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August, 2002 |
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ABOUT FSO |
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About NAIFA |
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WHY PLANNING PAYS
by Charli Lamont Williams,
Personal Success Coach
It's that happy time of year again -time to get excited about creating a new future for yourself, your family and your business.
It is interesting to me that, though I do this planning with clients every year, each time people are surprised because they have forgotten to look at a particular category or area of life. If you have already written your plan for 2002, you might want to look over the outline, below, to see if you have neglected anything.
Because this is a business-oriented journal, this article will focus on your business. However, I encourage you to plan your personal life, too. Art and gardening are hobbies of mine. If I don't schedule time in my calendar for drawing and digging, though, it doesn't happen.
Sometimes we think we don't have time to plan. We are so busy, there is so much to do. We think we should be "at work" instead of just sitting around planning.
Therefore I like to use the analogy about building a house. Ideally, I would hire an architect first. She would draw a plan, we would review it together, making decisions and changes to suit my desires. Then necessary materials would be purchased and the construction would begin.
Continuing the analogy, the first thing that happens in constructing something new is - a mess!
As you work through the outline below, you will find an opportunity to change your physical working environment. If you choose to do this, you may have a "mess," in your calendar (time invasion) as well as your physical space, as you go through that change. Bear with it. You chose to make the change(s) as an enhancement; keep focused on the result, which is your desired outcome.
The reason it is important to have a plan in writing is so that you can monitor yourself and your results. Please remember: You can always change your plan, as you go through the year. That is your choice also. You are always in charge of your own plan; you are never the victim of your plan. You either choose to do what you said you would do, or your choose to do something else. It is always up to you.
Another important point about planning: Be very aware of where you are today. Is your plan realistic? Is it very, very clear? A plan of action is a destination in time, just as a location is a destination in space.
For example: I live in Irvine, California. If I decide to go to New York, that is the beginning of a plan, a new destination and location. But New York is a big place. Just where in New York will I go? I need to be more specific.
So, let's say I decide to go to that pink hotel across the street from Central Park, rent a two-bedroom furnished suite on the eleventh floor, facing Central Park. That is specific. I will know when I have arrived. My destination is specific and measurable. I can also measure my progress along the way.
Next, I need to decide how I think I am going to reach my destination. In this analogy, this is your business action plan -your vehicle, if you will.
You make it up, you invent it. How will you reach your destination?
Getting back to the New York trip, let's say I decide to drive from Southern California (where I am) to the destination (where I want to be). I decide on a date and a time for departure, and put that into my calendar. By using my calendar, I am planning exactly when I will start on my new goal.
Now I have decided where I want to go, and I have a plan for getting there.
Off we go!
As a begin to follow my plan, though, something unexpected happens: I find a small town called Sedona, Arizona. It is beautiful! I love it! I want to stay there. So I make a choice: I cancel my reservations in the New York hotel and stay in Sedona.
This type of situation my happen for you, too, as you follow your plan through the year. You may come across an opportunity that is totally unexpected - out of the blue, so to speak. You have the freedom to make a different choice. Be aware of this and don't feel you need to blindly follow your plan, if "something better" comes along.
Be aware too that when you make a conscious choice to change your plan, you will be happy about it and never beat yourself up for not arriving at the
original destination.
Several years ago I had a client who earned an average of $500,000.00 per year, and had done so for several years. He wanted to increase his income by 25%, and felt that was a realistic goal. We began the work.
A few weeks into the plan, however, he came to me and said he changed his mind. If he did all the things he felt he needed to do in order to accomplish his financial goal, we would never have time to go to his kids' after school events or go dancing with his wife. So he changed his goal - his destination. That was his conscious choice.
How you choose to achieve your "destination" is also your choice.
In my analogy, above, I chose "driving my car" as my "vehicle." My friends Tom and Bobbi also chose an East Coast destination. Their vehicle (means of accomplishing the goal) was a tandem bicycle.
You get to operate your business your way. Do what you enjoy doing the most. Hire someone else to do the rest of it.
Here is an outline to give you some ideas in creating your plan. You want it to be a picture, in writing, of what your business will look like by 5 p.m., December 31, 2002.
1. Money in, money out: What do you want your gross income to be? What percentage of that amount will you use for expenses? It doesn't matter what you decide; it matters that you are clear in your decision.
When I talk about being "realistic" in goal-setting, what I really mean is "Can you believe it." If you can truly believe it, you will achieve it.
2. Physical location changes: Is there anything about your office space you would like to change? Look at furnishings, paint, carpet, etc.
3. Equipment: Any changes or upgrades, additions or old equipment to get rid of?
4. How about employees? Any changes, additions or subtractions?
5. Any changes to your Ideal Client profile?
6. What about business relationships, associations and organizations? What about community or political involvement's? Places you might participate as a business person.After you have written your plan, you will want to update your Ideal Me profile to include the characteristics of the person who lives in that particular business vision.
The penultimate step is monitoring results and fine-tuning. Pay attention weekly, if not daily, to how you are progressing with your plan. Is it working in the way you thought it would? Are you getting the results you wanted?
Look for magic, miracles and serendipities. When you are giving your God-given gift by helping other people, you are supported in unexpected ways.
For example: If your gift is to give financial peace of mind to young families through life insurance, there are people out there who need and want what you have to offer, otherwise what would be the point? These are your Ideal Clients. People hang out with people like themselves, so one ideal client leads to another. People will come to you in surprising and fun ways. Spirit has a great sense of humor - where do you think you got yours?!
The final step: Celebrate!
Determine a reward for yourself for accomplishing the 2002 goal. There may be times during the year when you feel a bit discouraged, or just don't feel like going to work. If this happens, it is helpful to focus on the reward. That seems to be a more powerful motivation for people than simply accomplishing the goal.
Anyway, if you aren't celebrating your life, what are you doing?
Visit my work book site or my coaching site to start creating your own success!!
Charli Williams, founder of Lamont Williams in Orange County California, has been a Personal Success Coach for more than a decade. She is an author, lecturer, columnist and radio talk show personality. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the Orange County Association of Health Underwriters. She develops custom tailored programs for entrepreneurs, designed to move each person along their path to success.
Lamont Williams operates under the philosophy that just as Olympic athletes have private coaches to help them fine-tune their abilities, so too should business people have a coach to help them reach their goals more easily.
Lamont Williams clients are varied. Current participates include engineers, financial and estate planners, physicians, top insurance producers, educators, loan consultants, real estate agents and sales representatives. The Coaching Program enables individuals to develop clear, detailed plans resulting in success on a consistent basis, and more time in their lives for relationships, fun and relaxation. Charli helps her clients formulate and achieve their Ideal Lifestyle. This Ideal Lifestyle is not only limited to business; it carries over into personal life as well.
Charli, through her unique visualization techniques, has achieved her own Ideal Lifestyle. The tools and techniques used produce success more easily, eliminating the old fashion concept of the need for "hard work."
The Coaching Programs are very "person specific." That is, they are tailored to fulfill the needs of each individual, rather than the individual needing to fit the program. The programs enable people to develop clear, detailed plans resulting in more income on a consistent basis. Living a balanced, successful life is the ultimate goal.
The Coaching Programs from Lamont Williams include: Private Coaching, on an individual basis; Coaching for Team Synergy, for groups; and other custom designed training's. Her workbook, Creating Your Own Success,is a step-by-step guide to achievement.For more information, please call our offices at 800-500-1551
E-mail Lamontwm@pacbell.net or Fax (714) 389-3038.
