What Does Success Look Like?

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If you are struggling to succeed and missing the mark, the answer may lay in your strategic planning. You may not be looking at the big picture enough to understand the small things that go into succeeding on a project. Maybe you don't really understand proper planning and organizing yet.

What Does Success Look Like?
Have you really thought about what success looks like? Take the time right now to write down exactly what success looks like to you. Does it mean more money, more freedom, or something else entirely? There are no wrong answers, but if you don't have an answer and you don't know what constitutes success, it will be hard to feel as if you're successful. If you think about it, this is true for any project you are working on. What should the deliverable look like? Answer that and you have your starting point.

What Are the Steps Needed to Get to Success?
Can you pinpoint exactly the steps needed to reach success? Do you know how long it will take, how many hours each day you will need to focus on the steps needed to reach success? It's important that you can look at what the end result is supposed to be and work your way backward to the beginning to design the steps necessary to reach success. The big vision at the end starts with what you're going to do Monday morning at 9:00 a.m.

Do the Steps That It Takes to Reach Success
Once you've defined what success is, and designed the steps that will get you to success, now it's time to act on these steps and do them. No one gets to success without taking action. Action is the forward movement that will help you wind up at your destination. If you're spinning your wheels, you may be stuck in one of the planning phases. Move out of that planning phase and start acting.

Are the Steps You're Taking Creating Momentum?
It's also important to build in a few stops along the way toward your goals to evaluate how everything is going. Is what you're doing leading you to success? Are you getting some results that indicate that you're on the right track? If so, keep going. If not, re-evaluate if your plan is sufficient to move you toward the success that you need.

Is something missing that is crucial to getting to success, such as a skill that you need to take time out to learn? If so, you may need to add in time for learning, but don't trick yourself into thinking learning is action. It's not.

Defining success, planning based on the definition, then acting on the plan and putting into motion the steps necessary to achieve success, are all important components of moving behind the struggle to achieve success and finally experiencing success.

Guest Article: Creating a Blueprint for Your Success

By Joanne Victoria
Reprinted with Permission

Having a strong foundation enables you to build a thriving, profitable life and business. A simple method to create this foundation is with Discovery, Vision, Planning, and Benchmarking, the four cornerstones of your life as well as your business.

Discovery is defined as examining where are you now and where are you going. It helps to look at everything as if you were a beginner. Always know why you are in the business of your choice. If your strategy is not clear, you won't recognize the destination when you get there. This is the time to bring in your outside Vision Team.

Vision is who you are about and what your life is about. This is where you determine values you need to experience on a continuing basis. Vision is also where you become the expert in your field and decide the purpose of your business. Remember, the smaller the niche, the larger the reward. Abandon any preconceived beliefs you have about this or any other business. They can restrict your thinking. Live out of this new vision, not your past comfort.

Planning creates the strategies that help you arrive at your destination. A simple system is to - Show Up, Be on Time, Keep Your Word, and Tell The Truth. It's like riding on that train, sometimes there are hills to climb; sometimes there are curves and other times you're flying rapidly down the mountain to your destination. In any instance, you must remain focused on what you want and where you are going.

Benchmarking helps you stay on track without comparisons. This is where you can create goals or optimum wants that may be on the outer edge of possibilities or a goal that is far bigger than you think is attainable. Going into new territory can unlock your potential and increase your development. When goals or optimum results are achieved, you can acknowledge success and learn to be satisfied. Again, put it in writing; the goals, the results and the acknowledgement.

Rules require exceptions, so even if you follow the above. And create a strong foundation, you must be prepared for chaos. Chaos can aid in your personal and business development if you have eliminated all toxic people or commitments from your life.

Chaos can then become the opportunity to progress rapidly into new territory. You can be the architect of your own life.

Build a strong foundation and you can always remodel.

© 2002 Joanne Victoria. All Rights Reserved Worldwide

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Joanne Victoria works with independent professionals and professional practice owners who want to simplify their lives and streamline their operations in order to achieve more.

Reach her at 415-491-1344
joanne@joannevictoria.com
http://www.JoanneVictoria.com