What Would You Cut Off to Save Yourself?

A Survival Lesson for the Overwhelmed Business Owner.

In 2003, mountaineer Aron Ralston found himself trapped in a Utah canyon, his arm crushed beneath an 800‑pound boulder. After six days alone, dehydrated and close to death, he made a decision most of us cannot fathom: he cut off his own arm to survive.

It is a harrowing story, but it endures because it forces us to confront a deeply human question:

What would you be willing to cut off in order to save yourself?

For many business owners, the boulder is not a rock in a canyon. It is the weight of everything you are trying to carry alone.

When the Business Starts to Consume the Person Running It

You began your business with ambition, skill, and a clear vision of the life you wanted. Yet somewhere along the way, the business began to take more from you than it gave back.

You are not just managing tasks. You are absorbing them.

• The admin that eats into your evenings

• The compliance responsibilities you hope you have interpreted correctly

• The contracts you know need attention, but you never have time to draft

• The onboarding that takes far longer than it should

• The content planning you keep postponing, because you are too exhausted

• The constant pressure to be “on” at all times

These tasks do not simply drain your business. They drain you.

Your time.

Your energy.

Your confidence.

Your enjoyment of the life you built this business to support.

What Would You Remove If Your Own Wellbeing Were at Stake?

If you were physically trapped like Ralston, you would not hesitate to remove what was threatening your survival.

Yet in business, owners often cling to tasks that are slowly suffocating them, simply because they feel they “should” be able to manage everything.

So let me ask you:

If you could remove one thing from your daily workload to protect your wellbeing, what would it be?

Whatever your answer, that is the boulder pressing on you, not just your business.

And unlike Ralston, you do not need to sacrifice a limb to free yourself.

Delegation Is Not a Business Strategy—It Is a Personal Lifeline

At Crowe’s Nest VA Services, I work with business owners who are ready to reclaim their time, their clarity, and their sense of control.

My support is not simply operational. It is protective. It is designed to safeguard you as much as your business.

I take ownership of the tasks that weigh heavily on your shoulders, including:

• UK robust contracts and policies

• Compliance‑aware processes that reduce risk

• Professional, seamless client onboarding

• Structured content planning and workflow organisation

• Day‑to‑day admin that frees your mind and your time

• Email and diary management.

• Client relations.

When you delegate the right tasks, you do not lose control. You regain yourself.

Imagine Your Life Without the Boulder

Picture this:

• You start your day without the knot in your stomach.

• Your evenings belong to you again.

• Your weekends feel like weekends.

• Your business no longer consumes every corner of your mind.

  
  

You have space to think, to breathe, to enjoy the work you do—and the life outside it.

That is what happens when you stop trying to carry everything alone.

You Do Not Need to Cut Off a Limb—Just the Tasks That Are Draining You

Aron Ralston survived because he made a brutal but necessary choice.

Your choice does not need to be brutal.

It simply needs to be intentional.

If you are ready to remove the weight that is crushing your time, your well-being, and your enjoyment of your business, I can help you do it safely, professionally, and with complete confidence.

Visit www.crowesnestva.co.uk to discover how Crowe’s Nest VA Services can support you in building a life and a business that feels lighter, calmer, and far more sustainable.