If you’re like most people, you spend time thinking about what you would like to achieve in your professional & personal life, but more often than not life gets so busy, demanding & stressful that you just don’t have time to take the required action.

Well, why don’t you take this time for yourself & take advantage of this opportunity to put some thought into planning & getting yourself ready for a new, fresh flying start. Make this the ideal time for YOU! Make it special just for YOU & start right NOW ...

By doing this right NOW, you will be off to a great head start ... It is all about advantage, about gaining that 'edge'. If you know what you want, why you want it, & most importantly, HOW you are going to get it, then you are a step ahead of the game.

So, what can YOU do right now to get focused & get a clear plan of action up & running?

Here is a step by step guide to setting up your Action Plan

Let's start first by doing a quick inventory of where you are at right now ...

Spending a few minutes reflecting on where you are right now on your Business / Career / Personal Goals list will get you focused on what you need to do. The actions you have taken to date this year are the measuring stick of your REALITY.

As business philosopher & motivational speaker, Jim Rohn, says (paraphrasing) - You are where you are today as a result of actions you took a year ago. If you want to be in a different place this time next year, then you have to do things differently now.

Regarding your goals, your past or recent actions have placed you in one of three positions. You’ve either:

1. Exceeded your expectations of what you wanted to achieve. Congratulations!

2. Achieved your expectations of what you set out to accomplish. Well done!

3. Did not/or fell behind in achieving your desired goals or expectations. That’s OK – time to start anew!

Regardless of what position you are in, remember you have decided that now is the ideal time to gather yourself, wipe the slate clean & get your plan clear & on track to kick into high gear for the next phase in your business. Pat yourself on the back.

Important preliminary Questions

Do you know what you want? Do you know why you want it? Do you know how you are going to get it?

If you do, that is great! You are a step ahead. If you don't, then take the time to think this through. Give yourself some space to work on this. Indulge yourself. This can be a highly enjoyable process.

Some of you may be doing this seriously for the first time - enjoy the process! For others, you may have done this many times before - use this opportunity to approach this with a fresh eye & enjoy the process!

Setting Goals starts with focusing on your Dreams

Start with focusing on your dreams. Get in touch with what really excites & inspires you, what you are passionate about & what you really love doing. Write down your dreams.

What is the difference between a dream & a goal?

On one level, the standard reply is - a goal is a dream with a timeframe. On another level, there is so much more to this, as you will see as you read on …

Make sure your Goals are aligned with your Values

A note of caution - It is important that your goals are aligned with your values. Decide what is important to you & in what order. Make sure the goals you set for yourself do not conflict with your values.

Be Authentic

It is important to operate from a place of truth & honesty within you - tap into what you really want from the heart, from your soul, from a place of integrity & authenticity within you. It has to sit right with you. Take note of your feelings & emotions as you put thought to this.

Beware! Be aware that your ego is not driving your goals - fuelled by competitiveness with others, or envying what others have, or fitting in with what you think others expect of you. This takes some soul searching & self-awareness.

Visualize

Picture yourself doing what you wish for & what you need to get done. Visualizing trains the subconscious to focus on completing tasks & primes your mind & intention for action.

Goal Setting

With your dreams firmly in focus, write down your goals. Be very specific - the more specific, the better. Be as graphic as you can be. Be creative. Use written words, draw pictures, cut out images from magazines, use your PC drawing facility. Whatever takes your fancy.

Quoting Jim Rohn again - 'If you go to work on your goals, your goals will go to work on you. If you go to work on your plan, your plan will go to work on you. Whatever good things we build end up building us.'

Write down your Plan

Rough ideas about goals & actions are of no value unless they are written down. Putting your plans on paper makes an elusive goal more concrete. A connection takes place between the brain & the hand via pen & paper. When you do not write it down, it remains fuzzy, but as you write it & revise it, it becomes clear.

Long term Goals (3-5 years & beyond)

Look ahead 3-5 years & write down your goals. This may be difficult for some of you, but give it your best shot. Some of you may wish to look further down track, if you can, perhaps to 10 years.

1 year Goals

From the long term, bring your goals into a 1 year timeframe of what you believe is achievable. Write these down. Quantify wherever possible. For example, if you have a financial goal, be specific to the dollar.

6 month Goals

Bring your goals into a 6 month timeframe of what you believe is achievable. Write these down. Quantify again wherever possible.

3 month Goals & the 90 Day Plan

You have arrived at the 90 Day Plan ! Congratulations !

Action Plan

Break down the activities into achievable timeframes within the 90 days or 3 months. Break these down into monthly activities & then into weekly & daily activities. Be reasonable about what is achievable.

Get a diary planner, or use those available on your PC, or better still, create your own on your PC to suit your own special needs & tastes. When complete you will have a week-by-week, day-by-day 90 Day Action Plan.

Accountability

With your Action Plan in place, make sure you stay accountable to yourself. Be true to yourself. You may wish to work with a Coach for a period to help you with this. A Coach also can help you to more clearly align your goals with your values, help you overcome what may be holding you back, guide you to creatively identify lateral action steps, help & motivate you to take action, help you adjust your plan, & work with you hand-in-hand so that you can achieve your goals much faster.

Remember, a dream stays a dream, & a goal stays a goal, & they never see reality - without ACTION. So take action today, now, tomorrow, soon. Just take action. Massive action if you really want to see big results.

But, don't allow yourself to feel irretrievably locked in. Don't feel as though an iron grid or ball & chain are being placed on you. A plan is a rough guide.

Review your Plan

Be flexible. Adjust it to suit you & your circumstances. Ramp it up or take it down. Whatever is relevant & appropriate to you.

Why would you change your plan in midstream? If what you were doing did not work as well for you as you expected, then you CAN adopt a new approach in the next 90 days.

Most successful entrepreneurs will tell you that they routinely adjust their plans if results are not what they expected. They regard something that did not work as a learning process & one step closer to the next idea that will work outrageously well. They bounce back, they get excited & exhilarated by the next opportunity, the next experiment to try - to see if that one nets them the successful result.

It has nothing to do with failure but rather with your willingness to step back, analyze, 'go with the flow', learn & try again until you finally get the desired results. Remember, the point is to try to make an impact in your business or achieve changes in your personal life in the next 90 days. Its OK to take things step by step … remember, baby steps … they all add up.

Back-to-Back 90 Day Plans

When your first 90 Day Plan is nearing completion, you can plan the next 90 Day Plan & run back-to-back Plans. With 4 x 90 Day Back-to-Back Plans you will have the entire year sewn up & well on your way to achieving your great goals!

Copyright 2004