In Part 1 and Part 2, I related my time listening to Luis Carlos Flores (https://ninosdeahora.tv/) speak at a conference about reinventing his life and the thought/action process he went through to bring about this change.
- What’s the goal?
- Opportunity and Risks
- Build with the end in mind
- Collaborate and build your team
The first post discussed “goals” and how focusing on both the big goals and the small goals will drive you into an amazing adventure.
The second post discussed “opportunities and risks” and how looking down the road continuously will help you plan and pivot with plenty of time.
Today I want to talk about starting to build your plan, and team, with the end in mind.
Build with the end in mind
OK, you’ve set your goal, you know what your opportunity is, you have assessed the risks, and you’ve decided to start taking inspired action. Now what? Now we build backwards.
When my daughter was in college, she wanted to own her own tattoo shop by the time she was 30. We discussed what kinds of things would need to happen to reach that goal, training, experience, knowledge of the industry, etc. Once we had all the “must haves” we started to define the timing, how long would it take to get the training (classes, apprenticeship, etc.), how much experience to have before asking for a business loan, how long would it take to know the ins and outs of the business (vendors, equipment, etc.).
We began to build a timeline…but we started from the Grand Opening of the shop and went backwards. 6 months to a year to build/open the shop. 6 months to a year to gather and secure financing, 5 years minimum of experience as an industry artist, 2 years apprenticing. As she was only 19, this gave her about 2-3 years to complete college, work as a “shop girl”, and learn the business before she ever had to hold a tattoo gun. She had plenty of time to fulfill her dream and a plan to get there.
After growing, researching, and taking some action she decided that this expression of her art was not in alignment with who she really wanted to be, and she pivoted her business goals. She now has her own business selling her art and coaching other artists to follow their passions. She wanted to be a business owner by 30 and she’s made it. (https://www.openheartscreate.com/)
Where do you want to be in five years? 10? What can you do to start building your dream? Work backwards from the dream. What’s the step just before “cutting the ribbon”? And the step before that? Work your way back until you are here today…then follow the path.
It may twist and turn, and you may find that what you thought was the end goal wasn’t quite clear enough or not really on the mark. Be flexible to adjust your goal with the new information you gather along the journey. You may find that what’s waiting for you is even bigger and better than you EVER imagined.
What do you think of when planning your next big product, program, life goal? Let me know how you put your plan together in the comments below!
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