A few weeks ago, Jessica and I were traveling home from a trip to Denver. Always sticklers for preparation, we’d checked in online the night before and arrived at the airport at least 2-hours ahead of our flight.
That way, we’d have plenty of time to spare.
Or so we thought.
When we went to stand in the security line, we couldn’t believe the fresh hell that awaited us.
What looked like the entire population of a small town was corralled in the roped-off security lanes. We couldn’t even see where the line began.
We gaped at each other in disbelief!
“_Maybe it’ll move faster than we think?_” Jessica tried to be optimistic.
An agent overheard and told us “_No, the wait time would be at least 4-hours.”_
Well, so much for optimism.
Jessica gave me a steely look and said, “_Well, we can’t be rebooked. We have to make this flight. So, what are our options?_”
We both couldn’t do TSA PreCheck® as Jessica is the one who has TSA PreCheck®, and it would only help with the bag screening part of the security process anyway, not the monstrous 4-hour line of people waiting to get their I.D. checked.
Then I noticed a smaller line at the **Clear** kiosks nearby, and their uniformed agents, so we went to check them out.
If you’re not familiar, **Clear** is an expedited security program where the company, rather than the TSA PreCheck®, verifies your identity using biometric data, and then one of their agents whisks you right to the front of the security line. Super sweet service.
It cost us $179 for the annual membership, but it saved us 4-hours and, more importantly, we made our flight!
(_**Side bar:** This is not an ad. We are not affiliated with **Clear**, we’re just super grateful new members._)
So, what does this story have to do with you and your small business?
Well, a lot, actually.
In every small business we get confronted with unforeseen obstacles from time to time, like us with our 4-hour security line.
You could get overwhelmed by that 4-hour wait, throw up your hands in defeat, and simply wait in the line, choosing to just deal with the inevitable fallout later.
Or better yet, you can get creative and pivot to the path of least resistance.
Just don’t hem and haw about the price — because let’s keep it super real here, oftentimes it’s going to cost something to get past an obstacle.
Believe me, Jessica and I didn’t want to do **Clear**.
We weren’t planning on shelling out $179 bucks EACH when we arrived at Denver International Airport just to get through security.
But we had to get creative to get past that obstacle. **Fast**
Which in this case meant making an investment in the only **clear** solution. (See what I did there? )
Spending the $179 **WAS** the path of least resistance, and it saved us a lot of anxiety, stress, and yes… even money.
Because we didn’t have to rebook our flights, we didn’t have to book a hotel for an extra night, and we didn’t have to reschedule all the clients waiting to meet with us the next day.
The ingenuity of the **Clear** service also reminded us of **WHY** we became entrepreneurs in the first place — because we wanted to do things a different way.
And we want to support others to do things differently, too.
You’re not always going to have the privilege of a wonderful instruction manual to refer to with each obstacle you face.
Sometimes you’re going to run into a 4-hour security line when you have only 2-hours to catch a flight.
Any time we’re faced with obstacles, as small business leaders we must be able to find the way over, through, or around them, right?
Give me a _**oh yeah**_ — if you’re getting this!
So, you need to be able to develop those fast-twitch fibers in your intuitive decision-making muscles, so you can be nimble enough to pivot quickly when you need to.
If you’d like to learn more about training your business decision-making muscles and other guidance, [click here](https://terzakisandassociates.com/blog/pivoting-to-the-path-of-least-resistance) to sign up for our newsletter and get tried-and-true tips delivered to your inbox every month.
Best to you all…
Susan & Jessica
