As I mentioned previously, I was working on one of my books (Starting Your Creative Business) and I wrote about three prerequisites you need to have before you even start.

As I did, I realized that you really need those three things (Passion, Persistence, and a Plan) throughout your whole business life (and can make the case for throughout your whole life – business or otherwise.) So, I decided to share about them briefly here even though you may have heard these before, because, if you are like me, an occasional reminder is in order. The first post covered Passion. Yesterday I did Persistence. Today, I want to cover a Plan.

A Plan

Imagine that you are in a meadow in the middle of a forest. As you look, you can see six different paths around the perimeter of the meadow, each leading away through the forest. Only one, or at most, two paths will take you where you want to be — back to your car in the parking lot where you left it. Just running down a path (passion) picked at random – no matter how hard you run – is not a strategy for success, even if you keep doggedly at it (persistence).

You have five out of six chances that you are on the wrong path. And it gets worse if you simply run in a circle around the perimeter of the meadow. You then have no chance.

But, if you add a map and a compass, to help you pick the proper path, you have changed the odds for success enormously. But the map and compass are not the plan, they are the tools.

A plan is not the goal. The goal is the destination on the map (in our opening illustration – your car.) The plan is the route you will take to reach the destination (the path.) You want to keep the map and compass handy because the path may appear to be going the wrong direction. Or there may be an obstacle in the way that requires you to take a detour. With the map and compass, you can work out a detour that will bring you back to the path and keep you moving toward your destination.

As I said, in your life and in your business, the plan is your route to your goal. Depending on how expert you are with map and compass, how familiar you are with the terrain, and how well equipped you are for the hike, you may need a very detailed route or a just a rough sketch.

Some people are able to sketch out a plan on a cocktail napkin and that is enough to see them through to the implementation of a multi-million dollar business. They know the territory and have a lot of the map in their brains… due to experience.

Others need a plan that is so detailed, it would make an architect’s blueprints look like the above cocktail napkin sketch. The less experience you have, the more detailed the plan needs to be.

The smaller and easier the goal, the less planning it will probably take. The converse is also true… the bigger and/or harder the goal is, the more planning that will need to happen to achieve it.

Most goals are somewhere in between. And most people

• don’t like to plan… and…
• aren’t very good at it.

So, how do you keep from being overwhelmed when you need to plan? The best way is to “chunk it down.” That is, break it down into manageable chunks or bits.

A bigger plan will have a lot of high-level parts and each one of those will get broken down into smaller parts. The smaller parts will have specific actions (tasks) that need to happen… and in a particular order. Listing these out give you an actual route to your goal with the steps needed to accomplish it.

If you are really bad at planning (or really new at it), consider hiring a guide (coach, mentor, or advisor) to help you through the woods. It can make the difference between coming through the woods successfully or not coming back at all. Once you have more experience, you won’t need a guide.

What is your experience with planning? Do you have a favorite tool (map and compass)? Don’t leave us in the dark. Use the comments and enlighten us.

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As I mentioned yesterday, I was working on one of my books (Starting Your Creative Business) and I wrote about three prerequisites you need to have before you even start.

As I did, I realized that you really need those three things (Passion, Persistence, and a Plan) throughout your whole business life (and can make the case for throughout your whole life – business or otherwise.) So, I decided to share about them briefly here even though you may have heard these before, because, if you are like me, an occasional reminder is in order. Yesterday, I talked about Passion. Today, I want to cover Persistence and tomorrow, a Plan.

Persistence

Ever since I discovered the quote by Woody Allen, I have loved it. And I am guilty of referring to it… some might say too much. If so, it is only because I find so much truth in it and so much applicability. Oh yes… and I keep repeating it because current culture and society tends to ignore it.

The quote?

“Eighty percent of success is just showing up.” Woody Allen

One reason I like it so much, is that it makes success seem easy. Now, success takes effort. And other things, too. But most of us stop too short because it seems too hard. We give up… especially when things get boring… or tiring… or difficult… or our Attention Deficit Disorder kicks in. (Note that most of us have some level of ADD even if we don’t have the clinical diagnosis. It comes with being human.)

But just showing up seems easier. Now, it can be REALLY hard when you don’t feel like doing whatever it is that you are supposed to show up for. But it goes a long way to taming the ADD beast within us. “Hey, how tough can it be to just show up? It’s not like you have to do anything once you show up.”

And that is the wonder of it. Because once you actually show up, it is almost impossible to not do something… constructive. And once you do something constructive, you are making progress. And consistent progress (in the right direction – we’ll talk about that tomorrow) leads toward success. (No, it doesn’t equal success… there is more to it than just showing up… but that is the other 20 percent.)

I have no idea if Aesop’s Fables are still being told to kids. They may be too slow for today’s culture. But they persisted for thousands of years because they carried valuable life lessons. Lessons that are still applicable because humans don’t change much. And for all our technology and sophistication, the core of life still hasn’t changed. Every time somebody comes up with a new theory or scheme that makes it all obsolete, it turns out to be just that… a scheme. (For instance: Enron, Madoff, the “new economy” of the tech bubble of the 90s, mortgage-backed securities, your favorite here.)

The fable that fits this post is that of The Tortoise and the Hare. In the race between the tortoise and the hare, the hare gets off to an early lead (no surprise) but is afflicted with the ADD we all have (along with a touch of arrogance) that lets him get distracted. He sidelines himself while the tortoise just keeps plodding along. Ultimately, the tortoise crosses the finish line before the hare.

There are lots of stories, myths, fables, examples, and quotes about this subject… all illustrating and encouraging persistence. Books could be written on the subject (and have been.) I am not going to drag them all out for you. Instead, I encourage you to keep your eyes open for them… you will run into them nearly every day if you are looking for them.

In the end, it is persistence more than talent (or genius) that determines success. (And I say that as one who is talented but learned the persistence lesson the hard way.)

In your business, keep persisting. Keep going after new customers. Keep working to make your existing customers happy. Keep doing the fundamentals in your business. Keep growing. Keep on keeping on.

What strategies do you use to show up? How have you kept on in the face of difficult times? Please use the comments box and share with the rest of us.

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