Creating A Vision For Your Business

Winging Your Average Life..

I want you to look at that heading and really think about what it means and subsequently what it means for your online income. That's what your here for right? To make a living on the internet, creating an amazing business which lets you take control of your life and make it by your own design.You can't make anything great unless you plan on making it that way, there's a saying that goes, "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail". I'll be honest I have no idea who said that but the meaning behind it resonates with me so deeply, that every day I get up I know what I am doing and what I am working towards. But too often I speak with people and they don't know what they are going to do in that day, they might say "oh I'm just working" or "its my day off". 

These are the same people who don't know what they want out of life and they end up winging every day they get through. Even business owners who have the motivation and drive to make something of their business, don't always have a clear vision of how they are going to grow their business and where it is going to be in 3, 5 or even 10 years.

I want you to think of it this way, if you plan on going on holiday you have to really plan that holiday in detail if you are going to make it a great holiday. The location, the activities, whether its hot or cold there, whether the accommodation is classy or cheap, whether or not there is a mini bar because you know you are going to want a drink when you arrive at your room. The point is if you don't think about what you want out of a holiday, you will probably have a rubbish one. What I want to show you here is exactly how you can create an epic vision of your future business and use it to map out your success over a 3 or 5 year period.#


Creating Your Vision

Whether it is creating your online income generating business, or even a combination of both online and offline, you need to start with a vision. The vision needs to be of you already having reached your end destination. When a plane fly's to another country, the pilot already knew where he was going and they have a ETA already calculated. They know where their going, why and roughly how long it will take, its the same with your vision.To enable you to create a great vision of your business, here are the steps that myself and many other entrepreneurs are using to create great businesses with a purpose.

Step 1 - Create your picture

We think in pictures, so sometimes the best way of seeing the future you want is by drawing it. Now this doesn't have to be picasso grade work, it just needs to work for you, enabling you to put what you want your business to look like in years to come in drawing. This will be the starting point of writing your vision so think about the different components that would make up an ideal business for you. I remember I drew a picture of a laptop and a hammock on a private beach to begin with, I love travelling and if I can run my business like that, which many other people do in the same way then I am going to do so. The same goes for you, what do you really want out of your business and what do you want it to be?

Step 2 - Collect some photographs

Creating an online income or for that matter any other business is extremely ball breaking at times and it does drag you down if you rely on will power alone. Sometimes you need to remind yourself of why you are doing it, remind yourself of why you are putting in the effort in the first place and collecting photos is a great way to do it. Collect photos that reflect what you want out of your business, if that means you want a flash car and a mansion as a result of the online income you generate, then you need to find some pictures of these things. Do not under estimate the power of this step, seeing visual reminders of what you are working towards is great motivation to keep on going even when the going gets tough.

Step 3 - Describe your perfect day



Now were really getting into detail in this step. Now you need to describe your ideal day and what you want it to look like. What would you consider to be a day that just goes right for yourself? One that you come home and just can't stop talking to your other half about, a day that has been formed from lots of hard work and graft. Write it all down in detail so you can come back to it on a daily basis.

Step 4- Imagine what life will be like

Now you need to imagine exactly what your life will be like once you have created your ideal business. When you think about something already having been done, your subconscious will do everything it can to make it a reality as it does not know the difference between make believe and reality. Once your subconscious begins to work for you to make it reality, you have the most powerful tool on your side. Be as specific as you can, remember you need to make it so real, because when it comes down to it, the time in between you achieving your vision and now, simply becomes the buffering time of life.

Step 5 - Get clear about the value you deliver

You need to decide now exactly what the value is you are providing to your audience. Not just the features themselves, you need to explain the benefits of your business and what it can do for your customers. When you wake up knowing what you and your business is all about, you can create an online income unparalleled to any other income source, because you have a business that fuels the fire of your passion and a limitless platform of which to promote it. Know your features and benefits like the back of your hand.

Step 6 - Write your vision

Now it is time to write down the vision for your business. Don't worry if it isn't perfect, you can tweak it and add to it in time, it just needs to be believable, like it has already happened. Just start writing now!In time you will be able to emotionally charge it in various different ways, using language that really gets the hairs on your neck to stick up. If you have a strong vision written down now, giving you a reason to get out of bed every day to make it happen, if you read it every day and make it a part of you, well you are on your way to achieving your desired online income, business and lifestyle.

Author: Joe Searle

Want REAL Success? 8 Proven Success Strategies.

There are 8 proven strategies to success that highly successful people have always used to overcome obstacles to their goals. 

 
1. Get Aligned 
It's important to first clearly define exactly what you are truly passionate about -- then find a way to become successful at that passion. Only passion stirs up the kind of energy you'll need when you hit those inevitable bumps in the road. An important proven effective success strategy is to set passionate goals! 

 
2. Focus on Your Priorities
Many folks try to fit their dreams into their life -- complaining there are not enough hours in the day to make it happen. If you want your dream to become a reality, make it a priority. Otherwise it will never be more than a pipe dream, and you're just setting yourself up for disappointment.

Making something important happen in your life requires more than just a goal -- it requires a REAL plan of action to get you on target! Create a realistic goal plan that fits the reality of your life. 

 
3. Don't Force It
Don't try to force something that isn't happening. Go for the type of inspired, joyful action that comes along with pursuing a goal in true alignment with your dreams. This causes things to flow along easily and without energy-consuming "effort."

Contrast this to forcing yourself to take an action you really don't want to take. Most likely this will take you twice as long, and you'll bump up against obstacles.

Whenever possible swim with the current ... not against it. And stick to your goal plan to success.

 

4. Manage your Stress
Stress throws us off balance and into an older, less productive portion of our brain. It prepares you to fight or run. But it does not prepare you to successfully achieve a goal (unless that goal is to escape a tiger.) 

 
5. Build your Strengths
Success comes easier and more quickly when you focus on your strengths, and delegate in those areas where you are less capable. Your natural talents are those things you do so easily and naturally. They contain the seeds of your greatest potential accomplishments.

It's very important to identify and work on your natural talents and abilities. This is where self knowledge pays off in big dollars and accomplishments. And don't forget to also your build your mind power! 

 
6. Disarm Your Inner Saboteur
Fear of failure is the biggest internal fear most people will ever have to face. It is why so many ideas never get beyond the idea stage -- and why most new projects are started, but never finished.

It's okay to have these feelings, but it is important to identify them for what they are.

Most fears of failure go all the way back to childhood, and are not even accurate for who you are today. Drag them up into the daylight, and take serious action to face them head on. 

 
7. Develop ResilienceThe truth is, you will have setbacks along the way. This is inevitable. The sooner you accept that, the better. Often if you look closely, you will find these setbacks are directly related to your innermost thoughts, fears and beliefs. This is because we create what we focus on, including those things we don't want.

Don't get stopped by these bumps in the road. Learn from them. As you work through them you will become the person you need to be to create your dreams. And along the way, be sure to refine your stress management skills. This is an essential key to resilience! 

 
8. Use the Power of VisualizationThe muscles we use to physically take action in our lives begins in the mind. That is why all great golfers, tennis players, basketball players, dancers, etc. visualize themselves performing successfully.

6 Ways Structure Can Help You Achieve Peak Creative Performance

As a business coach for freelancers and creative professionals, I specialize in working with people who are in a place of transition in their career or creative business. While their unique circumstances vary, more often than not they share one key challenge; they're not fulfilling their creative and commercial potential. I've come to believe that a successful creative business is a blend of four things: 

(1) a great product or service 

(2) good strategy 

(3) hard work and 

(4) a willingness to be out of our comfort zone more often that not. 

Hey, if it were easy, everyone would do it, right?

But the creative business is a unique and sensitive animal. If it's all about strategy and objectives, we lose the creative magic and if it's all about creativity, nothing gets done. So, how can we find and maintain balance?

After working with creative professionals for 15 years, being business owner myself for eight and benefiting from the wisdom of mentors and coaches, I've come to the conclusion that success comes down to one thing:

Creating a solid structure, within which there is a lot of freedom.

If you're in that place of transition and don't know how to balance structure and freedom, I'd like to share 6 strategies that have worked for me: 

1) Know what you want from your business

If we don't know where we want to go, we can't create a plan to get there. Set aside some uninterrupted time to really think about what you want from your business. When we're honest with ourselves, the answer is sometimes very different from what we think we want. For example:

- Are you starting a business and want to build a roster of ideal clients? 
- Are you happy with your business and clients, but would like a few more? 
- Do you want to build a business that is flexible enough to work around your family's schedule? 
- Do you want to be known as a thought-leader in your industry? 

You can see how the strategy would be vastly different for each of these businesses, so it's important to get clear from the outset. 

2) Write down everything you need to do to achieve your goal

Doing a brain dump is a great way to get all of your ideas out of your head and into one place. I love the mind-map method. It's simple, effective and perfect for visual types. Here's how you do it:

Take a piece of paper and put your main topic, e.g. your business name, at the center. As thoughts come to mind, draw branches from the main topic and write down that thought or objective (use as few words as possible). You can create sub-branches for additional thoughts or action steps. 

I love Goggle for creating mind maps that look pretty too! 

3) Prioritize and calendarize 

(I know it's not a word, but it should be!) 
Take your mind map and number your goals by priority. Start with number one, let's use Networking as the example, and list action steps you need to take. They night be: 

 
(a) Research BNI and visit one chapter this month  

  (b) Become a member of Freelancer's Union and attend one event this month 

   (c) Research local AIGA chapter

Now enter those action steps into your calendar. Once it's in the calendar it moves from a "should" to a done deal. Now you're free to do something else. 

4) Bundle your to-do's

Have you ever ended your day feeling exhausted and frustrated because you ran around like a headless chicken, without much to show for it? I have and it sucks.
I now bundle similar tasks together and take care of them in one sitting. I set Friday aside for book keeping and general admin. Monday is dedicated to content development and marketing and I cluster my coaching sessions on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday so that I can stay in the zone and be as present as I can. Clustering your efforts also helps you balance "doing" and "creating". 

5) Work with your natural rhythms

It's no coincidence that my writing/content work is slated for Monday when I'm fresh and my boring admin is on Friday, when I'm spent. I go for an early morning run on one of my coaching days, knowing that I will benefit the most from the boost of energy and clarity it provides. 

6) Make time to play and create

Do you deny yourself downtime because you feel guilty that you're not being "productive?" I struggle with this and, while we may think of it as a noble trait, it's really not. The fact is, we need time to dream, play and create. It's what gives us the magic, the inspiration and energy we need to do all of the above steps. Down time should be as much of a priority as everything else. So put THAT in your calendar and stick to it!

The 7 Most Popular Life Goals And How You Can Achieve Them

If I were to ask you what your number one goal is right now, I bet it would be in this list.

1. I want to write a book  

2. I want to start a business  

3. I want to be healthier  

4. I want to travel  

5. I want to make money doing something I love 
6. I want to do something positive for the world/volunteer.  

7. I want to reduce my stress (money worries, relationship worries, etc) 

This is a pretty ambitious list of things to want to do. Do you see yourself here? And if so, what have you been doing to try and achieve one or more of these?

Dreaming and doing are two different things. If you've been dreaming of a goal for weeks, months or even years now, here are some simple ways to make any of your goals come true. 

Life Goal #1: I want to write a book

In order to write a 50,000 word book in 30 days, you'll have to write 1,667 words per day. Sound like a daunting task? Stretch it out into a three month or six month process, and the numbers drop to 556 or 278 words per day respectively.

The problem isn't in creating the book; its usually in finding the time to do it. When you look at it in a slightly different format - I'll write my book in six months - it gives you a new perspective. If you normally get up at 7 in the mornings, get up at 6 and dedicate that hour to writing your 278 words. While the first few days might be extremely difficult to get your 278 words out, by the time you're several weeks into the project, 278 words will fall out in a few minutes time.

You can also dedicate time to your new found craft to make things easier. There are many writing and self-publishing groups online and in your local area. Consider joining a group like National Novel Writing Month to keep you on track with your writing. Or read one of the many books on publishing your own book - try APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur - How To Publish a Book 

Life Goal #2: I want to start a business

Starting a business has never been easier. It doesn't take a lot of time. It doesn't take a lot of money. And it no longer takes a lot of resources. If you have a laptop and Internet connection, you can set up a portable business from just about anywhere. In the book Laptops Millionaire it provides many ways to turn ideas into something we can do from our kitchen table, no matter what city our kitchen table is currently located in.

The problem with setting up a new business is overwhelm. If you've been thinking about starting up your own business for a while now, what's holding you back? Chances are it's the complexity of your goals. Instead of saying "I'm starting up a business", change it to something more manageable, such as "I'm printing up business cards today". All of a sudden you can quickly see your goals fall into place, just by shrinking up the requirements you think about every day. 

Life Goal #3: I want to be healthier

Why doesn't a diet work? Because you're not going to the root of the problem. Ask anyone on a diet how they are doing, and you'll start hearing a list of "I can'ts". I can't have this. I can't do that. A brain on "can't" will never make it.

When I decided to go vegetarian, I never once thought of all the things I couldn't eat. Instead, I focused on the delicious foods I got to eat. When I reduced the amount of sugar I take in to almost nothing, I never looked at sweets longingly. Instead, I chose to eat things I knew were healthy and made me feel better both inside and out.

In order to be healthier, you have to learn to turn your can'ts into cans. Commit to something you believe in - becoming vegetarian for instance - and do everything you can to turn that into a lifestyle. Buy a vegetarian cookbook - The Happy Herbivore is one of my favorites - and pick out one recipe for every day of the week. Add those ingredients to your shopping list, and make the time to incorporate them into your meal planning. 

Life Goal #4: I want to travel

What does travel mean to you? Do you like to get away for the weekend? Or does around the world travel, 365 days of the year fit more into your plans?

One of the best ways we've found to get more out of our travel bucks is to rent apartments and homes instead of staying in a hotel. Last year we spent six weeks in Spain and Italy, and rented two bedroom apartments in every city we visited. We had beautiful kitchens and used them almost daily for breakfast, lunch and dinners. We packed picnics when we went sightseeing for the day, and only rarely took in fancy restaurants. I guarantee we saved hundreds of dollars this way (and its healthier too) - which meant we could easily boost our travel time to six weeks on the savings. HomeAway and Vacation Rentals are two great resources for you to find cute vacation rentals right in the heart of everything.

Life Goal #5: I want to make money doing something I love

Let's face it, we all get sick of "life" on occasion. But if you find yourself sick of your day job every single day, it may be time to re-evaluate what makes you happy.

If you are one of the people that exists at work because you don't know what else to do, and a "big idea" has never hit your consciousness, it may be time to focus in on what will make you happy  right now.

Looking for one great idea puts too high of expectations on your lifestyle. Instead, simplify it and look at what you enjoy today and what you can see yourself doing right now. Focus in on the present, not what is feasible a decade or more into the future. By turning to who you are today and what's possible with your knowledge right now, its easier to focus in on things that are possible.

Life is full of opportunity. You just have to focus on what's possible right now in the present.

Life Goal #6: I want to do something positive for the world/volunteer

Sometimes a change of scenery is all you need to make you look at the world a little differently. Why not volunteer? You can take the traditional road and volunteer for something right in your own community, like Habitat for Humanity. Or combine your volunteering with a travel opportunity with organizations like Heifer International.

Volunteering can quickly set you up for finding a passion in your life. From there you may decide to help others set up their own life's purpose with places like Kiva. Or fund your own ideas with a place like Kickstarter. 

Life Goal #7: I want to reduce my stress (money worries, relationship worries, etc)

Think stress has to be a part of your life? Think again. Get to the root of the problem and eliminate it.

Stress doesn't go away without working at it. Stress is simply an outward expression of your reaction to something going on in your life. And if you don't change the pattern, it will continue to fester and grow until it impacts your life and/or your health.

You can start by taking control over your health. Meditation is a great way to put everything else aside and increase the peace you feel from the inside out.

Have specific issues going on in your life right now that you want to change? Don't go it alone. Sometimes an outside perspective can help you see things in an "a-ha" way. I've helped hundreds of people through my coaching programs. Being able to see things in a new light, and change your approach can truly put you on an entirely new path.

Do you see yourself in any of the above? Quit dreaming about it and just do it.

Find out Three Strategies For Creating More Success

There are a many reasons why developing a successful psychology is important. By establishing this sort of thinking you will gain greater control over your immediate and future business success. It will also allow you to avoid losing control of your business endeavors due to faulty thinking and execution. 

Finally, it will allow you to gain a greater sense of enjoyment in your business results.

In the rest of this article we will look at three strategies you can immediately employ to develop a greater capacity for business success.

These strategies include finding a mentor, modeling a successful person and self evaluation.  

Read:Thinking, Fast and Slow

Business Success Strategy #1 - Finding A Mentor


Wikipedia defines a mentor as 


"To advise or train (someone)."


So the main intent of this concept is to find someone that has the necessary knowledge and know-how to advice and train you on developing your business. If you talk to successful business people, you'll often hear they had a mentor.


This strategy works because an appropriate mentor has gained the necessary experience, knowledge and expertise through hands-on application. They can effectively shorten your learning curve by giving you expert feedback to allow you to quickly learn the things you need to master. 

Business Success Strategy #2 - Modeling A Successful Person


Wikipedia defines modelling as


"the act of imitating the behavior of some situation or some process by means of something suitably analogous (especially for the purpose of study or personnel training)"

The first step is to find someone who has achieved the success you are looking to achieve. Then the modelling part comes in when finding out what they habitually do and think about. It's really no mistake that they have done so well for themselves. In most cases, a foundation is never laid by those that find success through luck. Others that are so-called lucky individuals are only successful because of what they have done.

Business Success Strategy #3 - Self Evaluation Dictionary.com defines "self evaluation" as follows:

"an act or instance of evaluating or appraising self." People that succeed always recommend knowing your weaknesses, and your success levels as well. Believe it or not, it's not as easy to do as it would seem since your ego will certainly get in your way. It's all about becoming self-aware, looking at yourself as you truly appear.

Typically, the common person does not look at themselves in the mirror in a realistic manner, even though they know they are not perfect. If you are challenged in this area, then it's something you can overcome with effort. You can use the knowledge about yourself (your two aspects) to improve areas of your life and also any business endeavors that you may have. 

Anytime you see something that is a real, or very potentially real, opportunity that you can go for - then take action on it. While having a sensible idea of what your abilities are is a good idea, those how have a real business mind aren't going to waste any time at all. When you decide to pull the trigger on things just do it; don't sit around and wait to see what will happen. This one thing is something that marks a huge difference between the successful and those who never quite seem to be successful. 

There are all sorts of reasons that regular people do not take action quickly; perhaps it is due to a lack of confidence, fear, etc. Worrying over "what ifs" is a mistake, if you know that you can do something, you should just do it.

Probably 99% of people, maybe 100%, have some kind of fear of something. And most of us will let that same fear hinder our actions so that we never actually try anything different. It's not a difficult concept (at least, it doesn't have to be), stare directly into the face of what scares you and then just keep going anyway. This is just about as simple an explanation as you are going to get. If you want to make major breakthroughs in your life, you need to be able to work through the things that scare you--both personally as well as professionally. 

Sure, you may be scared to death, but join the club - you're not special with being scared out of your wits. The only thing that makes you different is your ability to work through the things that scare you. If you can manage to do this once, you can be sure that you will be able to do it over and over again. One of the major problems with reading business sorts of information is that all of it makes a complete kind of sense. 

And you may think, "I can do that," but things may break down when it's time to perform. The thing that you need to work on is the basics of mindset development so that you can actually use this information.