There is a children’s book by Jack Kent called “There’s No Such Thing as a Dragon”.

In the story the main character is a little boy, Billie, that finds a small dragon in his room. Upon informing his mother of the small dragon, she quickly dismisses him by saying, "there is no such thing as a dragon". So Billy decides to ignore the dragon. As the dragon gets neglected it gets bigger and bigger until it eventually runs off down the street with the entire house on its back. Now the dragon finally must be recognized, but once it is noticed the dragon quickly shrinks back down to size just as quickly as it grew.

The moral of the story is simple: Small problems turn into big problems if they are ignored, and at some point they may take over your life (or business).

Acknowledging your dragon is the first step towards dealing with it. Maybe you can’t make it go away entirely, but you can at least keep it to a manageable size.

Unfortunately most big problems result from little problems that were ignored. The task that wasn’t finished, the mounting credit card debt, the doctor’s appointment you never scheduled . . . these are just a few of many examples of dragons.

Some would argue that there are certain problems that are better off to be ignored.

I have a simple test for that. Ask yourself these two questions: 1) Is this within my control and 2) Am I willing to solve this problem? If the answer to either question is “no” then it may be best to ignore it, but know that you must live with the consequences.

If the problem is within your control then here are four reasons that you shouldn’t ignore your dragon:

1) Small problems are easier to handle.
2) Small problems don’t stay small.
3) Not dealing with it now means you will have to deal with it later.
4) Consistency is key. Be a problem solver not a problem creator.

There can be a lot of dragons in business. For instance, ignoring problem employees will erode the confidence in leadership within the organization and lower the standards of the company. Also, refusing to make hard decisions to control spending can lead to crippling losses and cash flow issues.

So this week I encourage you to take a few minutes and reflect on what dragons exist in your life or business. Address it now because big problems start small.

Welcome to the Limitless Podcast with Nathan Jovanelly.  Thanks for tuning in.