"I'll start
next year"
"Better wait till I pay off the lawnmower"
"But, business can be such a hassle"
"I might fail and look ridiculous"
It is these types of
rationalizations traveling throughout our subconscious mind that keep the overwhelming
majority of people from ever attempting anything of real substance. How then do we convert
our natural fears of the unknown into actions that will lead us to our ultimate goal of
success?
Hard knocks experience in business
has opened my eyes to the three critical elements of success. These elements are:
Defining of Goals
A Plan of Action
Self-Control
Let's take a look at each of these
three elements and discuss how they can help you achieve real and lasting success.
Defining a goal:
Imagine for a moment that you have
just purchased an expensive rifle. You take your new rifle to an indoor shooting gallery
to test her out. You have also purchased all of the extras because you want to look
professional. You have a new shooting vest, a scope and plenty of expensive ammunition.
You're all set!
You pay your gallery fees, load your
rifle, bring it to your shoulder, then boom! The lights go out. You find yourself standing
in total darkness, you can't see a thing. You patiently wait for the lights to come back
on, but nothing happens. As you stand there you begin to think, "Hey, I paid for
this, I'm going to shoot despite the darkness!" You begin firing away in what you
believe is the direction of your target. A few minutes later the lights come back on.
You're curious to see if you have hit the target so you haul it in to check. To your
disappointment, after wasting several expensive rounds of ammunition, you didn't hit the
target once. In fact, you didn't even come close!
If you were to enter into a business
venture without a clear mental vision of what your goals are, you would experience the
same result as our target shooter above. You will completely fail to hit your targeted
goals.
Setting business goals are critical
to the success of any business enterprise. Notice that I use (goals) in its plural form.
Many people are confused about the use of the term goals and think of it as a singular
target or element. However, most successful people recognize that there are at least two
types of goals. The ultimate goal and the milestone goal.
Let's pretend for a moment that the
statement shown below is your ultimate goal for entering into a business venture.
"My goal is
to become a millionaire"
This ultimate goal represents an end
result that must be achieved through a series of smaller goals. It is the completion of
the smaller goals that will ultimately bring you to the realization of your primary goal
of becoming a millionaire.
The point I am attempting to make
here is simple. If you want to achieve an ultimate goal of great magnitude, you must first
define a series of smaller achievable goals that will move you in the direction of your
ultimate goal.
The smaller more achievable goal is
referred to as a milestone goal. These milestone goals, no matter how modest, are the key
to your success. Each completed milestone goal takes you one step closer to your ultimate
goal and will also provide the psychological lift you need to keep pushing forward.
Milestone goals should be tied
directly into your business plan so that every action you take brings you one step closer
to your ultimate goal. How this is done will be discussed later in this chapter. For now,
I would like you to decide exactly what your goals are for entering into the field of
disability consulting. Is it to earn extra income, to help other people, to achieve
financial independence, etc. Write down your ultimate goal and keep it as a reminder as
you develop your strategies for success.
Plan of action:
Planning is defined as a series of
specific actions set into events that will lead to a predetermined result.
Again, let's use the ultimate goal
of becoming a millionaire as the end result of our planning strategy. We know that we want
to become a millionaire, but we must figure out exactly how we will achieve this result
using those resources at our disposal.
Building a business is like building
a house. You need a plan, materials and the energy to put it all together. However,
nothing can occur without a plan!
The following is a basic plan of
action for setting up a disability consulting service. We will begin our plan by
identifying required materials as outlined in the business guide segment of this program.
Materials needed:
1. Disability Consultant
Training program
2. A Marketing plan of action.
3. Medical dictionary
4. DOT (Optional).
5. Computer (optional)
6. Typewriter or word processor
7. Telephone
8. Letterhead
9. Business cards
10. Brochures
From the above list of materials it
is possible for you to determine some of the basic costs of setting up your operation.
This is called an operational budget. The act of creating this list is also an example of
a completed milestone goal. Once you have budgeted and acquired the listed materials
above, you have completed an important milestone goal. In this case a simple operational
budget. The above list will also act as a cost analysis guide to help you determine that
all important break even analysis.
Each of the activities above, when
completed, would represent an achieved milestone goal bringing you one step closer to your
ultimate goal. This is an example of how setting small milestone goals can lead you to
eventual success.
Now that you have acquired your
materials and estimated the cost of operations, you are now ready to determine the cost of
acquiring customers. This action is referred to as marketing and requires planning if you
expect to succeed.
The cost of marketing can and must
be controlled. Start with a plan that is within your current budget. Once you have decided
which marketing approaches you will use, estimate the cost and set aside that amount for
your advertising budget.
This text will describe a number of
marketing techniques that range from free exposure to relatively expensive television
advertising. If you desire, you may start with more aggressive techniques such as radio or
television advertising depending upon your budget. Regardless of your approach, use your
marketing techniques in a building block fashion. Start slow and build upon your successes
by adding additional techniques as your budget will allow.
Creating a materials list, acquiring
those materials, learning your craft and deciding upon a marketing approach are all
examples of milestone goals. No matter how small the accomplished event, if it leads you
in the direction of starting and operating your business, it is a successfully completed
milestone goal.
Think of a business or marketing
plan as a mathematical equation. P = Plan, W = Work and T = Time. In order for your plan
to succeed, you must perform work over a period of time. There are no short cuts or
exceptions to this rule. Incidentally, this formula is also the mathematical equation for
power!
P = W
T
So far we have discussed two of the
three essential components that lead to success. We have defined our ultimate goal as
becoming a millionaire. We have begun movement leading to the realization of our ultimate
goal by developing a plan of action. In developing and acting upon our plan, we have taken
a series of small but important milestone steps leading us to the eventual realization of
our ultimate goal.
There is only one other significant
hurdle that can prevent you from reaching your ultimate goal and that hurdle is you. You
must learn to control your patterns of thought and behavior if you are going to succeed in
the competitive world of business. This requires an essential element called self control.
Self control:
"Even a journey of a thousand
miles must begin with a single step."
We as human beings are very often
our own worst enemies. You've heard this statement a thousand times and believe me it's
true. We as individuals are constantly acting to restrict and restrain our own creative
potential via our poorly controlled fear of the unknown.
America is full of intelligent,
ambitious and capable people who are going nowhere. These individuals may be highly
educated with good basic skills, but for some reason they just can't seem to get it
together when it comes to success. Those of us with the above characteristics are usually
suffering from a phenomenon known as the self-control syndrome.
Self-control is defined as the
governing of ones own emotional states and behaviors in order to achieve a desired goal.
Most people fail to achieve success because they simply do not understand the negative
influences working within their own subconscious mind. The first sign of poor emotional
control is the need to identify reasons why something won't work. Waste not a moment of
your time evaluating why something won't work. Instead use that energy and creativity to
determine how to make it work using the resources at your disposal.
There are many reasons why people
suffer from a lack of emotional and behavioral self-control. Most of us learned our
negative patterns of thought during our childhood and carry those patterns deep within our
subconscious mind throughout our lives.
Many individuals have experienced
business, career or personal failures that have reinforced either a negative self
perception or has created a basic fear of trying. These often painful experiences can
produce crippling self doubt that can create a psychological reluctance to try. Whatever
the cause of a negative self-image, the results are the same, a lack of meaningful pursuit
of one's goals. Most of us don't recognize that these patterns of failure exist, but we do
recognize that something must change within us if we are going to succeed.
Learn to recognize that fear is a
mortal enemy of success. Fear may manifest itself in a multitude of ways, some of which
are not easily recognizable:
Fear of failure
Fear of success
Fear of the unknown
Fear of change
Fear can only be controlled if it is
recognized and acted upon immediately. No matter what causes your fears, there are several
ways in which the pattern of reluctance caused by fear can be overcome.
1.
Recognize that feeling fear related to change in your life is normal. Don't waste time
trying to stop the feeling of fear itself. Concentrate on not allowing fear to stop you
from taking planned actions which will lead to your success.
2.
Do your homework. As mentioned earlier in this chapter, there is no substitute for
planning. It is your responsibility to understand both your business and your market.
Don't depend on others to do this for you. You are responsible for your own success or
failure!
3.
Take pleasure from each milestone goal that you complete. Learn that in each small step
comes the knowledge that the next step is indeed possible. Give yourself a small treat or
pat on the back each time you achieve a milestone goal. It is a sad fact that in business,
the only one who will really care about your personal achievements will be you. So, don't
hesitate to reward yourself if something is done right.
4.
Think for yourself! Even those who love you most may sometimes be your greatest source of
discouragement. Ask for opinions, but make the final decisions yourself.
5.
Allow yourself to be creative. Do not hesitate to take an idea or method and alter it to
fit your needs and desires. This creative process will allow you to defeat any problem you
may face along the road to success.
6.
Expect to face problems. Do not spend time fearing the possibility that a problem might
occur because no matter what you do, problems will arise. Solve the problems as they
occur, then move on.
7.
Focus! You must focus your energy and attention on both your ultimate goal and on each
milestone task as you build your company. Do not allow a day to go by without performing
at least one small task having to do with reaching your business objectives.
8. Be
patient! Without patience you simply will not be able to face the emotional frustrations
that are inevitable when building a successful business.
9.
Don't trust or depend on the Government! You will discover that SSA is not interested in
making your service a success. Don't hesitate to question any actions or limitations
placed on you or your client that appear to be unfair. Use an attorney if necessary to
limit SSA's interference in your business. Believe me, as the Government finds itself more
and more in debt, it will have little incentive to help others.
SUMMATION
A)
Define your ultimate goal! Then select milestone goals that will lead you to the
realization of your ultimate goal.
B)
Select a plan of action! Use the concept of milestone goals to complete small tasks that
lead to success. Good planning is a product of research and knowledge, both of which are
your responsibility.
C) Control
your emotions! Think positive. Do not allow your own insecurities, a bad experience or a
negative self image to distract you from pursuing and realizing your dreams.
*****************************
