Entrepreneurs have no shortage of ideas and dreams, but can come up short in bringing them to fruition.
To become inspired to work toward your goals, develop a clear picture of what you want in business and life and keep your written goals front and center. Reading them daily helps your subconscious mind to grab onto your vision and strengthens your inner-motivation and self-discipline.
- Business/career
- Personal financial
- Fun time
- Health and fitness
- Relationships
- Personal targets, or “just for me” goals
- Contribution
Tapping into the inspiration behind your goals and creating a well-balanced vision is the foundation to your success.
Clarity on your goals: Do you schedule time regularly to think about what you want your life to be? Begin with five minutes and work your way up to an hour a week. Most people spend more time planning a two week vacation than they do planning their life. Do this, and the payoff will be tremendous.
Priorities: Once you identify your primary targets, decide where your focus needs to be to reach them. Each week, identify the next actions that will get you closer to your quarterly targets. What are the three most important things that you must achieve by Friday? Typically, business owners spend only 15-20 per cent of their time focused on their top priorities because they allow too many interruptions in their day. Avoid this by scheduling uninterupted blocks of focus-time to work on your action steps, leaving open time in your schedule for the unexpected.
Relationships: What are the five most important business relationships that will offer the greatest leverage to meet your targets? These are individuals who have a strong, positive influence over big networks of people in your target market. These people can open doors for you. How will you build and nurture these relationships? Also make sure all of your relationships are win-win, approaching them with the mindset that everyone is receiving value–especially your customers.
Successful habits: Your habits determine your future. The results of bad habits often don’t show up until much later and are likely to lead to negative circumstances. But you can change your habits as long as you commit to doing it. If you focus on changing three to four habits a year, for two or three years, you can transform any area of your life. Your progress will be very measurable because your habits are directly related to your results.
Keep your plan simple; one page if possible and don’t forget to celebrate at the end of the week.
