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Two Reasons I Didn’t Set Big Goals

by EvieBurke, posted in Fear, Goals, planning

Big dreams. Do you have them? Big goals that might live in the back of your mind that you know you want to accomplish, but have no idea how?

Do they scare you? Excite you? Or even annoy you because they seem unattainable?

One of my mentors told me once “Enough with the baby steps Evie! Make big goals!” Now, that might be a slight paraphrase, but I clearly remember her tone and meaning.

And I remember thinking something to the effect of: “Goals have to be attainable in a set period of time. I can’t guarantee that I’ll successfully meet those big goals. Smaller goals are easier and more comfortable.”

Here’s the kicker, I wasn’t accomplishing those small goals either. I would dip my toes in the water and then decide that it was too cold and somehow expect my goals to magically materialize in front of me. Yeah, they didn’t.

One reason I didn’t set big goals was that I believed the myth that all goals must have a hard date that cannot be moved or adjusted for anything. And I didn’t want to dream about something that I’d be really disappointed that I didn’t accomplish in my specific time frame. It’s better to set reasonable expectations, right? And save yourself that pain of disappointment.

Well, that’s just bull.

Another reason I didn’t set big goals: I had to know every single detailed step I would take to meet that goal. So, any dream I had that I couldn’t do that with couldn’t be a goal – it had to stay a dream, an unattainable one. Again, why create goals you don’t logically know you can accomplish.  It’s better to see the path clearly laid out, right? And save yourself the potential pain of the unknown.

So, is it more painful to try for the dream, try for the big goal and have those failures along the way (but are they failures or course correctors)? Or is it more painful to stay safe and think about those dreams, those “if only’s…” and “what if’s…”?

Here’s what I know now. Big goals, big dreams are important. They drive you and give you something to look forward to. They propel you into action when you might want to sit on the couch and watch TV, surf the web or do something else that eats time, but doesn’t feed you.

And you know what happens when you set goals that feed you? You know that you can accomplish them. It may not be logical, but somehow, you just know it is possible for you.

So, set that big goal. Make it as big and exciting and even as scary as you want. Does your heart swell just thinking about it? Good!

Here are some closing thoughts:

  • Dates can be adjusted. Write it down somewhere each time you do and review it. Look for any patterns and address them as necessary.
  • You don’t have to know every single step that you’ll take on the way to the goal. Having a vague idea can be enough. Just know the next step (or two) that takes you closer to your goal.
  • Be open to the unexpected opportunities. Some opportunities that move you closer to your goal you can’t plan for. That unexpected phone call or meeting that results in an opportunity that you didn’t expect.

So, what’s your big goal? And what’s the next step you can take to move you closer to it?

 

When The Unexpected Happens, How Do You Respond?

by EvieBurke, posted in attitude

Frustrated child with computerLast Tuesday, I had a situation that is probably most entrepreneur’s nightmare. Well, it could be anyone’s nightmare. The hard drive on my laptop, where I do all my work decided to stop working. I turned it on and nothing happened. It wouldn’t recognize the hard drive and was making a really funny noise.

Was I frustrated? Yes. Am I still frustrated? Well, yes, but less so today than a day ago. Was I upset? Only slightly (no, I’m not saying that sarcastically).

I say only slightly for two reasons: (1) most of my work files are backed up and (2) Nate, my husband, is quite handy with computers, so I figured he might be able to get it working or get the data off of it when he got home from work.

Well, the next day I posted this to my personal Facebook wall:

Bad news: the hard drive on my laptop crashed and does not seem to want to work again.
Good news: 95% of my work files were backed up (yay for dropbox)
Bad news: the 5% that weren’t backed up I use on a regular basis
Good news: with a bit of time I can create them again
Good news: I bought a new hard drive last night (didn’t need to buy a whole new laptop) and Nate stayed up late last night getting it all set up for me for today
Good news: Nate said to me last night “You know, you’re handling this really well, I don’t think you would have handled it this well two years ago.”

Nate was very correct with his statement about how I would have handled this situation two years ago. I probably would have reacted like it was the end of my world! Instead I stepped back and asked myself a couple of important questions: “What experience do I want to have with this situation?” and “What’s the next step here that will move me closer to my goals?”

Ok, honestly, I’m not sure I would have had thought to ask myself those questions even a year ago. And I kinda surprised myself (and Nate) with how I actually responded.

Did I mention that my files and notes for the teleclass last week were part of the 5% that I didn’t back up? I have some printed notes from a 30-minute presentation I did a couple a weeks ago, but all my original notes for the 60-minute teleclass are gone. I did seriously think about canceling it. However, one of my goals for June is to host a teleclass and it was just more convenient to do it last week as opposed to this week. So, why put it off?

Another important reason for the lack of freak out: I know what my goals and priorities are. It made it easy to look at what I wanted to accomplish this week and know what could be moved to next week.

Plus, what would I have gained by freaking out? Nothing but stress, and really, who needs that?

So, I have two (maybe three) questions for you:

  1. Have you recently backed up your business and important personal files?
  2. If something unexpected popped up that took several hours out of your week, how would you respond? How would you like to respond?

Two Questions to Ask Before Making Any Plans

by EvieBurke, posted in planning

The other weekend I was at an event and overheard two women talking about the great speakers and information that was being shared.

Woman 1: “I’m just now starting my business and there’s so much great information here!  I’m overwhelmed! I don’t know what to do first.”

Woman 2: “Really? Well, I guess I know what I’m looking for because I’ve been in business a bit. It’s great information, but I know what will work for me and what won’t.”

Ever feel like Woman 1? I know I have! In an effort to get all the bang that I can for my buck, I’m furiously taking notes and trying to figure out how to apply everything I hear to my own business. By the end of the day, I have so much written down that the only stuff that actually gets done later in my business (or life) is what sticks in my head. It’s just too overwhelming and time consuming to go back through all those notes!

I wrote a little bit about this topic in the post How to Avoid New Idea Overwhelm. However, that conversation I overheard reminded me that I missed a step. There’s more to it than having a plan for how you’ll capture new ideas.

You need to know what new ideas to capture. To do that you have to answer two questions:

  • Where Am I?
  • Where Am I Going?

Kinda sounds like you’re planning a road trip, right? Well, in a way you are – you’re planning the path your business will take.

Using the road trip example, you have to know the answers to both questions. Why? Well, think about trying to plan a trip without having some idea of about where you are or where you’re going. If you’re going from Chicago to Orlando it cuts down on the travel options, right? You know you’re headed in a south easterly direction and will probably be flying or driving. If you decide to fly, you know that a flight to California wouldn’t be helpful. And worrying about where the baggage claim is at the Orlando airport isn’t useful when you’re trying to find your airline counter in Chicago to check a bag.

It works very similarly for your business. If you know that you’re just starting your business, programs that teach you how to host large events might not be for you. Perhaps it will be useful information later, but someone will be out there teaching that when you’re ready for it. No need to worry about taking in all that information right now.

A friend and I used this method constantly at the conference. There were generally two speaker options. We’d look at both and decide which one made the most sense to us based on these two questions. There was at least one speaker that I would have loved to hear, but I knew that it wasn’t for me right now.

So, where are you and where are you going? Knowing both will help you set your goals, know your next steps and decide when the information, opportunity or program is right for your business (or life).

I’d love to know where you’ve applied this in your business (or life).

How Do You Make Sure You Have The Balance You Want of Business and Personal / Family Time?

by EvieBurke, posted in balance
This is the last of four articles that share what I learned from my informal poll on tasks, goals and balance (first article, second article, third article). The exact form of the questions changed slightly as calls were made, but in general it was three questions and some follow up questions after each. This article is about the last question.

Ahhh, the work – life balance question. How does one find and maintain a balance? I heard some version of the following three answers:

  • I don’t have it and with my business it’s just not possible right now.
  • I keep boundaries.
  • I schedule it.

Now, of those that didn’t fall into to the “I don’t have it” group, most thought their work – life balance could use improvement, but seemed that, in general, they were content with how things were going. Meaning, they thought it could be a bit better, but weren’t going to make any changes right now.

The boundaries I heard about most revolved around when kids get home from school. So all work activities must be done by then and will not be picked up again until the next day (and that takes more discipline on some days than others). And a lot of people said that they don’t like to check or answer their smart phones after a certain time of day.

Scheduling the personal or family time looked a bit different for everyone. Some people said that they make sure all the special events are in their calendar so they don’t miss a family birthday party or child’s recital. Or they just put some time on the calendar for themselves or their family.

At least one person said that they tend to work long hours for weeks a time. She pays attention to when she’s starting to get burned out and takes a day off.

A couple of the guys I talked to said that their wife helps a lot with this, or they’d probably spend a lot more time at work without realizing it.

So, what works for the people who are content with their work-life balance?

  • Set boundaries. Many people had clear boundaries around the times and days they do and do not work.
  • Schedule it. Some people I talked with scheduled special personal events, just like they schedule business appointments.

My final thought (for right now) on this topic: work-life balance is what you define it as. If you enjoy spending lots of time working, by all means, do it! Just because someone else doesn’t enjoy it, doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t. Just check-in with yourself occasionally to make sure that if you’re spending a lot of time working that you’re not avoiding something at home. And on the flip side, if you’re spending a lot of time not working, check that you’re not avoiding something in your business.

So, what can you do, or do you do, to create the work-life balance you want?

How Do You Track Your Goals?

by EvieBurke, posted in Goals
This is the third of four articles that share what I learned from my informal poll on tasks, goals and balance (first article, second article, fourth article). The exact form of the questions changed slightly as calls were made, but in general it was three questions and some follow up questions after each.

How do you track your goals?

This was my only consistent follow up question. I asked it when someone said they do set goals. And I had two common answers:

  1. Well, I don’t really look at them again after I set them (and a couple, ohhh, yeah, I should probably do that).
  2. Yes, and here’s how…

One thing I noticed is that people who work for direct selling companies (think Avon, Mary Kay, Tupperware, Pampered Chef, etc.) are much more likely to have specific goals and track them. Granted, in most cases these goals are set for them – a certain number of sales or recruits or some combination needed to stay at their current level in the business.  And generally, there will be a personal website that they log into to see their progress.

However, the main point is: they track their goals. Why do their companies make it so easy for them to track their goals? Because they know that it will help them be more successful.

Why should you track your goals? Well, the best analogy I can come up with is losing weight. If you decide to lose 4 pounds in one month what do you do? I’m guessing that you come up with a diet or exercise plan (or some combination) and weigh yourself so you have good starting point.

Then you periodically weigh yourself throughout the month to see how you’re doing. At the end of week 1 you expect to lose 1 pound. If you don’t – you know you need to review what you’re doing and make a change or two. Tracking your progress allows you to make tweaks to your plan so you have a better chance of success.

Tracking other goals works the same way. If you have an income goal over the next two months, track it in a place you look at every day. It will do two things:

  1. You know exactly how you’re doing on your goal
  2. You’ll have a visual reminder of what your goal is (and that can be pretty motivational)

There are lots of different ways to track your goals. Here are a few ideas:

  1. You can use a simple piece of paper with each day of the month (or months) written down the side. At the end of each day you record your income for the day and the total so far. This way you’re looking at your goal every day.
  2. Create an empty thermometer that you fill in as you go along.
  3. Create an excel spreadsheet. A quick note here, if you aren’t comfortable with excel or you are very comfortable with it and will spend a lot of time playing with it – you might want to choose a different method.
  4. Find an online program to use.

Face it, if you know how close or far you are away from your goal – it will allow you to change your plan if and when necessary.

How do you (or will you) track your goals?