Launch My Dreams Blog

Beginning when he was very young, my middle son, Ben, woke up every day when there was no school and his very first question was:

What’s the Plan??

Though it could be a little annoying at times when we just wanted to have a leisurely Saturday morning WITHOUT A PLAN, I came to appreciate the way he saw the world when I launched my first business.

That’s when I realized that the key to success was in “the plan!” I watched many entrepreneurs develop their businesses with a “flying by the seat of my pants” philosophy. And, to be honest, I tried it for awhile too! Many self employed people have experienced short term success with this way of thinking. But ultimately it doesn’t lead to the kind of balanced life and long term success so many of us crave when we start our own businesses.

As my son Ben grew up, he continued to give me lessons on “the plan.” As a 14 year old, he was ready to earn his own money. He found the only place in our neighborhood willing to give a 14 year old a “real job” and he created a plan to get one!

When he decided he wanted to go to an Ivy League college, he again – you guessed it – created a plan to get there.

And now, he’s in a career that began with a dream and for which he created a plan…as one of his job responsibilities he provides support for the NASA shuttle launches…one of his childhood dreams!

I’m grateful to Ben for all the ways he showed me that having a plan matters. And for reminders that big dreams are worth working for!

So what’s YOUR plan for your business? Do you know what to do next to fulfill your dreams? Are you ready to let go of that “flying by the seat of your pants” mentality and truly embrace the idea that you own and run a business?! And that owning and running a business requires a plan?

How much more could you accomplish with a business and life plan? Could you have more money? More time off? Feel more fulfilled in your relationships?

Think about it. And make a plan to fulfill your dreams.

I believe in you.

Linda

The other day I was watching an interview with Dr. Ivan Misner who is the founder of BNI (a HUGE professional networking organization). He was talking about how BNI came to be and what factors led to his success.

He was asked about the secret to his success…he told the interviewer that if there was a secret to success, it was still that…a secret. He knew only one way to achieve success – and that was hard work and good choices.

That, in fact, it had taken him 20 years to become an overnight success!

I think too many entrepreneurs and self employed people expect too much, too soon, with too little effort. I’m all for finding the easy way to do things. I believe in leverage, virtual assistants, joint ventures and building a dream team to help you achieve YOUR dream!

And I believe in doing the right work at the right time. The most successful self employed people I know have a clear understanding of what work to do when. They do ONLY the work they love and delegate the rest. They take vacations. They enjoy their personal relationships. They are very focused on their highest payoff activities and know what’s important to them. They work hard at the things they do best.

And none of them learned how to do this overnight. Each of them had a dream that was so big, that they were committed to finding a way to make it work.

And none of them gave up at the first rejection or first obstacle.

If you’re beginning or growing a business…keep this in mind. What are the best choices you can make today to grow your business? Minute, by minute… ask yourself, what choice will move me forward?

Before you know it…you too will become an overnight success! (and it doesn’t have to take 20 years!!)

Need some help moving forward? Check out our Biz School and Dream Launch Groups!

http://www.launchmydreams.com

I believe in you!

Linda

Like many of you, I’ve been coached (and I’ve coached others!) to “do the hard things first!” You know the hard things I’m talking about – those things that challenge you – that get you out of your comfort zone! Whether it’s phone calls to past or current clients you think are going to be challenging, or asking someone who plays in a bigger league than you if they would do a Joint Venture with you, or writing that next article or blog post!

Well, I think I’m about to “change my tune!” I was thinking about how hard it is to get going on something that doesn’t make me “feel good.” And how easy it is to do something that makes me feel great! So I decided to try a little experiment and I’ve been absolutely thrilled with the results!!

My new philosophy and the one I’m going to use with all my coaching clients is this: BEFORE you do that thing you think is “hard,” (that task you put off for as long as you absolutely possibly can!), do something that makes you feel GREAT – like you can conquer the world! And then IMMEDIATELY do the thing you thought would be “hard.”

Most of you know that the anticipation of the “thing” is always far worse than actually doing it! Doing something that makes me feel great and then immediately launching into the thing that’s challenging has made me 100x more productive – because I’m not wasting time with avoidance activities!

Give it a try…

Oh – you also might want to consider this – make a list of all the things that make you feel good and post it where you work. My list includes sort of silly things – like I love having a full tank of gas in my car – makes me feel like I can go anywhere! And I LOVE going through the car wash…don’t ask me why – I have no idea, I just know it makes me feel good. And there are certain stores where I love wandering the aisles (I don’t even have to buy anything!) – it just makes me feel good. Anytime I feel “off” and want to get back on track quickly – I do one or more things on that list and it’s like magic. I feel good again! I just can’t help myself!

The new list I’m creating after this experiment in NOT doing the hard things first will be business tasks that make me feel GREAT – like I can do anything! What makes you feel great? And what could you do if your entire day was spent in that energy???

I believe in you!

Linda