One of the hardest things to achieve in life is the ability to be able to create your own path. For many reasons we're stopped from achieving exactly what it is we want but recently I’ve been given some excellent, yet simple advice about creating my own path.
Let me share this with you.
Every year we go about setting our ‘New Year resolutions’ and in my experience we hardly see them through. February comes and we think ‘we must set to and get that done,’ or ‘one week off the routine won’t hurt.’ Before we know it it’s October, we’re asking ourselves where the year went and convincing ourselves that next year’s ‘resolution’ will be much more achievable.
Ever experienced this?
I sure have.
Late last year as I set about my new adventure the words of my then boss stuck in my head. ‘The path is never straight - it goes like this… (now imagine a heartbeat pattern of scribbles!) It’s how you prepare for those challenges and then manage them that makes all the difference.’
A part from the moment where I felt a slight skip in my heart beat with the realisation this was about to become my journey, I consciously made the decision to embrace the challenge.
So I set to and started to identify what success looked like for me and my business. I then researched resources that would help me to make my plans.
This is when I came across the Female Entrepreneur Association (FEA). In December I joined their exclusive Members Club. A club where entrepreneurial women have access to an array of business resources, make friendships and help mentor those starting out on their own journey – or even those well along their chosen path.
The first challenge I was set, or for those who’d been around longer than me the last for the year, was titled ‘Planning for Success.’
Founder Carrie Green, presented a series of videos, supplied a printable workbook for all her members and created a Facebook group with the hashtag #2016successchallenge. It quickly became a place where all members could go to encourage, support and share their stories.
Alongside this she delivered a live tutorial on goal setting, allowing you to evaluate what you were grateful for in your last month, the challenges you faced and why, and what lessons you’d learnt. This laid the foundations for my annual review, assess, reset and plan programme for my business.
It quite quickly became obvious that I needed to set goals. Not only for myself but for my business. Without clear goals, I had no clear direction.
We’ve all heard of the principle K.I.S.S when it comes to goal setting. Definitely use it, however my focus is on something that FEA taught me.
This skill or mantra was to ‘create success on purpose’ and it revolved around three ‘C’ words.
CLARITY, CONFIDENCE AND COMPETENCE
- Set your intentions for the year – if you were to review these intentions quarterly, monthly, yearly, do you think you would have achieved them?
- Create your game plan – if you want to tick every one of those intentions off your list, then you need to identify when and how you’re going to achieve them.
- If I asked you the one thing that stopped you achieving what you wanted to in the last 12 months what would that be?
- Move forward 12 months, and imagine you’ve achieved all your goals because you had a plan. What did you do differently that allowed you to get to where you wanted to be?
- We can’t be experts at everything. (In fact I don’t even like the word ‘experts.’ I prefer the term ‘guru’ or ‘specialist.’) Identify what you need help with and find someone who can fill that gap – don’t think you can do it all.
- Approach these specialists and ask them for help. Don’t forget to maintain these relationships, so the next time you ask them for help it feels like a friend asking a friend for advice. Who knows they may even turn to you one day for help.
DAILY CHECKLIST
As a member of FEA they provide you with great resources. I wanted to share these pointers with you to help you fine tune your goal setting abilities. Don’t let it become a chore, let it become your motivating coffee hour every morning.
- Feel grateful - what three things are you grateful for? Write them down.
- Set your intentions for the day – what would you like to achieve?
- Create your game plan – schedule when and for how long you’ll work on each task.
- Tune In - pay attention to your thoughts and feelings & steer them in the right direction.
- Feel Good – you’re doing amazing things. Take notice and take the time to do the things that make you feel good.
- Feed your mind – fuel your body with the right food to get the most out of your performance each day.
- Pay attention to your posture – be proud! It may feel like hard slog but being positive in posture can do wonders for your attitude and work productivity.
- Journal – journal everything! This is a great reflection tool for the following day, week or even year, to see if you’re hitting the same road blocks or in fact smashing your goals out of the park!
There seems to be a lot to do each day - review, set and achieve, but trust me once you get the hang of it, it'll become a habit.
I'm not going to lie, I'm still trying to make it a habit and I'm still looking for simple tools to help me make the process easier. If you have any that help you to plan and achieve please feel free to share them in the comments below.
"The Female Entrepreneur Association is an online hub with the mission of inspiring and empowering women from around the world to turn their ideas into a reality, build successful businesses and live a life they love. Check it out http://bit.ly/1oHoFKl" — Carrie Green - Founder of FEA
Chelsea Millar is the Founder and Owner of Grass Roots Media NZ. She blogs about social media, business, and the agricultural industry. She has a passion for Horses, start-up business ideas and the Primary Industries. She is also an active New Zealand Young Farmers member.
