Clarity is an absolutely essential ingredient for you to achieve your full potential in business. Napolean Hill, in his classic book Think & Grow Rich, said "Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve." He goes on to explain why having a clear definition of what you want to achieve is a critical factor in your success.
In other words, a goal that is not clearly defined will not be clearly achieved. Part of the goal may be achieved, but you will not be completely satisfied with the results unless you take the time to define the entire goal upfront.
This may be best understood with an example. Several years ago I worked with a business manager named Dan who helped manage a company based in Massachusetts. Dan had some lofty ideas for what he wanted to achieve, but they were not defined in much detail. He also knew that he wanted to achieve a lot of results in a short period of time, but he didn't have a good idea of how he was going to do it.
In other words, Dan was just like many business owners and managers who I have met over the years. He wanted to accomplish a lot, but he needed help gaining clarity about his ultimate goal and his timeframe for achieving it.
The first thing I did with Dan was help coach him to identify his most important short-term goal. Once that was done, Dan and I worked together to figure out what timeframe was going to be our target for achieving this goal. And once we had clarity with our goal and the target timeline, both Dan and I felt much more confident about our chances for success.
In this case, Dan's timeframe happened to be pretty aggressive and we both were confronted with a lot of opposition from people who thought that it couldn't be done. Fortunately, this story has a happy ending. Dan reached his big goal and he reached it within the four month window that he had set for himself.
So how can you learn from Dan's success and develop clarity for your business goals? Here are some questions to get you started:
1. Remember in Step One ("Understanding") when you were asked how you measure success in your business today? Well, you need to use the answer to that question to fill in the blank below: What have you achieved in the last three months in your business in terms of _____________ ? (i.e. typical items to fill in this blank are money, profits, or new customers)
2. What one goal would you like to achieve in the next 90 days?
3. Once you achieve this goal, what do you want to do with the extra money and extra time? In other words, what do you personally get as a reward for achieving this goal?
4. Looking back, what was your best month you ever had in your business in terms of ______________? (insert your chosen measurement again in the blank, and then answer the question)
5. Can you summarize what happened that month (or that period)? In other words, what specific actions had you taken that led to those amazing results?
Getting very clear about what you want to accomplish in your business in the next 90 days is a very important step to catapult your business into massive momentum. Take action and get these questions answered today. You'll be glad you did.
This article was written by Matt Zembruski, http://www.mattzembruski.com
1.Do you find it challenging to answer the question, "What's your Unique Selling Position (USP)?" 2. Do you talk about the features of your product or service verses addressing the benefits by answering (before they ask) "So what's so good about that?" 3.Do you discount your actions or accomplishments with statements like, "Oh that, it was nothing"? 4.Do you believe it is vanity to think you are something special - that you have a talent or gift unique to you and no one else can do exactly what you do?
If you answered yes to any one of those questions - keep reading.
In business it's important to highlight those things that set you apart from others in your industry. In the past 30+ years I've worked with hundreds of individuals, in many different arenas, getting them to see how they are "unique".
I had a revealing dream wherein I was hanging out in an old shanty looking at photos of several of our female relatives and they were in full dress green Marine Corps uniforms. I remember thinking, I know this person and she hadn't been in the Marines, so I asked when she had enlisted. The person I was talking with answered me "she went in just a few years ago". Hmmm. The problem was she was a grandmother.
I woke up reviewing. In reality, none of my female relatives served in the military. Yet, there I was, going through these dream pictures looking at them as Corporals' and Sergeants' doing things that I, a Former Marine had done myself.
The dream was about the desire to discount what I do. The "oh that was nothing" statement when someone delivers a compliment. There have been times that I was extremely uncomfortable with the question "what makes you unique". Over the years I have realized that I was NOT unique in that "discomfort".
Often times in the discomfor of expressing our uniqueness we fall back to these template driven statements - the elevator speech, or Audio Business Card, that sounds like one of these:
"Hi I'm Jane/John Doe and I am a therapist / coach / chiropractor.." OR " Hi I'm Jane/John Doe and I paint houses / design websites / teach computer skills..." OR " Hi I'm Jane/John Doe and I sell health / skin care / home care products (by brand name if they feel the brand is a strong hook)..."
We then proceed to tell every feature our product provides. And even the slowest elevator isn't enough time to get...e v e r y t h i n g...in.
I know. I've done this too. In truth, our reaction is , "So what?" You provide "quality service", "excellent products" . . . and so do a thousand other people.
We still have avoided the key element - what makes YOU unique for promoting that product.
In Deepak Chopra's book, The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, he writes that the 7th Spiritual Law is the "Law of Dharma". In short, that law says when you combine your unique talent with service to humanity you make full use of the Law of Dharma. Your actions, coming from a place of your unique talent(s) bring about wealth. This wealth is manifest in various ways including health, spirit, relationship, and financial.
My friend, Chellie Campbell, a well-known author on creating weath, could be classified as a Financial Coach. If you saw her as just that you'd miss the mark. Looking deeper into her USP, Chellie helps thousands with her unique, insightful and heartwarming approach to money, different than any other financial coach. She is abundantly successful today by being honest and totally "Chellie" down to her gold and jeweled tennis shoes, in addition to serving others with her "USP".
It is not vanity to know that you are special. It is not ego (Edging God Out) to move through life as if you are unique. Even Christ said "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Somehow, along the way, I like many others, massaged that statement into the idea that I am to abase myself. I must be sure that others see every good thing I do as a "work of God" and every bad thing I do as a result of my humanity or "humanness". I am not advocating the "glorification of man" just that we were told to let OUR light/work shine. In that simple act - God is glorified. It is in this "uniqueness" that we are all the same.
Spend some time today, tomorrow or as long as it takes, getting to know what makes you unique. What is it that you have to offer, from the inside out, that makes you different from everyone else?
When you do that first - all of the beauty and success you desire will be yours.
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Both Matt Zembruski & Kira Wagner 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.
Matt Zembruski has sinced written about articles on various topics from Entrepreneurship, self improvement and motivation. Matt Zembruski is known as the Entrepreneurial Talent Scout and he is constantly searching for the next big success story. Matt is a professional business advisor who specializes in helping entrepreneurs to create, launch, and grow long-term, profitable b. Matt Zembruski's top article generates over 8100 views. to your Favourites.
Kira Wagner has sinced written about articles on various topics from Stock, self improvement and motivation. Born to blind parents, Kira Wagner knows the only handicaps are those we place on ourselves. As the Co-Founder and President of Global Connections Networking Inc., you'll find her speaking to audiences on personal and professional freedom. She is the auth. Kira Wagner's top article generates over 1600 views. to your Favourites.