Thought for the Week

What would you like to accomplish this week? Have you set your plan on how you will meet your expected accomplishment? It takes deliberate planning and action to reach any goal. Sometimes the efforts don't seem to pay off right away, but they will in the end. Trust us, there's a cumulative effect on everything you do. It may take some time, but doing the right thing over and over will bring positive results. Failing to plan and doing nothing or doing the wrong things over and over will bring negative results. That said... Where will you be a week from today?

Marketing Takes Planning and Effort

This past weekend I accomplished a goal I had set for myself about a year ago. I trained for and finished my first marathon. The conditions on race day were not ideal. In fact, the race was "red flagged" for unexpected high temperatures and they gave all the newbies the opportunity to defer to next year. How could I defer when I worked so hard for this day?

It was most definitely a hot day. Had I not trained properly and run the race wisely, I probably would not have finished. Even worse, I could have gotten sick and hospitalized like a number of the runners I saw along the course. Why do I bring this up? To brag a little, yes. After all, it was a pretty special accomplishment. But more importantly, I would like to highlight this week's article, "Marketing...It's Like Training for a Running Race." Anything worth doing is worth doing well and that takes planning. This article will explain in more detail.

Discipline

Self discipline is the ability to make yourself do something between inspiration. You do it whether you feel like it or not. It’s easy to do the things you want to do when you’re feeling good about yourself like take a vacation, play golf or ski on a Colorado slope. What happens when you don’t feel like making the effort to make the money to do these things? Well, you have to force yourself, especially if you’re self-employed.

What decisions do you have to make today to go forward and be successful? What is the “Why that makes you cry?" Understanding this will change the way you do life. Below are a couple of steps that will help get you started and be above-average in accomplishing your goals and dreams.

Be happy.
If you’re overweight, lose some pounds starting this week. Go join a gym. They usually have some great discounts this time of the year. When you’re looking and feeling great, it shows in your efforts.

What do you want?
Have a specific reason why you’re going to go out of your comfort zone to build a business. Write it down on paper and put pictures on the refrigerator to remind you of the things for which you are working. I have found money is not a motivator, but what is a motivator is what money can buy.

Set a time
Anything worth doing is worth setting a date to complete the goal. For example, if you’re going on a European vacation next year, start today to save money. You have a date you know you’ve got to pay the airlines or the hotel. This date is important if you’re taking your spouse for an anniversary. You don’t want to leave anything to chance and disappoint them.

To-do list
With iPhones and Blackberrys at our finger tips, there's no reason you shouldn’t have a to-do list to keep you on track to meet your goals.

Sort your list
If you’re building a house, how many tasks would you have written down? Would they be in any order? Sure. Think of your goal or dream the same way you build a house. Get the foundation built right and the rest will fall in place.

Action steps
To get something accomplished, get busy. Do anything to put effort towards your goal. Remember, even if you’re on the right track you will get run over if you're sitting still. Do something every day that moves you in the direction of accomplishing your dream.

My inspiration for writing this article comes from Brian Tracy. He says “First, decide exactly what you want, write it down with a deadline, make a plan and take action - on at least one goal - today! Second, determine the price you will have to pay to achieve this goal and then get busy paying that price - whatever it is.”

Wayne Bailey is a Distributor with SendOutCards. He has recognized tremendous growth in his personal and business relationships by implementing the strategies he talks about in his articles. You can email Wayne at wayne_bailey642@hotmail.com or visit: www.sendoutcards.com/waynebailey.