As I mentioned two days ago, there are 4 steps to GROW yourself and GROW your business.
G.R.O.W. stands for:
- Goals
- Resources
- Organize
- Win
G is for Goals
What does success mean to you? You have to know where you are going before you can get there. This is where you identify what you want from your business and personal life – your dreams, wants and desires.
Start by brainstorming and limit yourself to 3 or 4 goals in the beginning, so you can stay focused.
A goal is a dream with a deadline.
Start with your dreams, wants and desires and transform them into SMARTER Goals by writing a statement that is:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Attainable
- Realistic
- Time Bound
- Enthusiastic
- And, Resourced
Let’s look at an example:
You get a phone call, from a family lawyer, and he has good and bad news. You have just inherited $100,000, but you have to be in Chicago by 12PM tomorrow to complete the paperwork and pick up the money. How would you get there?
Whether you realized it or not, you would start by setting a goal in your mind.
Arrive at lawyer’s office in Chicago in less than 24 hours to pick up $100,000.
You can check this against the SMARTER Goal criteria. Is it Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time Bound, Enthusiastic and Resourced?
The only difference between this type of a goal, one that you develop in your mind and act upon on the fly, and a long term goal, is that you should write your long term personal, professional and business goals down.
Write them down, post them around your house, your office, carry a list in your wallet, review them regularly and read them out loud – every day, every week.
This creates a habit that programs your sub-conscious mind into working on and achieving the things that you want.
R is for Resources
You have to identify the resources and assets you have at your disposal and any missing pieces. This includes your equipment, your people, their knowledge & skills, and your systems & processes.
If you had to travel from New York City to Chicago in less than 24 hours, you couldn’t get there by walking, you would need resources. It could be your vehicle, borrow a friend’s vehicle or buy a plane ticket. It’s over a twelve-hour drive, so if you decided to drive you would need to make sure you had the time, gas money, money for food and a place to spend the night when you get there.
O is for Organize
With your goals and resources in mind, you now have to organize everything & put a plan together. This is where you find information, consult with advisors and experts and create an action plan for yourself, using your available Resources that will get you to your Goals.
Sticking with the example of traveling from New York City to Chicago, you would need to get organized and make a plan. Where would you be without GPS? Do you know how to get there? Is there someone you could call? Smartphones, GPS, internet map systems, they are all tools. You could easily use anyone of them to help put a plan together, but they are just tools, you have to organize the information, consult with advisors & experts and create an action plan that you can implement.
W is for Win
If you want to get to your destination, you have to have a winning attitude.
Pessimism and negativity gets you nowhere. If you got the call discussed above and immediately launched into all of the reasons it is too difficult, or unreasonable, or doesn’t make any sense, you would be right. You could complain about the missed opportunity, not do anything, and you get nothing.
On the other hand, if you got the same phone call and immediately started thinking, planning and preparing to act, and you knew you could get there, you would be right, too. Then you begged, borrowed or bought anything you needed to get there, and hit the road at 5 PM, you would get there before the sun came up.
Pablo Picasso said, “Action is the foundational key to all success.”
Nike had it right “Just Do It”, you have to take action. The best time to take action was 5 years ago, the second best time is now.
If you really look at it, you can see that taking action is the best way to accomplish anything.
Just a few years ago I was about 265 pounds and without even realizing it, I used this process to lose 60 pounds in about 18 months.
Here’s how I did it:
- I set a goal and made losing weight a priority.
- I identified key resources including my time, my iPhone and a smartphone app called My Fitness Pal that I would leverage.
- I organized and planned my day to achieve my weight loss goal. I skipped the fad diets and did not deprive myself of food, instead I decided to use the good ole fashioned combination of exercise and calorie tracking. I scheduled activities I enjoyed, like disc golf and jiu-jitsu, and I tracked my calorie and activity results daily, making a game out of it. I had to burn more calories than I ate, sounds simple right?
- And, I had a positive, take no prisoners attitude. I took action every day, and when I faltered or made a poor decision, I learned from it and kept moving forward. Overall, I expected to win, as a result I knew I was going to win and in the end I did.
Whether you are an entry level employee, the owner of the business or someone in between, you can use this concept to G.R.O.W. and get better at anything.
Of course, this is a very general overview, there is no way to go into significant detail about this process in a quick message like this, but if you want help right away, I’m here for you, click here for more information and to schedule your 1-hour Strategic G.R.O.W. Session for $197 ($250 value).
This is your time and we can discuss any part of your business and how you can apply this G.R.O.W. process immediately to yourself or your business.
Click here for more information and to get started.
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