Do you ever find yourself suffering from what I call MIND FOG?
This is where you have so much going on that it’s hard to focus with complete clarity, on what you want to achieve. You end up with lots of lists and even though you seem to be getting things done, you are not making the kind of commercial progress that you want.
Would you like some help? Great. Here are 3 questions, designed to remove that foggy thinking and set you on track to clarity and the bankable results you need:
1. If my business was already perfect for me in every way, what would it look like?
Write your answer down, in detail. Include everything, from what your turnover and profits would be and how many hours you would work, to the profile of your ideal clients and the kind of service you would provide. Then, each time you have a commercial decision to make, simply ask yourself: “Is this going to take me closer to my ideal business or further away from it?”
Your answer to this simple question provides you with a destination and a direction. One of the reasons so many businesses spin their wheels and get nowhere, is that they lack that kind of pinpoint focus and clarity. It’s impossible to identify the right opportunities, unless you are crystal clear about what you want.
2. What is my desired outcome here?
Here’s one of the best pieces of business advice I was ever given: Before you do anything, ALWAYS start with the end in mind. Don’t waste a minute of your time, an ounce of your energy or a penny of your money, until you know what you want to achieve from something. For example, most small business owners will set up a Facebook / Twitter / Linkedin account because they think they should or because someone tells them they should – but they have just a foggy idea of what their outcome is. As a direct result, they have no idea who to connect with or how best to use these tools.
I get emails regularly, from business owners with lots of social networking followers, but nothing in the bank to show for it. Their foggy thinking at the start, means they connected with the wrong people, in the wrong way, and now use their social network as light relief, rather than a business generating asset. That’s what happens when you start something, without knowing your outcome in advance.
3. Is this the best use of my time, right now?
One of the core reasons that small business owners fail to reach their potential, even though they work long hours, is that they waste too much of their time on low value activities.
I have seen a £150 an hour lawyer, waste 3 hours of his time trying to fix his email; rather than pay someone a fraction of that amount to do it for him. Had he asked himself this simple question; “Is this the best use of my time, right now?” he would have immediately realised that it wasn’t, and would have avoided wasting his time, energy and money. Make it a habit to ask yourself this question throughout the day. Whenever you find yourself answering; “No, this is not the best use of my time right now”, go and do something that’s of greater value to you and your business.
With so many daily distractions all fighting for your attention throughout the day, it’s important to be in control of your time and that means gaining control of your focus. This simple question helps you do just that!
(Those 3 questions are a very brief example of the kind of things I work on with my clients, there’s more here.)
It’s just too easy to mistake movement for progress. It’s also unnecessary, yet without a crystal clear idea of exactly what you want to achieve and the ability to get things done, it’s impossible to make much progress no matter how hard you work. Like they say, if hard work were the secret to success, our grandparents would have been millionaires.
I hope you found those 3 questions useful. If you did, please share them with your friends!
Let’s work together and grow your business. To find out more click here!