Are you stuck when it comes to getting started?
When I first started out on my own after leaving the corporate world, I wrote down a short vision of why I was in business.
I then setup goals which would help me make this vision a reality.
Then, nothing.
Actually, it wasn’t nothing.
It was a feeling of being overwhelmed, completely paralyzed by the sheer amount of work required just to get to step one.
Why setting goals doesn’t bring progress
The biggest secret, which many coaches won’t share with you, is that setting goals isn’t progress.
You don’t need a coach to set goals, we all do it naturally, at this time of the year it’s called New Year resolutions.
Looking back at what was in 2011 and planning for 2012, is a first step and more often than not the last one to achieving success.
Setting goals, planning and reading about HOW to prepare and build a goal calendar doesn’t get you an inch closer to achieving your goals.
One day you have to let go, stop doing what you have been spending your time on and pick up new habits.
Basically you need to take action, in a sustainable way.
The myth of the right time and the perfect idea
Due to the abundant volume of data we are drowning in these days through blogs, social media and TV you can research your business idea or how to price your services for hours everyday for the rest of your life.
Then just when you think you have a good grasp of what you are looking to achieve, a new bright shinny tool comes along.
These a one-size fits all solutions don’t work, stop buying them.
Finally, as you are getting ready to jump and take action on your new goals, a tiny voice starts to murmur these words:
“Is it really the right time to start?”
These little words killed more careers and businesses than every recession in the history of mankind.
How to get started
1 Choosing a lifestyle
-When I moved to France I wanted more time to spend with my family, less commuting, more time to write and help others, fewer board-room meetings.
I also chose to live in a tiny village, which meant I had to dig a trench and pull the internet cable to my house, this isn’t big city life. All these factors make my lifestyle and indirectly dictate my goals.
- How do you want to live?
- Where do you want to spend your time doing?
- Who do you want to spend your time with?
2 Choose goals which are consistent with your lifestyle
If you want to achieve a big move in your career next year but you want to have every weekend free to go out with your friends, do you see how this is not going to work?
Similarly, if you want to lose weight and get fitter but you spend your time with people who love to smoke, eat junk food and drink, you are setting yourself up for failure.
Who your surround yourself with and which lifestyle you want to experience matters, a lot, to get you started.
3 Find someone to keep you accountable
As a coach I’m a professional at accountability. I make sure I keep my clients on track with their chosen goals and offer an outsiders’s perspective on their efforts.
We don’t reach every goal we set for ourselves in life.
We fall off the wagon, but to in order to fall we first need to start.
When you know someone is waiting to hear about your quest, your efforts to reach your goal, it makes it a lot harder NOT to start.
What is your stopping you from starting, today on your 2012 goals?
Still not sure how to start? Give me a shout and I’ll be happy to help!
In the meantime, jump on the newsletter list below and I’ll send you exclusive FREE tips on how to get started on an awesome 2012 year, that you won’t get from just reading my posts! What’s stopping you?
Hi I'm a coach who believes life is an adventure, and entrepreneurs need to cultivate an adventure mindset to succeed.
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Making goals is essential to success, I have a big board in my office with my list of 2012 goals and hopefully will keep it going all the way through the year.
Enjoyed the post, John. Seems to be an on-going process, that we need to stay on top of and tweak as we go. The main things is to take action steps in “manageable chunks”. Questioning ourselves- is what I’m doing leading me to the goal I’ve set.
We can take actions based on goal, but also, we can craft goals based on actions we like doing that we’re ALREADY doing. I enjoy doing “x”…how can I make it work in a different way?
Hi John,
What you’re saying about finding out who I want to help makes a lot of sense. I’ve always been thinking the opposite, what do I want to be doing.
I’m starting a business in 2012, but before I do, I want to have all the strategies and plans ready. I even want my first customers. I’ve already turned down a few, because I wasn’t sure if I wanted to work with them and if I wanted to do that type of job. I’m not sure if it was such a good idea to turn them down, but I just didn’t feel ready.
I find the problem for me is trying to define what it is I’m supposed to be doing. It’s easy to work for someone else, who gives you tasks and deadlines. The difficulty when you work for yourself is that you have to create your own job description then hold yourself accountable to it.
And you are right, it really all boils down to taking action, in a sustainable way!
Great advice John!
Hi Alison,
Yes creating our own job description, I look at it this way. Find out who you want to help, what you want to bring to this world.
Define a series of goals which will help you get there.
Make a list of actions, break them down into to-do lists.
Now you have a job description
As for holding yourself accountable, it’s not easy but finding out WHY you do what you do, goes a long way in keeping the wind in your sails.
Have a great Holiday Season, I hope things aren’t too crazy in Greece right now for you.
Hi John,
I think I do tend to overcomplicate things
I’m in the middle of doing exactly what you suggest.
Have a great holiday season in France!
I’m in Crete, so it’s quite far removed from say somewhere like Athens luckily!
So very true John!
I think with the coming New year we all do need to make proper resolutions that we ARE going to follow. And as you rightly mentioned, you don’t really need anyone, other than your self-conscious to guide you and help you make those decisions to move ahead.
Thanks for the wonderful reminder. I guess I better start jotting down things that I have been putting aside and get started to make achievable aims.
Love the reminder John, and the wonderful tips.
Hi Harleena,
Let me know what you will be jotting down for 2012, sharing them is a great way to be held accountable to your goals
THanks for stopping by, it’s always a pleasure to read you.
I’m really working on this stuff right now, actually. Can’t help but feel I’m a little behind the ball, too. There’s so much to do and so little time to do it.
My first step was visualizing what the business will be doing once it’s “arrived.” Then I asked myself “Why would a gearhead want to participate in this organization?” (I’m focused on automotive enthusiasts worldwide.)
With this list of needs/wants from my target demographic, if you will, I turned my eyes to thinking about how we’ll meet/exceed those needs/wants. I found myself staring at three lists of 8-10 bullet points each and realized this would make for a great 2012 content strategy!
Next on my list of things to do for this particular venture is brainstorm what we’ll need to integrate into our products to make things possible. This is why I’m not feeling a little behind the ball.
And it’s all made possible because someone – a certain life coach we all know – asked me a single question on a Friday afternoon.
Exciting times!
Visualizing the final product/business is a great way to go about it.
I’m looking forward to see this content take shape next year and bring the results you deserve
Hi John,
Are you saying that one should not set goals in a formal way or that we shouldn’t wait till January 1st to start our goals?
Now that i am settled in France, I have been reflecting on what i wanted to accomplish in the coming months and i came upon Chris Guillebeaus articls about doing an “annual review” of what works and what doesn’t.
I’ve never been one to write out my goals. I just fly by the seat of my pants and do it. But this coming year i though i would do something different and write out my goals for once.
We’ll see what happens.
Hi Annie,
Annual reviews suck, they put everything into two simple boxes (wrong and right) and life doesn’t work that way.
They are a creation of big corporations to find a way to evaluate a large number of employees. Much like standardized testing they reduce
an entire life to two columns.
Failure and success is two very relative things when you work for yourself.
I prefer to simply look forward by asking two questions, read this post
http://expatlifecoach.com/expat-entrepreneur/looking-back/
I see your point. I have always thought annual reviews were pointless. But i do see lots of values in goal setting. I recently did a post about trying to write out my goals for the year based on looking back.
I think i just need to do it and see how it works out.
Looking forward to see you rock 2012