You know what the topic is for the last two weeks of the year; setting goals. These are the weeks that I really take time to reflect on the past year and begin setting goals for the new year.
This year I want to challenge you to think of this process a little differently. Instead of focusing solely on setting goals for the next 12 months ask yourself this; “Who do I need to become in the next 12 months to reach my goals both personally and professionally”?
Like many entrepreneurs, I start working on setting my goals for the upcoming year around the 1st of December. I typically do a brain dump. Then it’s time to get real. I tend to set pretty aggressive goals so I need to ask myself, “What can I realistically accomplish in 12 months?
I have a new theme for this year. This year I am committed to not only setting goals, but on making some changes in my business that will allow me to live the lifestyle I want to live. I can tell you that this will definitely involve answering the question, “Who do I need to become”.
This past year I read Hal Elrod’s book “The Miracle Morning”. I have to admit, I am an on again-off again person when it comes to this process. I haven’t managed to consistently implement the steps that I know I should be taking. I know I need to become the person that quite simply “gets their sh*t together (AKA gets on the treadmill first each morning).
Let’s Talk About Lifestyle and a Lifestyle business
Lifestyle or startup? When you are in the startup phase, there's no doubt that you are typically wearing most of the hats. But you should have a plan for creating a lifestyle business right from the beginning. It might not happen this year, but with planning it can happen years sooner than if you didn't have a plan.
Lifestyle means many different things to people, but putting this in the simplest of terms I think lifestyle is how you want to live your life. You have to look at the different aspects of your life and determine how you would like to allocate those 24 hours each day. If we take in to consideration 8 hours of sleep each night (I know … that’s a pretty big goal for some of us) that leaves us with roughly 16 hours each day. Setting goals is a process, and here are some of the components that you would include:
- Family
- Work
- Leisure
- Worship
- Community service
- Exercise
- Time for ourselves! This should be on everyone’s list.
The first step when setting goals is to decide what our ideal life would look like. If we want to spend more time with our family, then work has to be designed so that it allows us family time. Building a lifestyle business is completely up to each of us. No one can do that for us. It’s a good time to point out that no two people will do this in exactly the same way.
The Components of a Good Plan
When it comes down to really creating a plan there are a lot of things to take into consideration. Not only do you have to look at things like how much money you would like to make or how many deals you want to do, but there are bigger questions to ask yourself. This involves figuring out how you will get where you want to be. What are the steps you need to take? What can I do to assure that I consistently implement those steps?
Here’s a tip:
These are good questions, but there is a bigger question that should really begin this conversation and that is, “Am I really happy with my lifestyle”? Before you attempt to set goals for the upcoming year, you need to have an honest conversation with yourself.
This is a” come clean conversation” and it important to be honest.
Ask yourself, “Does this business I work so hard in provide me with the things I need both physically and emotionally”? We are certainly talking about income here, but there is so much more to consider.
This is the time to remember why we all became entrepreneurs. We want freedom.
Now freedom is something different for everyone. Some people want the freedom to spend more time with family. For others, they want to carve out time to travel. A mom with small children might define freedom as the luxury of being home when the kids get home from school. Your definition of freedom will change over time. You will also get better at creating freedom when you know it is yours to create.
Do You Have a Business or a Job?
Here is the test; can you take a few weeks to a month off and have your business continue to make you money while you are gone?
Almost all of us start out to build a business, but most entrepreneurs fail to move out of the small business owner category. What that means is that we create a very demanding job for ourselves. One day we look up and realize that we are working harder for ourselves than we ever worked for anyone else. Often we are exhausted, burned out and generally ready to run away from the very thing we have created.
Digging Yourself out One Step at A Time
I know you’ve heard this saying before; “The first step is to admit you have a problem”. Oh my. This is the hard part. Looking ourselves in the mirror and admitting that we just didn’t quite get it right.
Business may be great; our income may even be great; but how are we as a person? Are we happy and fulfilled? Are we living the lifestyle we want to live?
In most cases we are our own worst enemy. Entrepreneurs in general find it hard to get out of their own way. It might be that we have tried (and failed) several times at creating systems and outsourcing some of the work. Maybe we hired an employee or two and it just didn’t work out. So what? Start over and try again. Create a plan for making those much needed changes. You have to have a plan.
10 Questions for Creating a Lifestyle Business
You notice I said “creating”. Enjoying all the benefits of a lifestyle business isn’t something that happens by chance. A lifestyle business is something you create. It’s something you give deliberate thought to.
Before you can start the process of creating that business, you have to know exactly what you want that to look like. Here are 10 questions to ask yourself as you start to create your own lifestyle business.
- How many hours each day or week do I want to work?
- What hours in the day do I want to devote to work?
- Where do I want to work?
- Do I want my work to be tied to a particular city or region of the country?
- Do I want employees or do I want to use virtual assistants, independent contractors etc.?
- Am I spending my days doing something I love?
- What are the tasks in my business that I love to do and that I’m good at?
- Am I doing only the tasks each day that are the best use of my time and are a fit with my “core genius” and outsourcing the rest?
- How can I create passive income in my business? What can I do today to start that process?
- If anything were possible, what would my new lifestyle business look like?
How Can I Make this Happen?
This is the time to dream big. Along the way as each objection or roadblock pops up, ask yourself simply how can I make this work? What do I have to do to achieve my dreams and goals? What obstacles do I need to push through?
The bigger question once again is, “Who do I have to become to achieve my goals”?
Do you need to become the person that gets up one hour early to exercise before starting your day to safeguard your health? Maybe that extra hour you have in the morning will ensure you arrive home on time each day.
Do you need to become the person keeps their commitments to their church, their community or even their family?
I Want to Ask You Something …
What one or two big changes do you need to make this year to create a lifestyle business yourself? Who do you have to become to achieve your goals and walk into your greatness in the next 12 months?
Great Books to Read
I love good books and this year I have read several great books. Here are a few I recommend.
If you are not already subscribed to the blog, be sure to do that today so you don’t miss any of the business building tips I have coming your way. I want this year to be your best year ever! And if you enjoyed this article, please share it.