The Magic of Setting Goals
Posted in Business, Self Development
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By Carole Bennett
One of the most insidious aspects of being a small business owner, especially in the early days as a solopreneur, is the tendency to get lost in day-to-day activities.
When one day blurs into the next, in a never-ending cycle of daily and one-off tasks, it’s very easy to get into a “holding pattern”, and lose sight of the desire to move your business forward to the next level.
What if I told you that changing this is as easy as waving a magic wand? You’d probably laugh, and think I’ve lost my mind, and I wouldn’t blame you. However, it really is amazingly simple – and it’s all in the power of our own thoughts, which is sort of magical, in and of itself.
What I’m talking about is the magic of setting goals; big, hairy, audacious goals (a phrase so awesome that it has its own Wikipedia entry) or smaller, incremental goals. The smaller ones are less intimidating, and a great way to start out; eventually, you’ll work up to those bigger goals, and plan out your path accordingly.
The amazing part of setting goals is this; it actually changes your mindset. The most astonishing part is that you start to see those goals as things that are not only possible, but in some part of your mind, are already occurring. As a result, you start framing your actions in terms of how they fit into the achievement of your goals, and the confidence to follow through on those actions begins to show itself as well.
One of the ways in which you can reinforce this mentality is to share your goals with a trusted group of friends, family and associates. Not only is this for accountability, but those people will the ones most likely to actively reach out on your behalf, whenever an opportunity presents itself.
Stay flexible; you may find that your opportunities to achieve your goals will present themselves sooner than you expected. This can be a bit scary, but don’t be afraid to see it through – every experience will put you in a better position to achieve your bigger goals, or to shape your downstream goals in a way that meets your needs and desires.
This exact situation recently happened to one of my clients; Sharon Sullivan, of Dream Hats. Sharon specializes in custom millinery, with an emphasis on period pieces. A year ago, I did a profile on her business, and in it, she expressed the desire to one day have her own booth at a renaissance fair. This spring, she was presented with the opportunity to do just that. While she was thrilled, it was unexpectedly short notice. She could have gracefully declined, but instead, she put everything into overdrive, and pulled it off beautifully.
Setting that goal a year ago shaped many of Sharon’s business decisions, which put her in a better position to be ready when her “dream” opportunity presented itself. In the same way, setting goals will help you keep your eyes on the future, even while you’re focusing your attention on how your current actions will get you there.
Carole Bennett is the founder and primary voice of IndigoTea. As a professional IT consultant, Carole has provided solutions for companies as diverse as Verizon, Frito-Lay, Capital One Auto Finance, and Zales Jewelers, parlaying a unique talent for acting as a translator between the worlds of business challenges and technology solutions. After nearly two decades of experience in providing business and technology solutions in the corporate space, Carole chose to dedicate her wealth of experience towards creating outstanding results for her small business clientele. She considers her skills gained from simultaneously managing a fire performance troupe, raising a family, and working as a full-time IT consultant excellent preparation for her current career incarnation as the driving force behind IndigoTea Small Business Solutions. “Fire-breathing redhead on a mission” is not just a metaphorical description!
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