One of the hardest things for some of us to do is to plan for success. We're told to take things "one day at a time" and to "live in the moment" and "be present". And we absolutely SHOULD do those things! It's called being mindful.
AND we should also look to the future and give ourselves goals to reach and make plans on how we'll reach those objectives.
As an entrepreneur we pretty much have to be able to live in 3 different time lines. The past- because we need to be able to look at any previous mistakes and learn how to avoid those same ones later on. The present- for obvious reasons. And the future- because we want to be successful in our endeavors and a part of gaining that success is making plans for what we want to have happen.
When I first started this business I really only thought about the future, which wound up being a vast mistake! Then as I made mistake after mistake I became fearful of planning and even thinking about future outcomes. Now? About half of my thoughts are on what I should be working on currently in order to even have a chance of hitting my goals in the near and distant future.
My plans right now include branching outside of PA on a more permanent basis, opening a new gallery which includes retail products and of course helping even more artists reach their own goals.
Some of my goals have changed over the last couple of years, while others have remained the same since I started this business. And that's exactly how things should be! As our businesses change over time, we do as well and so should our goals and plans.
Some of the things we wanted 5, 10, 15 years ago have no place in where we may be headed 10, 15, 20 years later. Some of our old goals should have already been reached while others absolutely should change. Then there are some things we may have THOUGHT we wanted when we were younger and not as wise so those things should just be deleted once we know more and realize we've changed.
Anyway, if you're not considering what you'd like to see in your business future, give yourself some time to really sit down and think about it. It's important to provide yourself with some kind of bullseye or at the very least an idea of a target to hit- even if the loose target is simply to love your life more by enjoying your career choice more! You should still have a reason/goal/plan for doing what you're doing, otherwise why bother at all?
AND we should also look to the future and give ourselves goals to reach and make plans on how we'll reach those objectives.
As an entrepreneur we pretty much have to be able to live in 3 different time lines. The past- because we need to be able to look at any previous mistakes and learn how to avoid those same ones later on. The present- for obvious reasons. And the future- because we want to be successful in our endeavors and a part of gaining that success is making plans for what we want to have happen.
When I first started this business I really only thought about the future, which wound up being a vast mistake! Then as I made mistake after mistake I became fearful of planning and even thinking about future outcomes. Now? About half of my thoughts are on what I should be working on currently in order to even have a chance of hitting my goals in the near and distant future.
My plans right now include branching outside of PA on a more permanent basis, opening a new gallery which includes retail products and of course helping even more artists reach their own goals.
Some of my goals have changed over the last couple of years, while others have remained the same since I started this business. And that's exactly how things should be! As our businesses change over time, we do as well and so should our goals and plans.
Some of the things we wanted 5, 10, 15 years ago have no place in where we may be headed 10, 15, 20 years later. Some of our old goals should have already been reached while others absolutely should change. Then there are some things we may have THOUGHT we wanted when we were younger and not as wise so those things should just be deleted once we know more and realize we've changed.
Anyway, if you're not considering what you'd like to see in your business future, give yourself some time to really sit down and think about it. It's important to provide yourself with some kind of bullseye or at the very least an idea of a target to hit- even if the loose target is simply to love your life more by enjoying your career choice more! You should still have a reason/goal/plan for doing what you're doing, otherwise why bother at all?