Have you sat and wondered why you seem trapped in a never ending cycle of knowing what you want, yet nothing seems to ever begin the process of moving your life in that direction? The reason you have not managed to realise your goals until now, is that your dreams and fantasies are defined by a vague and distant destination and your mind is continually thrown off by the elusiveness and ambiguity of this lack of clarity.
You never program your mind to look for exactly what you need to succeed. As soon as you have clarity of purpose and you know exactly what you want in your future, you are able to program your brain to start searching for ways to deliver all the resources, people and opportunities you need to succeed.
Stop wasting even a minute longer and invest time today to get the clarity you need to become a super achiever. The difference between the fantasies and dreams you have held about your life, until now, and a future where all your dreams and fantasies will become real, is that 2012 is finally the year where you are going to write your dreams and fantasies down and turn them into achievable goals.
Action Idea: Explore your fantasies and dreams about what you want in your future and clarify them in your mind. Are they aligned with your vision for the future and your concept of what success really means to you? Once you are certain that what you think you want is what you really want and that it is important to you’ now is the time to convert your fantasy into a strategic plan for your future.
Your strategic plan must be a set of crystal clear instructions on how to convert your dreams into reality. A three digit combination lock has 18333 possible combinations or alternatives available to open the lock. Unless you have the actual three digit sequence of numbers available, you will struggle for a long time before you finally manage to open the lock.
The same is true about your life, if you continue to present your mind with vague instructions and too many possible options; you will struggle to find the correct process or combination to succeed. A properly designed strategic plan will provide your mind with specific instructions, which will keep you moving in the direction of the success you desire.
The best analogy for understanding your strategic plan for success is to equate it to preparing for a cross country trip. When planning for any long distance trip you would need to consider the following:
Timeline: No trip is possible unless you have a clear idea about how far you will need to travel in total and how long it will take you to drive the entire distance. Secondly you will need to decide how far you will travel and how much time you will spend driving each day.
The same principal holds true for designing your strategic plan, you must have a clear idea about exactly what you want to achieve and then you must turn this into something measurable. As soon as you have a measurable, quantifiable goal, you are able to break this back into a daily target. This daily target allows you to measure your progress daily, weekly and monthly, to ensure that the actions you are taking are delivering the desired results.
Mapping your Route: When embarking on your cross country road trip, there are thousands of options or routes available for you to follow as you travel towards your destination. Unless you clarify the direction you want to travel each day; you will never reach your destination as planned.
The same is true for your strategic plan, you must map out exactly what you want, knowing with absolute clarity what you will achieve each day, including various milestones or intermediate destinations along the way.
Who do you need to travel with you?: Any long trip requires some assistance from other people. Do you need someone to help with the driving or do you need an expert tour guide to make the journey more informative and enjoyable?
Your strategic plan is the same; it needs to consider all the people that you will need, as you travel on your success journey, people that could assist you, especially people that could help you in areas where you have weaknesses. You strategic plan must include all the people that could assist you to accomplish your dreams and goals.
What research do you need to do?: Before embarking on any long distance journey, you will need to research the distance between towns, how far the various refuelling stations are apart, does the car need special fuel and is that specific grade of fuel available at the various destinations etc.
No strategic plan can ever work, unless you research all the additional information you may need to gather and document, so that you can achieve your strategic plan. The more time you invest into research today, the more time you will save later by reducing time wasted on managing unforeseen challenges.
Resources: No road trip could ever be a success, unless you made sure that you had all the resources needed, Map, money, food, appropriate clothing and everything you will need from the moment you leave your driveway until you reach your destination.
The same holds true for your strategic plan, explore and discover all the possible resources you will need between today and the accomplishment of your big hairy audacious goal.
What training do you require? Your road trip might require you to drive through some dangerous terrain, like snow or ice. Do you require any special training to ensure you can navigate this safely?
Your strategic plan must include all the possible training you will need to help you improve you skills and abilities. You can never achieve your goals if you lack the necessary skills, knowledge and abilities necessary to succeed. Build a complete self-development program into your strategic plan and ensure that you acquire the skills, abilities and knowledge needed to realise all your dreams.
Creating your strategic plan is crucial to your success, but when you apply the simple process as described above, using the analogy of a road trip to help you build your plan, you are able to turn this crucial process into a simple yet effective document for success.
Andrew is an expert and master teacher that speaks and teaches self-leadership, expanded awareness, effectiveness, efficiency and productivity. He guides individuals and business professionals, to identify, prioritise and carry out the right activities, consistently, so that they can maximise their personal effectiveness and deliver their best; on time, every time. All the tools and techniques Andrew teaches; have been tested in the laboratory of his own life and the many successful businesses he has owned and led, over the past 20 years. These strategies have seen Andrew achieve financial independence and reach a point of harmonious balance in all areas of his life. His purpose is to help as many people as possible, achieve similar or better results and to show them how they can realise their full potential, both personal and professionally and to help them live a meaningful life, where they are fulfilled in all areas. http://www.andrewhorton.co.za