It’s time to come clean…I’ve spent time in prison.

Thankfully, the “hard time” I’ve done hasn’t been from being on the wrong side of the law.  Nope, I’ve lived in the prison of “all or nothing.”

I’ve had countless things on my to-do list that lingered for way too many days before being removed.  For those tasks, I had a failure to launch because I didn’t feel as if I had the time, energy, or knowhow to get the job done.

A few weeks ago, I noticed that I had a squirrel living in the gutter outside of my bedroom window.  At night, he’d be wrestling around in there and making enough of a racket that kept me from sleeping.

You’d think I would’ve taken care of business and evicted the squirrel that next morning.  Nope!  I had no idea how I was going to crack open my gutter guards without breaking them, evict the squirrel, and then seal the gutter guards back up so he couldn’t return.

I was stuck in the prison of “all or nothing.”  Since I didn’t know how to handle the task, I did nothing.

After a week of sleepless nights, I finally reached a breaking point and made this task a priority.  I called an exterminator to evict the squirrel, then a gutter company to fix the damage he managed to do in a week’s time.

Now, I finally sleep like a baby again.

(By the way – if you have kids, I’m sure you realize how misleading that phrase is!)

When it comes to sales taxes, I often see people doing time in the prison of “all or nothing.”

Just like the situation I had with the squirrel, turning a blind eye to a sales tax situation isn’t a long-term solution.  Instead, break out of the prison of “all or nothing” and feel the freedom that comes from “moving in the direction of.”

Let’s say you’re in the “prison of all or nothing” because of a sales tax uncertainty.  Here are three simple steps that can help you “move in the direction of” greater certainty so you can clear more items off your to-do list:

1)    Assess the situation and establish a list of questions or uncertainties.

2)    Decide on the team members or advisors that should take ownership of the process.

3)    Come to grips with the fact that action costs less than inaction.

Now, let me throw it back to you.  In the comment section below, leave your tips for breaking out of the prison of “all or nothing” that help you “move in the direction of.”