Work with how things actually are...

When I talk to people about what they want to achieve in life, we often get on to the subject of what I will call, for want of a better phrase, 'The Entrepreneurial Fantasy'. This is something which a mentor of mine, Bill Bachrach, Chairman and CEO of Bachrach and Associates Inc., has talked about in relation to financial advisers, but it applies to all business owners.

The fantasy is that one day the world is going to work differently than how the world actually works. i.e. "if only people would return my phone calls, I'd be more successful"; "if only people would respond more positively when I call, I'd be more successful"; "if only people would schedule more appointments when I call, I'd be more successful"; "if only people never cancelled, or no-showed or rescheduled, I'd be more successful".

My message, I suppose, is simple: stop wishing the world were different and deal with the world the way it actually is instead of the way you would like for it to be.

The world is how the world is and the reality is that some people will cancel, some people will stand you up, some will reschedule and some will reschedule into eternity - you will have achieved your goals before they actually show up for the appointment or meeting or phone call that they sincerely say they genuinely want to have, but because of the way their life is, they just have to reschedule and no-show a lot of their stuff (not just you!)

Build your business with people that do show up and are able to keep their commitments. The intelligent business owner will build in a 'cushion' to allow for the way the world is.

"Don't wish it were easier, wish you were better. Don't wish for less problems, wish for more skills" - Jim Rohn.

In closing, we could sum up by agreeing not to become distracted by obstacles that you already know will occur and that the success of what you're currently doing is built upon the foundation that preceded it.

Your philosophy

When going for your goals with a legitimate vehicle to achieve them, some people may criticise you or laugh or try to pull you down. Realise that by going for your dreams, you're exposing the fact that they're not, and this is often the reason for ridicule or lack of support.

What other people think about what you're doing is none of your business. Think about it.

Napalm Flame

Inspiration

At the beginning of a new venture, sometimes it's helpful to believe in the belief others have in us before we can have this belief ourselves. One of our chief wants in life is for someone to show up and inspire us to do what we can and hold us accountable to do the things our goals require for their achievement, that, without that person, they would not get done. Who can you help to see a bigger vision for themselves than they can see right now?

Good intentions

This is a picture of Vanessa's reasonabley rare orchid which has just come into flower for the first time in seven years! It's called Napalm Flame and came from Madeira. It's a bit of a fussy plant: normally orchids are in flower all year round in our house but this is one of two that is a bit 'special' it seems, flowering infrequently and less prolifically. The relevance of this to Good Intentions? None that I can think of, but it's an amazing thing and lends colour to this blog item.

So, I read an article by Fiona Bevan on LinkedIn today about good intentions and following through on them to achieve what you want in 2010. In essence, the importance of goal setting, planning and then implementing. Afterall, results come from implementation in the real world.

I could not agree more and I'll repeat what I wrote on the discussion board: don't start your day until you have it finished; don't start your week until you have it finished; don't start your month until you have it finished. Goal Setting and Planning are 2 of the 7 high pay-off activities which I have been taught to allocate to major time.

Which leads me on to another point: do major things in major time and minor things in minor time. Avoid getting these mixed up. And remember, its on a daily basis that we succeed or not: a few simple discliplines repeated every day = success and a few, subtle and small errors in judgement repeated every day = failure.

Finally a word of caution to wrap around all this: be happy with what you have while pursuing what you want. Thanks to the late Jim Rohn for your inspiration.

You can find out more about Fiona Bevan at her Chartered Management Accountant site here: http://www.fionabevanfinancialmanagement.co.uk/ and also her Bright Dimension site here: http://www.brightdimension.co.uk/ Her LinkedIn profile is http://uk.linkedin.com/in/fionaatbrightdimension