Without a clear picture of where you want to go, you may actually pass the point where enough is enough. You may also never reach your personal best if you never decide what "best" actually means to you. When you first start out in business, it may be difficult to see beyond getting to profitability, as a goal point to reach. Once you get there, it may be very tough to take a look at where you want to end up, because you've developed a habit of focusing on the job at hand. That can be a trap and a threat to your future - if the market changes, you may be stuck doing business in a way that prevents you from adapting to the changes from outside.
A bit of planning at the beginning will allow you to measure your future growth and success in a meaningful way. Since most businesses have a beginning, middle and end, it will be much easier for you to end your business at the right time, rather than too late, for too little return. Markets and demands change quickly in the Internet Marketing community, which means you need to be sensitive to those trends, and tough enough to weather the obstacles and challenges that will inevitably arise. A solid plan that accounts for your entire vision of the business, present and future, will help you stay on course.
It may seem impractical to decide, in advance, how big you want to grow, when you have little idea how big is big enough. That's where a careful examination of other businesses can help you begin to "rough out" a plan that sets these goal points. Researching other businesses and learning which ones built the best model in advance will help you decide. Keep in mind, a business plan is a living thing, not a static "snapshot" or something carved in stone. Regular, periodic revisions of your plan will help you refine your vision and show you how far along you are on your path to your goals.
Many businesses are not "scalable" - they have an upper limit to what they can earn and accomplish because of the way they operate. If it's your goal to build an empire of Virtual Real Estate in Internet Marketing, make sure you select a model of building businesses that becomes fully automated after the initial startup is completed. Removing all the bottlenecks, including yourself, from the equation is vital. Unlimited growth is only possible when you can walk away from any one stream of revenue and have it continue on its own.
If your main purpose in starting a business is to get a reward other than increasing profits, don't let yourself be seduced into scaling up your operation beyond your target income. Find ways to invest your time and energy into the part of your business that means the most to you. Normally, a business is meant to make a profit and grow according to a plan. If your business is essentially not-for-profit, don't stray from your vision. Increasing your income, at the expense of sacrificing your main goals, will ultimately doom your business to failure. Go start another one if you need more money - or go get a job!
For many people, retirement is not an option. They plan on working every day of their lives. By fashioning a business that will allow them to work as they wish, when they wish, they create their own destiny. Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to envision your future, create a plan to achieve it and do the work necessary to implement your plan.
I recently received an email from a parent who is desperately frustrated over the struggles her middle-school son is facing. He has been diagnosed with ADHD and bi-polar disorder. School and everyday life, she says, is a real struggle; he looses everything and forgets everything. Like every other student I have met with these same characteristics, he also happens to be brilliant.
But, his mother says, ?All I hear is, ?I'm stupid! Over and over again??
Maybe he is.
There are several formal definitions of the word, ?stupid,? according to Dictionary.com. In my world, however, ?stupid? is the word I use to describe someone who has talents, gifts, and skills, but is choosing not to use them. Let me tell you, I know a lot of stupid people!
But, you don't have to be one of them. This struggling young man doesn't have to be, either.
Unfortunately, he is one of many, many students who think they are not smart for a variety of reasons. In his case, he is probably frustrated that he cannot organize and keep track of his papers as well as other classmates. ?There must be something wrong with me,? he thinks.
?There IS something wrong with you,? he hears when he visits the doctor and is told that he has ADHD and bi-polar disorder. He can probably solve challenging problems, can think of creative solutions, or can design clever things, but he does not recognize any of these skills as gifts because he can't do something as simple as keep track of a homework assignment?and now he has a diagnosis to ?prove? he's stupid.
Meanwhile, ?I'm stupid!? becomes an easy excuse and a great way to get attention. When he says, ?I'm stupid!? people tell him he's not. They feel sorry for him and give him attention. Eventually, they organize his things for him and do his work for him'It doesn't take long for ?I'm stupid!? to become a crutch he depends on.
This is a very common, well-intentioned situation that has been turned upside down and is back-firing on this student and his family. It is understandable how he ended up here, but the cycle has to stop and he has to be willing to step off and stop being ?stupid.?
How does he do that?
**Action Plan**
The best antidote against feeling stupid is to make a *decision* to not be stupid anymore. That may sound overly simple and obvious, but this student HAS to decide that being successful in school is worth his while and ?more importantly- that he is worth the effort. If he can acknowledge that, he will immediately stop being ?stupid,? and will have already won more than half of his battle.
The next step is for him to take action. As wonderful as our education system is, mandated curriculum has a way of beating students into a passive, coma-like state. Students quickly feel that ?learning? is about sitting, getting, rehearsing, and spewing it all back on homework or a test. However, when a student realizes that he can be strategic? that HE can make some of that dry information just a little more interesting, that he can use a couple of tricks to learn it just a little bit faster, and remember it just a little bit better, he will quickly realize that there is a strategy to learning. Strategy can be fun!
There are millions of study strategies plastered all over the internet. The free Homework Rx? Toolkit at www.soarstudyskills.com/freestuff.htm has several quick and simple strategies. He can start by simply trying 2-3 of them. He will soon discover that all he needs are a few of the right tools (a.k.a. strategies) to learn how to learn and organize more effectively?and make learning more interesting.
Finally, he needs to stop using all of his labels as excuses. I'm not suggesting that diagnosing a student with ADHD, bi-polar disorder, or any other medical diagnosis is a bad thing. Instead, I am suggesting that the way those labels are handled can sometimes be a bad thing.
For example, I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis when I was 19. At that time, I did not even know what that disease was. There was no internet in ?those days,? so I went to the library and checked out a book about RA. Right from the first chapter, the attitude of the author was, ?So, you have rheumatoid arthritis. That's (literally) a pain in the neck. BUT, you don't have to stop living! You just have to start living better.? Throughout the entire book, as I learned about my disease and better ways to take care of myself, the author continued to emphasize that I could have a better life because of my experiences with the disease. After 13 years, I can honestly say that the quality of my life is much better because of the things I learned from my illness.
This is the same attitude that we should be bestowing on our students when we tell them they have ADHD. We should be saying, ?Okay, you have ADHD. That means that you are going to struggle a little more in traditional school settings, but you're IQ is significantly higher than the national average and you can use your talents to do great things. We just need to figure out a few strategies to help you get through school.?
Isn't that a much more empowering message?
**Conclusion**
If you think about what a child, or any human being, is really saying when they say, ?I'm stupid,? they are repeating messages they've heard or felt in some way, shape, or fashion. They can spend their life blaming other people for sending them that message, or they can decide to not be stupid anymore, take action, and be in control of their own learning!
Both Jo Han Mok & Susan Kruger are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Jo Han Mok has sinced written about articles on various topics from self improvement and motivation, Network Marketing and Advertising Guide. Jo Han Mok is the author of the #1 international business bestseller, The E-Code. He shares his amazing blueprint for creating million dollar internet businessesat:. Jo Han Mok's top article generates over 40500 views. to your Favourites.
Susan Kruger has sinced written about articles on various topics from Education, Parenting and Family Concerns. Susan Kruger is the author of SOAR Study Skills; A Simple and Efficient System for Earning Better Grades in Less Time. Get Susan's FREE Homework Rx Toolkit, featuring 25 Ways to Make Homework Easier...Tonight!, at:. Susan Kruger's top article generates over 14800 views. to your Favourites.