Once you have identified your burning desire, or reason why, you often have also identified your long and short-term goals. Now it\’s time to decide how to get them and assess how you\’re getting there – whether or not you are successful.
Planning of any kind often strikes fear into the heart of people. This is because planning requires that you know exactly the area from which you are starting. This means that you must know exactly what your strengths and your weaknesses are, where your money is invested, how much money you have to play with, how much time you have each day. . . pretty much an asset inventory of what you have and do not have in all aspects of your life. Just the act of figuring out what your assets are is sometimes enough to scare people away.
Many of us have the idea that if we bury our heads in the sand our goals will come true, our financial future will be stable and we will be retiring in style. But in fact, the opposite is actually true. By totally ignoring the reality in which you are living you are placing your future in grave danger.
Identifying our burning desire, our reason why and our goals for the future is really the fun part in the entire process of having a successful future. Now comes the actual work where you develop a plan to achieve those goals and figure out how you will assess those goals.
What are you planning actually starts with assessment. So, let\’s take a few minutes to write down all of the assets which you possess. If you are planning for your financial future you have to know where are your assets reside and how much debt you have. If you are planning for an entrepreneurial experience then you must know what assets to you possess personally and what assets your friends may have.
For instance, if you are going open a hair salon then you must figure out what assets you possess that allows you to run its successfully and then determine what assets your friends and relatives have that may be able to help you.
You might be an excellent hairdresser but know nothing about keeping the books. However, your second cousin on your mother\’s side might be an accountant who would barter his services for free hair cuts for himself and his family.
You will be surprised by the number of people you know who can help you in your entrepreneurial adventure and who know things that you do not, just in your small circle of friends and family. Successful people have learned how to leverage the knowledge that they and their friends have in order to become successful themselves and help their friends and families become successful. Your objective isn\’t to use other people but rather to exchange your knowledge and talents for those of your friends and relatives.
Learn how to budget your time, your energy and your money. Every one knows that they have a fixed amount of income and expenses every month but not everyone recognizes that they have a fixed amount of time that they can spend working toward the achievement of their goals. Some people are optimists and some people are pessimists when it comes to evaluating the amount of time they have. But most people are one or the other, very little are realists.
Get a strong handle on your financial background. This means paying your bills on time, understanding your credit score, paying down your debt and making plans for your future. If your final goal is relational, entrepreneurial or financial your financial background will play a part whether you want it to or not. By addressing these issues up front you won\’t be blindsided by them later down the road.
Planning and assessment are essential pieces of the puzzle when you are considering achieving your goals and successfully living your life. No one become successful by accident. Successful people make a plan, they work the plan, they adjust the plan when things don\’t go right and they continuously evaluate the plan and how it is working toward the completion of their goals. It isn\’t rocket science but it does take persistence and efforts.
But seriously, everything worth having is worth working for.
RESOURCES
Iowa State University: Keys to Successful Planning for Strengthening Your Business
INC.: Plan for Success
Time: Planning for Success in a Tough Economy
Practice Management Center: A Game Plan for Success