Where Has All Your Freedom Gone?
You got into business for yourself to be happy, to have more freedom, to call your own shots, right? So, in the famous words of Dr. Phil, “How’s that working out for you?”
Do you feel…too often…that you’ve been trading your happiness and freedom as you’ve worked to make your business successful?
Like you end up sacrificing personal things important to you?
Where exactly did your freedom go??
It can feel as though when you pursue profit, your happiness and freedom are often compromised. You work long hours, take on tasks you don’t enjoy, and let the business run you instead of you running the business.
And then there’s that whole situation of no more time left in your day to figure out what to adjust to get to what you want. Your dream becomes the Impossible Dream.
On the other hand, when you pursue happiness and freedom, who pays your bills?
I’m betting I know the source of your conflict—you don’t have a plan or your plan is not working.
Your business has been built on an Idea… and then you dropped straight into action, implementing the Idea.
Think of it this way. You have a thought about what you want to make for dinner, and you jump right into cooking it without a recipe. You’ll make something, but it might not be exactly what you imagined.
Or you have a recipe, but it’s so complicated that it’s hard to follow, uses ingredients you don’t have on hand or requires skills that you just don’t have in your repertoire.
Either way – dinner can end up somewhere between boring and inedible.
I know creating a plan isn’t very sexy or exciting, but the result of having a plan can be both sexy and exciting.
Taking just a few hours to craft the plan for the remainder of this year or revise the current plan that is costing you your freedom will make all the difference. A clear plan will enable you to work towards both freedom and profits, happiness and money. If you already have a plan, take another good look at it now.
It doesn’t have to be pages and pages of stuff.
Your plan can be as simple as this:
What’s the ONE, MEASUREABLE goal you’re going to focus your efforts towards achieving in the next quarter? By the end of the year?
What are the five (no more than 5) CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS that must be in play every day, through your every action, that deliver your ONE, MEASURABLE goal?
The Critical Success Factors are strategies in play all year. The actions you take each day support one or more of those Factors.
That’s it.
Now, take a look at your To-Do list for today. Can you tie it to a Critical Success Factor? If not, perhaps it’s something that could be delegated or deleted. Voila! You’ve made space for something that brings you closer to your goal.
Once you have a clear plan to follow, your business becomes easier, simpler, and more profitable without costing you your freedom. You will be running your business and living your life…your way!
Blessings,
