Did you have the Magic 8 ball when you were a kid? You asked a question and it would give you yes-no-maybe-try again answer. Out of 20 possibilities, only 5 were strongly YES!
Pretty poor odds, actually, but I was too young to know better, so I would ask “Will I be pretty?” and 75% of the time I’d get an answer I didn’t like!
It turns out that if you’re trying to predict the outcome of something you’re going to do for your business, there are 3 sure-fire signs that it’s going to successful:
1. You know what it is that you want to accomplish, and how important it is to you. When you know what you want “It is certain” that you will be heading toward the right thing!
2. You feel that deep, inner knowing that you’re willing to do the work and committed to staying with the project until it’s finished. When you’re deeply committed, you don’t have to wonder – “You may rely on it.” (as the Magic 8 ball would say.)
3. You see far enough ahead to realize that the benefits that result from taking the time and expending the effort will far outweigh the work you put into it now. When you have that vision, “Without a doubt” you can get there.
It’s not that these “predictors” are hard to figure out… it’s that for the most part, we do things we’ve always done, or try something new without thinking about them at this level.
When you pay attention to yourself before you start a project, and really understand where YOU are in relation to these predictors, you can focus your energy where it will do the most good. In just a short time, you can make great strides on any project that will move your business forward. For example, you could:
Bring your website up to date.
Finish the article you’ve been thinking about for too long.
Plot out the dates for your classes for the next season.
Work out a consistent schedule of when you’re available for FI, so that when someone wants to schedule, you come across as professional, and don’t later regret making an appointment in the middle of the book club meeting you forgot about..
Brainstorm ideas for your blog, then write the articles so that you have them ready to go when you need them.
Set a date and a theme, and work out the lessons you’ll teach for the workshop you’ve been putting off.
Take some time to think of the people you want to ask for a success story, and think about what you want each of them to say so that you can make suggestions when you make the request.
When you use your knowledge of yourself to predict your success, “You may rely on it!”
