With all this talk about goal setting and achieving these goals, it occurred to me that maybe you’re not quite sure how to define your goals. Look, my goals are simple ones – make XX dollars by YY date. Anything more complicated than that is going to give me a headache. And maybe you’re into the simplicity of it all, too. Maybe you enjoy saying, “I want to make $2K a month!” Hey, that’s a goal. It doesn’t have to be as complicated as “I want to realign my business processes to help me attain optimum success by increasing income in increments of $1K per month until I achieve superiority over the human race.” Well, if you want it to be, go for it. I’m just saying that’s entirely too much thinking (and too many buzz words) for me.
At the beginning of this year, I set out to make more money. I defined the total. Then I set out to do it. Only, I remembered to do it. That’s where the success came from – working the plan. But first, the plan.
The plan is simple – market at all times. Market when I’m busy. Market when I’m not. Find new sources of income and work. Secure long-term clients who need regular work. And I put an amount per month that I wanted to reach. So far this year I’ve secured a handful of new regular clients and maintained a good relationship with an existing one.
You can do the same, you know. Set little goals. Weekly ones work best for some. And hey, if yearly is too stretched out, maybe weekly is your thing. How about monthly? It may work for you to set goals that coincide with your monthly expenses. Then again, you may think that’s too detailed and you just want to make more than you spend. Even that’s a goal of sorts, right?
The idea is to make the goals fit who you are. Also, you can set goals until the cows come home – if you don’t plan, even a little, how you’re going to reach them, well, we call them wishes at that point. As they say, wish in one hand…. you know which hand weighs more, dontcha?
What part of goal setting drives you nuts? Are you able to define how to reach them? If so, what happens then? Where in this entire process do you lose focus?
Congrats, Lori! I find this is a great time of year to re-evaluate the business and secure a workable plan through the end of the year. Let’s hope the success continues –
What drives me nuts is remembering to be flexible. I like to stick to the plan, but I find out (especially during those times saturn is retrograde) that you can have the goal and the plan, and then the Universe decides it needs to happen in a different way, and you better be able to think on your feet.
I get there, but usually quite differently than the plan.
As long as I don’t lock myself into the plan and get in my own way, I’m okay.
Great point, Devon. Flexibility is essential. When life gets in the way, it’s often best to follow along and check out the new scenery. 🙂