A lot happens and is said in a psychologist’s office. Much is immediately forgotten, remains behind seven locks, something unfolds into a forgotten childhood trauma, something blossoms in a fit of feelings and is transformed into unprecedented energy. Anger and sadness spill out, internal conflicts are resolved and the most complex puzzles are put together. The profession of a psychologist and the experience of an entrepreneur have allowed me to work with this difficult layer of clients. Businessmen and managers are in many ways more critical of themselves, responsible, quick in making decisions and executing them. Each situation is unique. Often, within an hour of consultation, significant transformation has occurred. And sometimes it took weeks and months of work to solve a seemingly simple problem. With the permission of the clients (names and significant recognizable details have been changed), real situations will be talked about and work on them together with a psychologist. Irina, 32 years old, owner of a children's development center, leads the classes herself and conducts part of them. I arrived in a state of chronic fatigue. The main request at the session was: “I put a lot of effort, the number of clients, staff, workload is growing, but I don’t get joy and satisfaction from it, only fatigue. Why?” We talked a little about the current state of affairs in her business. From the outside everything looked as good as possible. Irina had good control over all areas of the business. Advertising, sales and service levels have been improved. The clients were mostly regulars. The cash flow (the consultation took place in the realities of 2019) was growing steadily. This is what Irina placed significant emphasis on: cash indicators were growing, but so were expenses, she became very depressed and sad when she talked about cash flow. We decided to explore this particular area, because the client’s reaction suggested that the root of the problem might be in this place. - Irina, you sigh when you talk about turnover, can you tell us more about this? - Yes. I just don't understand how this happens. We have been working quite a lot for a long time, the turnover is already decent, every month it reaches 600-700 thousand, this is decent for our industry. But some unexpected expenses constantly appear, they constantly disrupt my plans. It seems like a good month, but equipment breaks down or something similar happens. Or you urgently need to pay someone, or have your car repaired. And so all the time. - What feeling do you experience when you talk about all these expenses, breakdowns? - I don’t know... Some kind of regret, maybe irritation, extreme fatigue from all this. - What are you sad about at this moment? What is the irritation directed at? Irina thinks, it’s noticeable how her teeth clench behind her tightly closed mouth. She takes a fairly long pause. It’s as if he’s trying to catch the source of these feelings. “This is probably due to the fact that I can’t keep the money, it’s leaving.” I’m sad that I don’t earn much in this business. — Tell me, how do you pay yourself for your work? — No way. And Irina even laughed, shrugging her shoulders and spreading her arms to the side. “Well, that is, I take it when necessary.” I approach the issue of paying salaries to employees very responsibly; I always pay all payments on time. But I just can’t seem to do it the same way all the time. “Irina, let’s take an abstract look. How much of the company's success depends on you? Who in your organization puts the most effort, time and energy?—Probably me. I often work seven days a week, even when I’m at home, I think, plan, write to someone. Probably 60-70% is my energy. - And how much do you get in return from the amount you mentioned earlier from the company’s turnover? - I take just enough to be enough for my payments, food and travel... - Can you afford to take 60-70% of the turnover? - No, of course! Surprise and even indignation was visible on her face at the proposal to take something equivalent to the effort invested. “Irina, let’s check the assumption that fatigue may be associated with an unequal exchange.” You invest a lot, but you get.