Category: Success Attitude

Article Contributed by Mark James

Objective setting; It can prove a useful tool in the entrepreneur’s armoury, helping to provide greater vision throughout their business. If done correctly, the establishing of goals and regular benchmarking provides managers and employees alike with a greater understanding of where they are, as well as where they need to be.

Equally though, the establishing of unrealistic objectives can prove demotivating. If set incorrectly, they can be equally as destructive as they are beneficial. Setting objectives is a balancing act in many ways and it takes a considerable amount of thought. If you’re in the process of setting objectives or plan to do so, here’s some things to consider…

Firstly, stop and take stock

Stop and examine every aspect of your business before you go about setting your objectives. Bear in mind the external environment too. Undertake a SWOT and PEST analysis, this helping to ensure that your objectives are shaped by sound research.

If done correctly, a SWOT analysis will help you to determine the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats facing your business, whilst a PEST analysis will outline the Political, Economic, Social, and Technological factors that can impact on your start up.

Having an idea of your businesses capabilities, as well as the current trading environment, will help in your objective creation.

Keep them SMART

The SMART acronym is something worth bearing in mind when you set your objectives, the respective letters standing for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timed. Adhering to these five terms, you should be left with solid objectives, capable of acting as both a useful benchmarking and motivational tool.

Of course, the deeming of what’s a realistic objective will vary throughout the business. Therefore it’s important to consider the next tip…

Consult your employees

Objectives should ideally be agreed through consultation with employees, rather than simply set by the Managers and Directors. If employees input isn’t considered, this can lead them believing they work in dictatorial workplace…and as we see time and time again, dictatorships often collapse.

Let the workforce help shape your objectives. This should give them a greater sense of belonging and responsibility, thus leading to higher levels of motivation and job satisfaction.

Seek objective opinion

Consulting employees can go a long way to help you achieving this, their input ensuring your sheer enthusiasm doesn’t get the better of you. They too though, may be a little overzealous, or perhaps equally cautious.

With this mind it may be wise to speak to some sort of business consultancy, their input can bring in a degree of impartiality.

About the Author

Mark James is an in-house Writer for Crunch, an online accountancy firm based in the UK. He specialises in Small Business and Finance, more specifically how start-ups can succeed in what’s a tough economic environment.

I spoke how your mismatched intentions, desires, and expectations are sabotaging your dreams. I invited listeners to look at something they are struggling with to see how they might be misaligned.

I suggested asking the question, “What is the sincere longing of your heart?” instead of focusing on what you want. Asking a Destiny question will begin to lead you on the path you seek.

Change feels threatening to your ego. Big change freaks your ego out.

It gets scared and fears for its safety. So, it desperately tries to control, manage, and direct your thoughts, feelings, and actions, and often everyone else, to regain power.

As long as you rely on your ego and mind to guide your life, you will stay trapped in fear and Drama and cut off from living your destiny. Your ego sees life through a narrow lens of constriction, problems, and struggles. Your heart sees life filled with rich possibilities and potential.

Look at your life right now.

Are you living a love story – one that is filled with abundance and meaningfull purpose? Perhaps you feel more like you are living a horror story; one that is filled with struggle, pain, and fear? Maybe you feel your life is a little of both depending on the day and the situation?

When I ask folks what their biggest challenges many say:  money worries, health and weight issues, forgiveness, fear of really living their destiny, self sabotage & procrastination, blocking love, lack of self-love, self-confidence & self-worth, starting or growing a business…. I see these answers all the time.

Can you relate?

If you said yes…How long have you been dealing with the same challenges?

If you have been on a journey to liberate yourself from the limitations of your mind, the pain of your past and are still struggling, there is a misalignment. Being misaligned with your desires, intentions, and expectations will keep you stuck in “wanting and longing” that fails to manifest your greatest life.

The story you tell is the story you live…

To live your Divine Destiny means making some radical shifts that can feel scary and uncomfortable…temporarily. It means changing your inner state and challenging your ILLUSION of comfort and safety to find out the TRUTH – how LOVED and supported you really are when you allow Divine Grace into your life.

To live your Divine Destiny means shifting the voice that guides from your ego to your soul; to live from faith and trust rather than fear and suffering.

It’s like learning a new language that is being taught to you in bite-size pieces, one piece at a time without being able to see the larger picture and without any guarantee of success. Your soul and the Divine become your North Star.

You were born to love and have a joyfull life no matter the cost, no matter what someone else said, and no matter how the past once played out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I continually hear people ask me, “How can I get RID of my fears?”

Did you know that when you approach fear from that perspective you cast judgment and condemnation towards yourself that separates you from your true Nature and God?

In this shift in consciousness, we must make a paradigm shift in how we think and feel about our fears or any thought and pattern we don’t like so we are moving into states of wholeness, peace, and love.

You will continue to be in conflict and inner struggle as long as you beat yourself up and judge yourself in any way including when you do or don’t do something out of fear!

Transformation is an internal energy shift that cannot be managed, controlled or directed by your mind and ego which is why learning new ways of living “with fear” in these new energies is critical .

You might be thinking, “I know this!!! I know I need to be more self-loving, more forgiving, more….!”  but you are still  getting hooked into old reactions. (Me too sometimes)

It’s not your fault if you are struggling with fears.

Fear has been controlling the world for centuries. It’s in your DNA. And there are many positives to fear you might not realize too.

That’s why 2012 and the years to follow are so exciting. This is your time to be liberated from the grip of your mind/ego  by the only one who can do that – God.

For this to happen, creating harmony with all parts of yourself is essential including your fears!

Living in the grip of fear and feeling powerless sucks.

You are not powerless.

If you are struggling with fear or any feeling or pattern you wish to change, the problem is HOW you are being WITH it – embracing ALL of you or bracing against yourself? Resistance to anything you don’t want only gives it more power to be alive in your life.

And if you are depending on your mind and ego to create the changes you want within yourself and your life, that is not where your true transformational power lies.

That’s like going to a mechanic to get your teeth cleaned.

The key is Love. It always comes back to love – the most powerfull transforming energy in Creation. That is your natural state and the essence of God.

You gotta line up your insides to attract what you want in your reality.

I can help. This is the work I do.

Take advantage of two resources designed to change your relationship with fear and thrive in these new energies. Experience leading edge approaches that can release years of pain and suffering, sometimes in a matter of minutes.

How?

The deepening processes and soul-guided meditations are so potent that folks continually report feeling lighter, more peacefull, confident and empowered to roll with life. They tell me how much more fun and abundant  their lives have become.

When you want something do you really go for it or do you come up with reasons why you can’t have it?

Do you convince yourself that something is impossible before taking one step to find out whether that is true?

And if you do take that first step do you take the next one and then the next?

Working with thousands of people over the past 25+ years I have learned quite a bit about why people do what they do.  And I have learned a lot about my own excuses, fears, and self-sabotage behaviors.

This is the journey we are all on; a journey of liberation from the mind and emotional suffering to align with our soul , our higher self, and the Divine presence within us.

I know some folks never even take that first step because they have already talked themselves into impossibility thinking or feel they are undeserving.

And some people will take that first step and never follow though if they receive no response or think they haven’t heard back.

Follow up is critical. If you want something, you have to be willing to go the distance and do things even if it is uncomfortable.

When I want something badly enough and feel that intuitive guidance to take that next step , I can still get caught up in those old emotional entanglements that can hold me back in fear and questions of self-worth

That a signal for me to stop, take a few deep breaths, bring myself back into the present moment, and call out to the Divine Presence to be with me.

Within a short time, sometimes a few seconds or minutes, I can feel the heaviness lift, my mind clears,  and I feel more connected inside.  Doing the inner work has shown me how to shift from inner chaos to a calm inner center.

Taking action with God by your side is pretty powerfull! Miracles begin to happen that is not solely dependent on your hard work!

When you want something badly enough you have to be willing to put consistent energy into following through. You must be willing to do whatever it takes to have what you are yearning for.

You must be willing to see life though a different lens; one that shows you that perceived obstacles are stepping stones and pathways to your dreams.

You have to be willing to be vulnerable, look and feel silly, make mistakes, or feel scared to create the life of your dreams. It also takes commitment, passion, and tenacity to persevere.

And you must be willing to let go of the thought patterns and beliefs generated by your EGO that keep your separated from the deeper truth of who you really are and the Presence living in you and through you that wants your life to be abundant and happy.

Life is a journey of faith, trust, and courage to boldly go where you have never dared to go before when you know in your heart you must take that next step.

If you have a quick “impossibility’ response and you allow that belief to rule your life, you will continue to miss windows of opportunities that open and close that may end up as regrets.

I know life can get busy, distractions happen, and all sorts of other reasons contribute to things falling through the cracks. We are human!

For example: I schedule reminders into my Outlook email program so I don’t have to keep things in my head. I usually respond to requests within 48 hours so they are off my plate. And when something is really important to me, I am very persistent.

When I was applying for a loan modification for my townhouse, I must have made 25 calls over a 3 month period to get the ball rolling and did everything needed to complete the process. And believe me – some of the actions I needed to take were not fun!

The real question is, “How badly do you want something and what are you willing to do or be to have it?”

Do you believe everything you think?

Do you make assumptions and accept them as truth without challenging your beliefs and conclusions? If you said yes, how often are you wrong?

If you had a negative experience in the past, do you expect the next situation to be a repeat? Watch those self-fulfilling prophecies – you powerfull Creator!

Life calls you to show up and claim what is yours.

Do you hear your call?

Are you listening and following your guidance?

My friend Brent says many people give up 5 minutes before the miracle happens.

Some give up waaay before those five minutes.

Life is meant to be experienced and lived, not witnessed as a spectator.

Business owner’s To Do lists are endless … I mean there is so much to do all the time that it feels like a never-ending cycle of To Do lists! And they can spend all day being “busy” but at the end of the day never feel like they’ve accomplished anything…

… they still don’t have a full practice of ideal clients.
… their marketing systems are hit-or-miss.
… they do not have consistent cash flow.

But how can this be? They’ve been busy all day long!

The thing is they’ve been busy doing all the WRONG things … focusing on those things that are easy but do not relate directly to their bottom line. For example…

• Updating their website before making sales calls.
• Checking Facebook to see what everyone else is doing, before writing their newsletter.
• Checking emails instead of reaching out to potential joint venture partners or organizations to secure speaking gigs.

And let’s face it, making an update to your website is a LOT easier than having to make a sales call … but it’s the sales call that is going to directly affect your bottom line, not updating your website.

So here are my top five strategies that will help you become more successful and get more done:

1. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Yes, being a business owner is hard. And it requires us to step outside of our comfort zone. And making sales calls and putting yourself out there doesn’t come easy to many people … but you have to get used to it if you want to create a thriving and profitable business. So get comfortable with being uncomfortable.

2. Prioritize your To Do list. To Do lists are great – they help you stay focused. But only if you’re focusing on the RIGHT things. So go through that big list that you’ve got and ask yourself, “If I do this, how will it directly relate to my bottom line?” If it doesn’t, then move it to the bottom of the list, or cross it off altogether. You only want to focus on those things that are going to relate directly to your bottom line … anything else you either delegate, cross it off, or do it when you’ve got nothing better to do.

3. Get an Accountability Partner. If you can’t stay focused by yourself, team up with an accountability partner. Being held accountable does wonders for your productivity level. I go to a personal trainer twice a week because I want the accountability of working with her … if I’m left to my own devices I’m likely to give up after 15 minutes as I’m exhausted. An accountability partner will push you and make you keep going, even when the going gets tough. And reciprocate too!

4. Don’t be a slave to your emails or your phone. Plan to check your emails twice a day (morning and afternoon) and let unscheduled calls go to voicemail. Email and the phone are two of the biggest distractions for solo service professionals, so have a strategy for managing these distractions.

5. Plan your calendar. Block out specific times in your calendar for certain activities. For example, instead of having your client calls scheduled all over the place, set aside two or three batches of two hours each week for clients calls. Make Friday your Friday Follow-up day … the day when you go through your contact management database and follow-up with people. Monday can be set aside as your marketing day – Monday marketing. When you manage your calendar in this way you will find your time management issues disappear.

Follow these five simple strategies to become more successful and get more done … and watch your business grow!