However.... life changes, difficult challenges arise and therefore it is essential to develop new goals to reflect the changing landscape. What I was doing yesterday may not be relevant to what I do today and tomorrow. So this next 9 weeks I am going to review all the different parts of my business, see what's working, what's not and get a new vision for all things "Love Live Music UK".
Goal setting - A Harvard lecturer assessed that only 3% of individuals write their goals down. Just by writing down your goals you have a much greater chance of achieving them, making them measurable and possible. A friend of mine has this saying which I like, "If your goal is nothing then you will achieve it" - it's true!
I have to confess I have done this process before with varying levels of success and this time thought "Why do I have to go through this whole process again? Lots of great things have happened in my business and my life, It's not my natural way to operate to document everything down and I do find it a difficult process". After all the internal excuses I realised I just needed to get on with it! This programme has come at a useful time for me in my business. We are in the middle of a double dip recession in the UK and so focus is essential in my business practice with what I am going to do today, tomorrow, the next 9 weeks, year and decade to facilitate success.
So I am taking this time out to examine and define my goals, look to the future and ask the question what do I need to do today to make my goals happen.
About 15 years ago I read a book called The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
which encourages you to go through a similar process of goal setting to become more effective in what you are doing. There are so many things that are so helpful in this book, some of them sound so obvious but they really are of great value. One of the most important things that I learnt which is so useful at this stage is "Begin with the end in Mind" - this is based on the principle that all things are created twice, there's the mental or first creation and a physical or second creation to all things. A dream house for example has to thought about, designed, plans drawn, permission granted to build the house even before a brick has been laid or cement mixed up. You work with ideas until you get a clear image of what you want to build. I am looking forward to playing with ideas, creating blueprints and getting builders construction plans. The carpenter's rule is "measure twice, cut once", you have to make sure that the blueprint, the first creation is really what you want before it becomes bricks and mortar. The blueprint according to Stephen Covey creates the marching orders for the day. "You begin with the end in mind...."Covey states that the extent to which you begin with the end in mind often determines whether or not you are able to create a successful enterprise. Most business failures begin in the first creation with problems such as undercapitalisation, misunderstanding of the market or lack of a business plan.
I hope to look at all of these things with my business and create a cracking blueprint. Some things are working in my business really well, some things aren't and need some TLC. I hope I can stand back objectively, measure some of my goals and get on with the things that really do work and create a business that brings rewards on many levels.
As a postscript I remember my husband did this exact same process 15 years ago and stuck his goals up on the fridge door. The goals seemed so unachievable and inaccessible and so far from where we were at that time and yet today all of them have been achieved which is quite amazing. (He's a clever chap my hubbie!) Life doesn't stop though, so no resting on Laurels as there are always new challenges to embrace in Life and adventures to be had. My father is one of those amazing people who grabs opportunities and is still living his latter life with great passion and always new plans and goals. This year I was casting a pop video for Olly Murs - an X Factor contestant, the Director wanted a cool Jazz musician to be in the video. I sent my finest good looking Jazz musicians forward to the casting director but none of them were quite right. As a late addition I sent Dad's pictures and profiles in and amazingly he was cast in the video. Not bad for a Musician at 77 years old. Here is the Youtube link - it has currently had over 2 Million hits. Look out for a very happy man dancing and playing sax in the background! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4S9gQb9PjM&ob=av2e
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
By Stephen Covey
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