No matter what you do in life, or work, if you want to ensure success the best possible way to do that is to make a plan. The second thing to do is execute on it. 

You may have the best idea, invention, or product if you don’t make a plan on how you are going to promote, sell, market, advertise etc., then you likely won’t go very far.  I once read a quote by someone that said, “If you fly by the seat of your pants, you better expect turbulence.”  Basically, you want to have a plan, or it could be a very bumpy ride.

Planning is generally the one step that most people miss when it comes to goals or marketing.  First you need to know the end result.  Once you know what you are ultimately looking to achieve then you need to come up with the step by step instructions or directions to make that goal happen. 

Think about it like traveling.   If you are driving to a specific location a hundred or even a thousand miles away for that matter, and you have never been there before, you’re not going to get in your car, turn on the ignition and just start driving are you?  I doubt it.  You’re going to look at a map, go online or at least have a GPS device to tell you which route to take.  The GPS or the directions you get are going to tell you what to do and when to do it.  That is MAP’ing, Making A Plan.

When putting together your plan for success, “begin with the end in mind,” as Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People would say.  Now that you know what the end result is, write down a step by step action plan that will lead you to your destination in small daily simple steps.  If you are looking to accomplish your goal in one year, think of 12 big steps that need to be done. Then put them in order from start to finish.  Put the first item on your calendar for the next month.  Then fill in each of the remaining 11 steps for the following 11 months.  This way each and every month you are doing the things necessary to reach your goal in the timeframe that you want. 

After you have completed your monthly things to do list you will want to go back and do the same thing again but dice it up a little more.  Now look over each month’s item and break it down into four steps, one for each week of the month. Then, for each week’s item, break it down into seven steps, one thing you can do every day. 

That’s it.  That’s all there is to planning.  Most people are so excited about their goal that one of two things happen.  Either the how to do it becomes so daunting that they take no action and forget about the goal altogether.  Or, they hit the ground running and end up missing several important steps along the way which can turn out to be detrimental.  Yes making a plan does take time. However, if you take the time to think it through from the beginning you will already have avoided roadblocks and obstacles ahead of time.  It’s somewhat similar to building a house.  You can put the studs up first so you can see immediate results.  However, sooner or later that house will come crumbling down without a strong foundation, and you will have to start all over again.  And that can be a timely and expensive mistake. 

So, do yourself a favor and make a plan to make your goals happen.  It will save you time and money in the long run and likely get you to where you want to be faster.

No matter what business you’re in, there are certain things you need to do in order to be successful.  The first thing on that list is staying in contact with your past clients.

Surely, you’ve heard the phrase, out of sight, out of mind.  That rings all too true when it comes to being a success in business.  Just seeing a client one time usually isn’t enough.  Statistics say that it often takes seven times to be in front of a prospect before they become a customer.  Once they do become a customer the real work begins.  If you forget about your clients, your clients will forget about you.  However, most people are surprised when they go to renew a contract or sell something new, that the past client is now doing business with someone else. 

Stay in touch with your past clients.  One thing and one thing for certain, if you’re not talking to your past clients someone else is. 

The people you’re selling to are relationships.  Like all relationships they need attention.  How many times have you been disappointed to have lost a new sale to an old customer because you didn’t stay in touch?  Maybe you don’t know because you have never made contact with a past client before.  You already have a relationship, they’ve purchased from you before.  If you don’t stay in touch with your past clients you are missing many opportunities.

There is at least one reason every month to stay in touch with past clients.  For example:

January- New Years and Martin Luther King Day
February- Valentine’s Day and President’s Day
March- St. Patrick’s Day, Daylight Savings begins
April- First day of spring, Easter, Passover
May- Memorial Day and Mother’s Day
June- Father’s Day and the first day of summer
July- Independence Day
August- End of summer, back to school
September- Labor Day, first day of autumn
October- Halloween and Columbus Day
November- Daylight Savings Ends and Thanksgiving
December- Christmas, Hanukah, First day of winter

Every month you have at least one reason to drop a note in the mail or send an email to say hello to your past clients.  Remember, history repeats itself, so it may as well be on your terms.

Have you ever thought about how people are created equal? Did you know that there is one way and one way only that we are all exactly the same? That way is time. It doesn’t matter how much money you have, or what school you went to, or where you were raised… you only get 24 hours in a day.  That’s 86,400 seconds in each 24-hour period. 

The way to be most efficient and effective with your time and get the most out of your 24 hours is to follow these five simple steps.

Write. Everything you need or want to get done in a day, write it down.  You don’t have to overcomplicate this one.  Just get a simple legal pad of paper and write "Things To Do Monday" at the top. Then start your list. I do things to the ridiculous. 1. Wake up at 6 a.m. 2. Go to gym by 6:30. 3. E-mail Mike regarding marketing. 4. Call Mary about business cards. 5. Pick up dry cleaning. 6. Drop off bracelet at jeweler. 7. Buy stamps…etc. If you simply write down what needs to be done you will free up your mind and instantly be more focused and get more done.

Eliminate distractions. Distractions or interruptions are the primary cause for people to not be efficient and get what needs to be done, done. Here you have two options.  Option A - remove the distractor. If it’s the phone, turn it off.  If it’s e-mail, don’t even log into your account until your project is complete. If it’s television, don’t turn it on.  Option B. Remove yourself from the distractor.  If you work in an office where others are constantly being a distraction or interruptive, then you need to not be in that environment.  If possible work from home to complete a project.  Go to an available conference room or empty office and close the door.  If you are in a cubicle put up a sign that reads, Do NOT Disturb or Quiet time from 9-noon, no interruptions please.

Stay in the moment. Many times people do not use the present moment effectively because they are projecting in the future or dwelling on the past. The future is not here yet, so it is most efficient and effective to get the most you can out of this moment, right now.  By writing a things to do list you will be eliminating, or a least reducing stress and random thoughts. You will be more organized, together and know what you need to do and when you need to do it by.   If you are dwelling on the past, with all do respect you need to get over it and move on.  Here’s the thing, no matter how much you ponder and percolate on something that has already happened , it isn’t going to change what happened.  It is what it is.  Think about where you are now and what you can do in this present moment to make the best of any situation.

Set an alarm. If you need to get something done in a specific amount of time or if you need to dedicate minutes, hours, etc  to a project to complete it by the deadline, set an alarm. Use one on your computer, watch, cell phone, egg timer, or an actually alarm clock.  Until that alarm sounds, you stay focused and only work on that one project.  Allotting a specific amount of time will enable you to concentrate on just the matter at hand without concerning yourself with the clock or other things around you.

Have a reward. Nothing is better than having a little incentive when you are learning a new habit. The next time you are struggling with managing your time, give your self a reward.  Say when I have my entire things to do list complete every day for one week, I will give myself blank, as a treat.  Now you have a reason to stay focused, avoid distractions and get what needs done, done.

Those are the five basic steps for Time Management.  What are you waiting for??? Get to writing your things to do list today!

Successful people understand the difference between can’t and won’t.  There is a lot of power in words.  They can strengthen and empower us.  They can build an army or start a war.  Think about the words you use to describe yourself, and what you are capable of.  Do your words say victim or victor?

Think about the words can’t and won’t.  How often do you say I can’t when you really mean won’t?  Can’t means that you are physically not capable while won’t means that you are choosing not to. 

I can’t go up to a perfect stranger and introduce myself.  Yes you can. You are physically capable of walking up to someone, sticking out your hand and saying “Hi, I’m Sharmen Lane, what’s your name?”  Many will say, “I can’t do that.”  Yes you can.  You may have to dig deep and find the courage in you, but you are physically capable of it.

In business or your personal life the words you use can make a powerful statement.  I once had a woman in sales tell me she couldn’t walk in to potential client offices and ask them for business.  That’s when it dawned on me that there is a tremendous difference between can’t and won’t.  I responded to this woman with “You can’t. So you are telling me that you are not physically capable of walking to the door, sticking out your hand, grabbing the knob, turning it, pulling the door open and walking through the opening?’ Of course with resistance she replied with “Well, yes I can do THAT”.  That is the difference between can’t and won’t.

This isn’t to say it will be easy.  It may be difficult.  It may require some extreme mental discipline, or having a talk with yourself to make you do something you previously “couldn’t”.  I never said it was easy, and sometimes you will have to psych your self up and literally force yourself do it. But you can. As soon as you take responsibility and the empowering position you will be amazed at the things you can and will do.

The next time you hear yourself saying "I can’t…” stop for a moment and ask yourself, it is really that I can’t, that I’m physically not capable, or is it that I won’t?  If you determine that you could but you choose not too then it’s wont.  At that point you can choose to change your way of thinking, step up to the plate and do it!

Are you looking for change in your life? Are you looking to go to the next level?  Are you stuck in a rut?  Do you have no idea what you want, or if you do know what you want, do you have no idea how to go about getting it?  If you answered yes to any of these questions then you need Average2Awesome Life coaching.  Go to Average2awesomelife.com to find out more.  Start now and create the life you want!