

The latter requires self-awareness, intention and repeated reflection. It’s harder at first, but it’s the path that eventually leads you to the future you’re hoping to create.

I’d love to hear your thoughts - feel free to hit reply and share what came up for you.

And if you are someone who has a clear vision for the kind of business and life you would love to build, but you’re not quite sure how to get there, you’re very welcome to book a consultation call below and we can explore what that path might look like.

Wishing you a wonderful rest of the week.

With love,

Marcela