You show what you’re waiting on by showing what you’re working on. ~Bishop Dale C. Bronner~
I could come up with a thousand cliches like “the proof is in the pudding” but the fact of the matter is that your goals are reflected in the work that you’re doing. If you are pursuing entrepreneurship, you should have a plan and take action steps towards that plan. If you are writing a book, you should be writing pages daily until the task is complete. You show what you are pursuing by the plan you have created, and you pursue that plan by taking the necessary steps. I can’t say that I want to be a millionaire but I am not practicing good financial habits or working on creating wealth. It’s a contradiction.
So many newbie entrepreneurs contradict themselves by saying one thing and doing another. You must bring consciousness and clarity to your vision by creating a plan. But don’t get caught up in planning. You’d be surprised how many entrepreneurs and visionaries dreams die on paper! They plan and dream and write and write and write and write…you get where I’m going with this! Spending hours planning is great to solidify your plan, but never taking the steps on pursuing your goals is just crazy! Your plans should include exactly how you plan to accomplish your goals. What is your actual strategy? This is why I don’t get too caught up in creating business plans but rather the strategic plan. The business plan is a useful planning tool because it explains “the what” of your business, but the strategic plan explains “the how”. “The how” is the most important step in pursuing your goals.
Don’t forget in the midst of your writing and planning to include your strategy.
The beautiful thing about strategy is that it allows you to plan for uncertainty. (And you know there is tons of that with new pursuits!) Your strategy says “What am I going to do if this happens?” It’s excellent for emergencies and making quick decisions under pressure. Rather than trying to make a major decision on a whim and never thinking it through, you would have taken time to evaluate your risks and assumptions ahead of time. When problems arise both you and your team can refer to your strategic plan. It should guide your day to day actions. Let’s say for example you assumed you would get 10 customers per day but instead you get 10 customers every 2 months. What will you do? What is your strategy to accommodate that uncertainty?
Writing down your assumptions in your business is essential because it’s very easy to get lofty when it comes to your goals. Just because you think it’s great doesn’t mean everyone else will think it is. Write down some of the risks you’re taking and how you plan to recoup if they don’t go according to your plan. This is the real evidence of a visionary and entrepreneur who is serious and prepared for the success of her business.
Goal for today: Create or update your strategic plan.
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