It’s all about the plan

May 5, 2016 By

Do you remember when you were younger and getting together with your friends you’d ask “hey, so what’s the plan?” And usually there wasn’t one but you’d all come up with something.

It’s not a bad strategy when you are a teenager but it’s a terrible one if you are a business owner. No plan, no success. I should know, I spent a lot of time doing things with no real plan. Oh sure, I thought I had a plan, I would do a little social media, blogging, networking and other business building tasks but that was only because that was what I thought I should do because others either said to do it or were doing it. (Gee, as I write this I’m realizing I wasn’t that far removed from what goes on in high school.)

Then one day it hit me, I wasn’t getting where I wanted to go because I didn’t have a plan. I didn’t have a step by step plan of the things I would do that would bring me what I wanted. When I think of the elite athletes and successful business owners and businesses each one had a plan that laid out what to do first, second and so on.

I realized that building a business was much like building a brick and mortar building. There are separate contributions from many areas and they all need to fit together as one. And to do that, each has to be executed precisely in coordination. In some cases, in order to reach a goal there are certain pieces that need to be done before others.

Once I realized this, that everything comes together to make the whole the results start happening. Oh and another thing I learned was that I wasn’t necessarily the best person for all of the jobs. In order to reach my goals I needed to delegate, sometimes delete and always be open to course correcting.

Now, to this day, before I do anything in my business I either get out a checklist (if it’s something I’ve already done) or I create a step by step plan (and turn that into a checklist) so that I always know what to do and when to do it. This helps me reach my end result faster and with a lot less stress.

It’s become a game of sorts, I love to plan so I get to do what I love and then I love to see results of that plan, so by taking the steps in between (the meat of the matter so to speak), I work my plan and see my results!

“He who fails to plan is planning to fail” …Winston Churchill

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Where are you failing to plan? And more importantly, what do you want to do so that you succeed? As Winston Churchill said, “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail”. I know you don’t want that. So hop on over to my Facebook page and tell me your tips for planning or what one step you will commit to after reading this.

 

Filed Under: Business Mastery, Empowerment, Reaching Goals, Structure Tagged With: , ,

Yes, there are some things you should do when it comes to your health & fitness

April 14, 2016 By

I know, you probably don’t want to be told what you should be doing. I get that. However, what if it were something that would add to your business and your life success? Would you be open to listening? Being healthy & fit is an important component for you to have in your business.

Health & fitness is another one of my specialties.  I’m a huge advocate of being healthy and fit. It helps us stay focused, gives us more energy and even brain power. Recently a client came to one of her sessions asking for “help getting healthier”. I’m qualified to help her with this too as I am a Certified Personal Trainer and have many years of both personal and professional experience and success in this arena.

A lot of people struggle with their health when they have their own business. True, it can be a challenge to run a business and be healthy but it isn’t impossible. Often, we talk about setting aside time for business related tasks and appointments so we can use time here as it pertains to your health & fitness.  Here are a few to get your started:

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  • Make time for movement. Take a short walk, get up and stretch, go up and down a couple of flights of stairs a few times. Simple movement will bring oxygen into your body and will give you a boost in energy and mood.
  • Make time to plan, shop for and eat healthy meals. Plan and shop for what you will eat for the week, this will cut down on you just grabbing something unhealthy. When you know what you’ll be eating it is easier to just eat it.
  • Make time for sleep. Yes, sleep plays a hugely important role to your health & fitness. Just think about the time you didn’t get enough sleep and how hard it was for you to do the simplest tasks the next day, enough said!

That’s it, very simple “shoulds” right? Yes, absolutely. I’ll expand on them in later blog posts but for now, contemplate how it is you will fit these key three into your life so that you have optimal health & fitness!

As Nike says: “Just Do It!”

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I’d love for you to share your experience with your own health & fitness. Feel free to post a comment here.

If you would like to set up a free Strategic Plan of Action Call to get clear on how you can bring more health & fitness into your life, simply email me at kim@kimravida.com with the subject line of I want to be fit and I’ll email you back to get set up!

Filed Under: Business Mastery, Empowerment, Health & Fitness, Personal Development, Reaching Goals, Wellness Tagged With: , , , ,

Did you get what you wanted?

December 18, 2014 By

How to Get What You Want Clipboard Checklist Dream Plan Do ItIt’s the end of the year! WOW, where did a whole year go? Can you answer that without having to look back at your calendar? If you can, I’m impressed. And I hope you can. It means that you are living a life on purpose; you are the cause of your life rather than being at the effect of it. For that you get a big “Congratulations!” I’d love for you to share how you do it. See, there are many people who are living their life at the effect of everything and everyone around them. I’ve written about that in the past and, in fact, I call it ‘being a victim’. It’s energy level 1 in my Energy Leadership Index Assessment.

As a business owner, if you can easily share with someone your top successes and accomplishments then you are probably among the select 2% of successful business owners out there. You more than likely have a vision, a plan, take action and course-correct.

If not, don’t worry. I’m here to help you. The below outline is a very quick way for you to have 2015 be all that you want it to be… even if 2014 was a bit disappointing to you.

My last article outlined my mentor Mark Luterman’s 5 Secret Weapon Steps. Here they are again:

  1. Purpose – what is your purpose, what is it you want to do, what end result do you wish to have?
  2. Plan – from your purpose, what is it you will do in order to reach your goals? Create a well thought-out plan of action so that you know the exact steps you will take to have your purpose materialize.
  3. Action – rather than just waiting for things to happen, you need to go out and do things. From your plan where you created the exact steps, it’s time to take action on them to realize results.
  4. Desire to Accomplish – this is your motivation for doing the actions to move you closer to your goals.
  5. Faith, Belief and Confidence – you must have faith in yourself, belief that you can and will accomplish your goals, and confidence to take the actions you laid out for you — no matter what — in order to reach your goals.

In the Small Business Secret Weapon process we also work with a bonus step and that is: exercise the principle of autosuggestion. This means that as you take action and complete to-dos and tasks, stuff starts to happen. You run into someone who can help you move closer to your goal, you get an unexpected but needed surprise, and so much more.

I often do VIP days with my clients so that they can start outlining what they want for their business and what they will do to get it. We take a day to do this together but you can do this for yourself. I suggest you take several hours so that you can get very clear on what it is you want. Find a quiet place where you can spend some time and get comfortable. Have a notebook and writing instrument or your computer/tablet so that you can write down your ideas and your plan.

Here is what you are going to do:

  • Define your purpose. State your overall purpose and then all the other reasons you are doing what you are doing or want to do. Get very clear, visualize how you will feel, what you will be doing, and don’t leave anything out – allow yourself time to create this.
  • Write out your roadmap. This is your to-do list so to speak. You will do x in order to reach $100,000 this year or x to get your business started and so on – write out each step that you can think of. While you want to be very clear, don’t worry about being so specific that you get caught up here. Remember, your bonus step from above will help you here!
  • Schedule your actions. Put each step that you have in your calendar so that you know what you will do and when. If you have a deadline such as ‘launch new business’, that goes into the future, and then you put the actions that lead up to that date closer to the present so you can take action to get there.
  • Write out the reason(s) you desire to accomplish your goals. Be as detailed as you can. This is your touchstone so that when things get a bit challenging, you can come back to this to motivate you back into action. It will act as your motivator. Examples: I want to quit my full-time job and work for myself; I want to send my children to college without having to take out loans; I want to retire by 50; I want to do what I love and be my own boss; or I want to be available to my kids. It is what is important to you in your life. Do not judge, this is strictly for you.
  • Write out why you have faith, belief and confidence. This is another touchstone. I have faith because I know I will be successful, I have faith that this will be exactly as I envision it, and I am confident that I will succeed.

Be as detailed as possible, envision all that you want to accomplish and see yourself accomplishing it. Trust that once you begin taking action, opportunities will find you because the bonus step is real, it does happen.

I’d love for you to share your experience. Feel free to send me a personal email at kim @ kimravida.com or post on my blog below! And if you find that you need help with this or just want someone to walk you through each step, I have several VIP slots available, so give me a shout! And if you want the support of me and a group, there are a few spaces available in my group mastermind program too.

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It’s Up to Me!

November 20, 2014 By

what do you want questionDid you know that you are the one responsible for happiness in your life?  That’s right, you are.  There’s only you to blame if you don’t have what you want in your life.  If you want a better relationship, you need to be the one to create a better relationship.  If you want a dream job, you need to be the one to create a dream job.  If you want more money, you need to be the one to create more money.  You may notice I’m using the word create here.  That’s because you get to create what you want.  It all starts with you.

What?  Yes, I know that is a scary concept for some of us while for others it’s a Yahoo! and a permission-granter.  See, no one can make us happy, give us joy or help us feel better about ourselves; only we can do that.  And in order to do that we must know: 1) what we want and 2) how to get it.  It’s all about the plan, man.  Create a blueprint, a roadmap of what you will do in order to get what you want.

I’ve said it before in other articles and you’ve probably heard it elsewhere too, but if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.  You operate blindly and without purpose.  Purpose is key to getting what you want.

Let’s look at the 5 steps to your success.  This is adapted from Mark Luterman’s 5 Secret Weapon Steps that I use with my business clients.

  1. Purpose – what is your purpose, what is it you want to do, what end result do you wish to have?
  2. Plan – from your purpose, what is it you will do in order to reach your goals?  Create a well thought-out plan of action so that you know the exact actions you will take to have your purpose materialize.
  3. Action – rather than just waiting for things to happen, you need to go out and do things.  From your plan where you created the exact actions, it’s time to take action on them to actualize results.
  4. Desire to Accomplish – this is your motivation for doing the actions to move you closer to your goals.
  5. Faith, Belief and Confidence – you must have faith in yourself, belief that you can and will accomplish your goals, and confidence to take the actions you laid out for you — no matter what — in order to reach your goals.

In the Small Business Secret Weapon process we also work with a bonus step and that is: exercise the principle of autosuggestion.  This means that as you take action and complete to-dos and tasks, stuff starts to happen.  You run into someone who can help you move closer to your goal, you get an unexpected but needed surprise, and so much more.

This is how you create what it is you want: a great relationship, dream job, amazing health and wealth.  You get clear, you plan, you act, you stand in your own power and you start to see results.  Give it a go and see what comes to you.  It’s a great time to plan for what you want to realize next in your life.  Right now is always the best time to plan.  No waiting necessary.  What is it you want?  What will you do to get it?  If it’s meant to be, it’s up to you!

I’d love for you to share your experience.  Feel free to send me a personal email at kim@kimravida.com or post below!

 

Filed Under: Reaching Goals, Self Worth Tagged With: , , , ,

Do you have an Exit Strategy?

September 25, 2014 By

Problem solvingIf you said yes, then you are more than likely someone who is fantastic at planning and flexibility.  If you said “I don’t even know what you mean,” then let me explain.  An exit strategy is something that you put into place long before you need it. 

Before I left my corporate job, I knew I was not going to another job but to start my own coaching business.  So my exit strategy included saving as much money as I could to grow my bank account to where I would feel comfortable paying the bills without having the consistent income coming in that I had with a job.  I saved enough money to be able to live my life as I began building my business.

I also paid off any credit card balances, my car, and any other financial obligations that I had.  I made sure that I was solvent before I jumped ship.  I knew exactly what I needed to have and to do in order to leave my job and take the leap of faith into being an entrepreneur.  Oh and that included knowing that I needed training in order to embark on my great big adventure of being a coach and helping others live really fabulous lives.  I had my ducks in a row (you may have heard the saying).  That is what I mean by an exit strategy.

We all need exit strategies.  Gone are the days of security.  One never knows what will happen around the corner.  You might work for a company for a long time and then one day BAM, you get laid off and you learn the company is bankrupt.  You didn’t have anything to do with that but you are, nonetheless, the victim of someone else’s choices.  But do you have to be?

Not if you have an exit strategy.  If you are always looking to take care of yourself and your livelihood, and making sure that you are on top of what it is you will do next, then you are never a victim.

I use an amazing Energy Level Assessment with my clients and find that many are constantly living in a Level 1 which is that of victim.  They are living by the effect of what goes on in their lives, not the cause.  No wonder they feel depressed, sad, and think “Why bother?”  They are like a rock at the shore, being pulled out and pushed back in again.  That is no way to live and you don’t have to.

The best time to make your exit strategy is before the exit.  So here are several steps for you to begin planning your own exit strategy – no matter what you are exiting.

  1. Know that you are great and wiser than you think.  Take a moment and think of a time when you felt like you were down and out.  Maybe it was at the beginning of your business or a new job.  Now think about an experience that had you feeling pretty amazing about yourself.  Maybe you spoke up for yourself or what you believed in.  See, there it is, your greatness.
  2. Trust that you will always know what is best for you.  This one is a leap of faith for some.  But you truly do know what is best for you.  Stop asking other people what you should do and start asking yourself.  Once you do, listen to what you hear back.  There is no other you, because there doesn’t need to be, you are the best of you.
  3. Create a plan for your future.  Do a few ‘what if’ scenarios.  What if I needed money today?  What if you were to lose your job today?  What if you had to take a pay cut?  What if… you fill in the blanks because it’s your exercise.  I focused on money but the ‘what ifs’ are endless.

The idea of the exit strategy is so that you have a prepared roadmap of what you will do IF ____  happens.  You are in the driver seat and you get to say the direction you will go. You’re not leaving it up to chance or hope.  You are stating this is what you will do so that you are not caught off guard and the victim.  You will be the victor of your life and that gives you both feelings of control and confidence.

An exit strategy gives you back the power.  So if you do get laid off or whatever happens to you, you’ll be able to say, “Ok, NEXT.”

Now I’m sure that I’m not the only one that had an exit strategy or had to come up with one fast.  If you have a story to tell, please feel free to share either by sending me a personal email at kim@kimravida.com or post on my blog!

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Can you see the light at the end of the tunnel?

February 13, 2014 By

Light at the end of the tunnelI used to be one of those people who would say I wanted to do this or do that… and, well, I never did.  Until one day I realized that I had spent too much time talking and not enough time doing. I finally had enough talk and needed to take action!

What changed for me was I had let myself down, and it wasn’t for a bad reason but it wasn’t something I wanted to continue.  I regularly put those I loved and cared about ahead of me.  Back then I did what they said I should do.  I took care of their needs and wants first and always before my own.  Then one day I was so upset with myself because I had ‘wasted’ what I felt was a lot of time giving myself away and I decided that I needed to make a change.  I realized I was not granting myself permission to go for what I wanted in my life.

I spent a lot of time in a job that was not right for me, and I felt that I had wasted a lot of my life—like, umm, 20+ years of it!  So what did I do?  I hired a career coach who helped me figure out where to start and then I hired a life coach to help me get there.  Turned out I didn’t get a new job, but I got a new career as a life/business coach instead!  Very cool, eh?  What changed?  Well, I finally gave myself permission to fulfill my personal mission which was to make a change.  See, change isn’t always what we think it will be and yet it always seems to turn out even better!

One of the things I learned, and now teach my clients, is that when you see the light at the end of the tunnel you have to take steps regularly in order to get there.  One of my favorite sayings is from a book The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein and he talks about how your car goes where your eyes go.  Keep looking ahead because what we focus on we get… both for the positive as well as the negative.

Here are three tips I want to share to make sure you keep your eyes on the prize and head toward the end of your tunnel.

  1. Give yourself permission to fulfill your personal mission.  No matter what you want to improve or to have — a new relationship, job/career, better health, improved finances, more time with family, with self, etc. — give yourself permission to have it.
  2. Envision what the result is.  Think ahead and envision what your life will be like once you have it.  What are you doing?  Where are you?  Who is around you?  How are you feeling?  This helps to set the stage and get into the feeling of having it.  Some people find it fun to create vision boards that they can look at regularly to keep themselves on track with their goals.  It can be a creative way to keep your eyes on your prize.
  3. Design your action plan and time frame.  Pick the time frame of when you want to have this in your life.  Is it a month, a year or longer?  Now that you know what you want and when you want it, you work towards that goal.  What is the first thing you will need to do in order to reach your end result?  Let’s say you want to start a business.  The first step might be to figure out what type of business.  Or you want to improve your finances.  The first step would be to know how much money comes in and goes out each month and you’d need to get out the support documents for this.

There are often many steps that we need to take to reach our goals.  We aren’t going to start a business or increase our income overnight.  Knowing what to do, when to do it and having a timeline to keep us on track are key to successfully reaching the light at the end of the tunnel.

Now that you know where to start, give it a go and take action!  If you get stuck, feel free to shoot me an email as I’m happy to help you get on track.  Email me personally or share your thoughts, insights and revelations below!

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Top 5 Tips for Eating, Drinking and Being Merry!

December 11, 2013 By

cookiesThe number one habit to “go south” this time of year is health.  Suddenly there is no time to do your exercise program yet plenty of time to eat, drink and be merry.  While eating, drinking and being merry are fun and exciting, it often reverses all of the hard work that has taken place over the course of the year.  Whether you celebrate or not this holiday season, use my five tips below to keep all the success you have had so far from going down the drain.

  1. Make a Plan.  Planning is the number one secret to staying on your fitness plan, not gaining weight and not having to start over come January.  Plan your workouts.  Put your workouts in your calendar.  Even though you have a standing class or training session, when you see it in your calendar you will be more likely to keep them.  Plan your eating.  If you have ever have said “I shouldn’t have eaten all of that” you know it has the potential to happen again. So before you hit any party (or sweet tray), plan to do it differently and it will be different.
  2. Write down and share with a trusted friend (or even your fitness instructor) what your plan or goal is for the holiday season.  Whether it’s deciding to eat festive foods in moderation or not at all, or cutting your exercise routine down by half instead of discarding it entirely, when you commit to something and share it with others, you are more likely to follow through.
  3. Know your serving sizes.  You know what you like to eat—and therefore might overindulge upon.  Instead, plan to eat a healthy serving size.  When at a party or even at home, before you fill your snack, dinner and dessert plates, look at the choices first and then choose wisely.  Use http://www.webmd.com/diet/healthtool-portion-size-plate to look up what a healthy serving size is if you are not sure.  Being aware of what and how much you eat is key to staying on target.
  4. Drink non-alcoholic beverages.  When you overindulge in alcohol, all bets are off as you almost always will eat more.  Drink a healthy non-alcoholic beverage while you enjoy your favorite food.  If you wish for an alcoholic beverage, have it after you have eaten and drink it slowly and mindfully.  This keeps your mind aware of your actions and easier for you to ‘be good’.
  5. Prepare ahead of time.  Before heading out to a function, party or even the grocery store, have a small healthy meal first.  This can make sure that you are not starving when you arrive and therefore you will not dive into the bowl of chips, eat a tray of cookies or buy junk food.

This time of year there are extra temptations to lure you away from your regular healthy diet and fitness routine.  Do not be one of the millions of people who every year say “I need to lose the weight I gained from the holidays” or “Next year will be different”.  This is your year to do things differently!

Also, feel free to share your thoughts, insights and revelations below… you know I love hearing from you!

Filed Under: Self Worth, Weight loss Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Lead Yourself to Mastery in Your Life & Business

October 10, 2013 By

MasteryAs business owners (and especially soloproneurs), it is easy to fall into this trap of “jack of all trades and master of none”.  Yes, it is a trap and no, it doesn’t have to be this way.  True, you don’t have to be a master at everything, but it is important to be a master at a few things that will lead and drive you to a successful and profitable business.

I love the word “mastery”.  It sounds powerful and it makes me feel good.  Mastery as defined in the dictionary means:  1) expert skill/knowledge or outstanding ability and 2) complete control.

Well, I don’t know about you, but early on in my life and business I had absolutely no control and did not feel as if I had any expert skill/knowledge or outstanding ability.  So, had I heard the term ‘mastery’ back then I would not have liked the word as much as I do today.

I was a jack of all trades doing everything by myself and also doing everything that sounded like a great idea.  And guess what?  Doing it all myself and doing everything that sounded like a great idea actually wasn’t!  When I decided to only work on things that I either had mastered (coaching my clients) or was in the process of mastering (networking/connecting), my life and business became joyful, profitable and fun!

I’ve recently titled a program with the word ‘mastery’ in it because it gives my clients a feeling of anticipation.  It’s the anticipation that will help them be motivated so they too can master the skills they need to be in complete control of their lives and businesses and to take action to reach their goals and have what they want for themselves.

Motivation is a key factor in running a successful and profitable business.  What it boils down to, though, is leadership of oneself and perhaps others.  So if we are to reach a place of mastery, what are some things that we might have to master?

I’m really happy to tell you that it is not as painful as you might think and it can be used for business owners as well as anyone wanting to improve their lives.

Here are three ways in which you can lead yourself to mastery in your life and business:

  1. Get a clear focus.  Decide what it is you want to accomplish.  When you know what your outcome is, it is easy to know what you need to do.
  2. Be specific.  Now that you have your focus, the next step is to decide how you will get there.  This is the time to be specific.  Is there something you need to do, have, or find in order to get started?  List out what you need and must do to reach your goals. Until questions are answered, it’s impossible to lead yourself to completion.
  3. Put your specific action steps in your calendar.  Without this last step, all the focus and planning in the world won’t help you, you need to set aside time to get it done.

When we master something we get a sense of satisfaction, we feel proud and we are excited about it.  I know I want to shout “I did it!”  It is such a great feeling.  That is why aiming toward mastery gives you the anticipation that you are working toward controlling your life, your business and ultimately your destiny.  Wouldn’t you want to hold the position of mastery in your life?  I know I sure do!

You know I love to hear from you, so please feel free to email me at kim@kimravida.com or share your thoughts, insights and revelations below.

 

Filed Under: Personal Development Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Want to Expand Time?

June 24, 2013 By

turn time backIs there a little voice in your head that seems to repeat “I don’t have enough time to get everything done” or “I wish I had more time to do other things”?  We always want and need additional time, yet if time is the one thing that is equal to all, why do other people seem to accomplish more?  Why can’t we get done what we want to in the time we have available?

Now first, I want to tell you that I struggled with time for years.  I was constantly late for everything (just ask my supervisors when I worked in corporate or my family).  I didn’t mean to be late; it just happened I never had enough time to get ready, to arrive on time, to be prepared.  Time was my enemy and we battled frequently.

I believe, as a whole, we think it takes too much time to get in shape, to live a healthy lifestyle, to work enough to support our families, or to sit down and plan for our future.  Shoot, it just takes too long to get through the grocery store once a week!  Right?

Well… no.  I have learned we actually have all the time that we need.

Here are three key lessons I want to share with you to release all the stress and overwhelm related to time.

Lesson #1:  Be clear about what you want to accomplish.  When you don’t know exactly what you want to accomplish, you can’t have a true idea about how long it will take.  However, knowing what your goal is gives you a starting point from which to plan what you need to do, assess how long it will take, and what you need to have in order to reach your goal in a timely manner.  So whether it’s to arrive on time somewhere, have more down-time or lose 10 pounds, know what you want.

Lesson #2:  Be realistic about how long a task will take.  How many times have you said something like “I’m going to quickly balance my checkbook” only to experience a string of problems that take far too long to fix?  Maybe you found a discrepancy in your accounting or realized you forgot to pay a bill.  When you are unrealistic (i.e. “quickly”) with how long something should take, time seems to shorten.  In order to expand time, you need to be practical. 

Lesson #3:  Plan your steps.  Here’s another one:  You found a great healthy recipe online and decide you are going to whip it together one evening for dinner.  When that evening arrives, however, you realize you don’t have all the ingredients on hand you thought you did.  Or by the time you dash into the kitchen and read the recipe again, you discover you were supposed to marinate something for a few hours first.  However, if you take the time to create action steps for this new recipe, you will have all the ingredients beforehand and allow the proper time to complete it.

In essence, once you take to heart the lessons I shared above, you will stop adding too much on your To Do list and putting undue pressure on yourself.   You’ll be much more at peace and find that you will have way more time than you thought.  I promise you will reach your goals and feel good about yourself again!

I’d love to hear your experiences.  As always, I invite you to write to me or feel free to share your thoughts, insights and revelations below.  You never know how they may help someone else!

Filed Under: Money Habits, Reaching Goals Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Three Steps to Success

March 11, 2013 By

goals listIt’s a small, four-letter word and it isn’t even a bad one, though most of us shy away from it!  When we do, sadly we also fail to reach our goals.  I know you are eager to know what that word is.  It is PLAN.  It also means: map, chart, diagram, sketch, and arrangement.  Simple enough, right?  Well then why do people not plan for their success?

This is a subject that constantly comes up.  We all have heard the quote “when you fail to plan you plan to fail.”  And it means that when you don’t set goals, wants, or intentions (or whatever you like to call them) you have no way of getting what you want!

With my coaching clients, we set specific plans together.  They know exactly what they are going to do, when and how.  When I work with my in-person fitness groups, they also set a plan for how they are going to reach their goals while they are in my program.

Let’s take weight loss… or even eating better.  You might not need to lose weight but I can almost bet at one point or another in your life you have said “I would like to eat better” or a variation of that.  (However, if you haven’t, please reach out to me.  I’d love to hear how you eat healthy on a regular basis; you are an inspiration!)  Most people say “I need to lose weight, I want to lose 10 lbs, I want to eat better, I need to eat better…” you get the idea.  And then that’s all they do.  That is as far as they get and then wonder why nothing happens.  Oh sure, they may go to the gym, walk, or cut back on certain foods, but there’s a missing piece.  There is no target, no date for when they will do this, and there is definitely no action plan.

Let’s see if I can’t help you move forward.  Here are three steps (I’m keeping it simple) for you to use to make your plan, follow through and experience the results of your plan.  By the way, this can be used for anything that you want to get or have in your life.  My big AHA was when I realized that I can use planning to get anything I want in my life – eating better, exercising more, and planning for a trip or an event.  Anything!

Step 1 – State what it is you want.  This is your goal, intention, target, purpose, and aim.  Get out some paper, a notebook, or your laptop and write this down.  This is your starting point.  Be as descriptive as possible.  “I will lose 10 lbs by eating healthy and exercising.”  State your end date, and make sure you give yourself ample time but not too much time.  You want it to be do-able but not so far into the future that you forget or don’t have anything to push you.

Step 2 – Create your roadmap.  This is where you write down all that you will do to reach your goals.  Using the goal above, here is an example:  “I will lose 10 lbs by eating healthy and exercising.  I will do this by going to the gym 2x a week and taking a cycling class and a muscle conditioning class.  I will plan out my meals and snacks for the week so that I know what I am eating and can shop for healthy ingredients.  I will drink 6-8 glasses of water a day.  I will keep track of my actions on my log sheet that I will create to hold myself accountable.  I will check in with my accountability partner weekly (or daily if I feel I need more support).  I am successful and I am already feeling great.  I am happy with my results.”  Make sure you end your plan with how you want to feel by using an “I am” statement.  It will help you stay on target to reach your goals!

Step 3 – Be accountable.  Another word for accountable is responsible.  Be in charge of your results and your destiny.  If you can’t trust yourself to do this, then you need to have a trusted friend or hire a coach.  This is the part where the rubber meets the road.  If you aren’t taking your steps, why?  When we tell others our goals, we almost always follow through.  It’s key to not try this on your own.  I recommend getting a notebook for you to track your actions and the results.  If you say you are going to drink 6 glasses of water a day (remember to be specific), how do you know that you did it?  Write it down; record it in a log sheet.  Keep yourself on target with useful tools like logs, plus they make it fun to report to your accountability partner.

That’s it!  The best part is that by keeping track of your goals, you see the results even if the scale didn’t budge.  You can see you are working at your goal and that by itself is such a great feeling!  It is all there and you can course-correct and make changes when you see something not working and do more of what is working.  That’s a beautiful thing!

I would love to hear how you do with following my three steps.  It doesn’t just have to be related to health, I’d love to hear how you have used them—or any tips—to be successful! Please share your thoughts, insights and revelations below!

Filed Under: Personal Development, Reaching Goals, Weight loss Tagged With: , , ,